2 aboriginal representatives added to city task force on homelessness
High percentage of aboriginal people among city’s homeless population
Two people of aboriginal descent have been added to Kelowna’s homelessness task force.
Diane Roy of the Westbank First Nation and Tina Larouche of the Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society have become the 22nd and 23rd members of the group, called Journey Home.
“We felt . . . we needed wider perspective,” task force co-chairman Martin Bell told city council on Monday.
That was necessary, he said, since previous surveys of Kelowna’s homeless have indicated one in four was aboriginal. An estimated 1,900 people in Kelowna now experience homelessness throughout the year, council heard.
Other members of the group are from BC Housing, the police, Interior Health, the provincial government and members of the community. The task force has been working since last fall on developing a plan to end homelessness in Kelowna.
“A planned draft will be done in April,” task force facilitator Alina Turner told council.
The plan, she said, will be realistic and have measurable targets, with a goal of ending homelessness over five years. Turner has helped develop homelessness eradication programs in a number of Canadian cities.
An emerging theme in such programs, referred to as Housing First, is that there’s an emphasis on getting the homeless into stable and safe housing first, before requiring them to address other problems they may be having, such as alcoholism and drug use.
In Medicine Hat, Alta., council heard, a homeless person is typically offered housing with a variety of supportive services within a couple days of asking for help.
In response to a question from Coun. Luke Stack, however, Turner acknowledged Medicine Hat draws many fewer new arrivals who are either homeless or soon become so than does Kelowna.
Coun. Brad Sieben wondered if achieving the elimination of homelessness was really possible, given that some people might simply choose to sleep rough. But Turner said the approach of “relentless engagement” should be used with outreach workers continually contacting homeless people to offer them a clean, safe place to live.
And to a question from Coun. Ryan Donn, Turner also acknowledged that, with Kelowna’s low apartment rental vacancy rate, many landlords might balk at offering suites for homeless people.
As a result, Turner said there would be a “considerable capital ask” in the form of a funding request for housing for the homeless when the task force’s final report is released. That report will be used to try to attract provincial and federal funding, council heard.