Governments on the west side are teaming up to help people at-risk.
Peachland, West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation have established the Greater Westside Hub.
The initiative aims to create a collaborative environment for medical and social service providers.
“Typically what happens is agencies deal with individuals or their clients individually.” said Nancy Henderson with the City of West Kelowna.
“Through information sharing and joining services, better service can be provided more efficiently to people that have an elevated risk.”
The next step is to build a rapid response team - called a Situation Table - that will connect people with the services they need on a case-by-case basis.
The model is based on a similar project that was pioneered in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan in 2011. In the years since, Situation Tables have popped up in communities across the country.
“They would start looking at cases at their regular meetings and identify those with the most elevated risk as priorities to help out.”
The scope of the initiative is intentionally broad, allowing service providers to identify and support people with diverse needs.