The City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation have partnered up for a point-in-time count for the Westside.
The count happened Monday, July 23rd at multiple locations. “It started at Westbank United Church. They have an on-site meal program, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, where you come for a meal…we utilized that and we provided volunteers there to ask questions of people who show up for the lunch,” said Christene Walsh, Manager of Police and Community Support Services for the Regional District of Central Okanagan. “Boys and Girls Club also had a BBQ targeting the youth and Westbank First Nation had a BBQ on their private beach. We also engaged volunteers to go to almost 40 hotspots that were identified by Westbank First Nation, City of West Kelowna Bylaw (Officers) as well as RCMP, that would be a place where people who are homeless had a camp.”
The point-in-time count was inspired by both the Journey Home initiative that WFN participated in to represent an aboriginal voice with the City of Kelowna in March, and was a recommended action of the Social Issues Research Paper recently completed for the City of West Kelowna.
Walsh says it’s not merely a head count, “We asked their age, their sexual orientation, how they self-identify (as a gender), we would ask how long have they been without a home, how old they were when they first left their home, how long have they lived in our area, what’s their source of income, were they previously a kid in (government) care…actually,very intrusive questions, to be honest with you, but questions that were essential for us to gain a basic understanding of who is in our community, needing help, and what’s our first step? What do we focus on most that will have the biggest impact moving forward?”
The answers will help direct future programs, policy changes and other supports. The survey results will be compiled by mid-August and reports will be presented to both jurisdictions and shared with service providers to assist with future funding requests to senior governments.
BC Housing has met with WFN to present supportive housing options available for the Westside. Funding and development discussions are currently underway.
The City of West Kelowna has requested a meeting with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs & Housing and BC Housing at the Union of BC Municipalities conference in September to lobby the Province to support applications for supportive housing that will assist those in need on the Westside.