Okanagan society hosts two-day seminar on Indigenous homeless population

Indigenous people are over-represented in the Central Okanagan’s homeless population, according to a report.

The 2018 Kelowna Point-In-Time report estimates a quarter of people experiencing homelessness in Kelowna identify as Indigenous.

A two-day seminar, hosted by Ki-Low-Na Friendship Society, is focusing on educating front-line service providers on how to better support the Indigenous homeless population.

Two people who attended the seminar — which began Monday and ended Tuesday — said Indigenous homeless people have their own set of challenges that others may not.

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“They face racism, discrimination, stereotyping, and they face a lot of marginalization from mainstream services, health systems, justice systems and the child welfare system,” said Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness trainer Don Robinson.  “All combined to create a juggernaut, causing more difficulties for them.”

Another focus of the seminar is to begin a discussion to bring a program called ‘Housing first for Indigenous and Metis Peoples’ to the Okanagan.

“The approach is to get them housed first, and then provide support services to help them to get (them) stabilized and deal with the crisis from the result of the trauma they went through,” said Robinson.

“Then once they are housed, you can begin to deal with the human being that’s behind.”

Housing First believes that all people deserve housing, and that anyone, even those with the most complex needs, can move directly from homelessness to housing.

The biggest stumbling block to implementing such a program is finding the money.

“I would like to see more funding support from the federal government and provincial government geared towards Indigenous people, as they’re over-represented in homeless, healthcare, justice system, child welfare,” said Indigenous Homeless Program team lead Ali Butler.

The challenges facing the homeless are difficult to tackle. They can include mental health issues and addiction. Organizations in the Okanagan are trying to co-operate with each other and the community.

“I think it starts with a kind heart, and a number of people in the community to get together to begin to work together and collaborate to best address homelessness,” said Robinson.

“One agency can’t do it. It takes a whole network of agencies and people to do it.”