A strategy to prevent and end homelessness in Kelowna is only six months old, but those implementing the city’s plan have said it’s already successful.
“We’ve seen incredible momentum during the strategy development and also as we released it,” Kyleen Myrah, co-chair of the Journey Home transition team, said. “We are seeing a lot of collaboration happening in the centre. We are moving to a hub model, having the police and nurse team and the community action team working together.”
The team is putting on training and education for service providers in the social services sector, according to Myrah.
The Journey Home Society also announced that a new executive director, Gaelene Askeland, will be in charge of implementing the five-year strategy.
The work includes preventative measures to divert people at risk of losing their home into community-based prevention supports.
A celebration was held on Wednesday night for stakeholders and community members to celebrate the success so far.
Myrah said 88 units of supportive housing have been built in Kelowna this year.
The Journey Home Society has so far raised $900,000 in Kelowna toward funding their work, a third of its goal.
The initiative projects that Kelowna will house more than 2,100 people who were once homeless by 2024.