A controversial supportive housing unit in Kelowna is set to open in August.
On Thursday, the John Howard Society, which will operate the facility for B.C. Housing, invited Global News to tour the new building on Agassiz Road.
The new building will soon house 57 residents who are at risk or already experiencing homelessness.
READ MORE: Government announces another supportive housing project for Kelowna
Hailee Rogers is the director of the Housing First and was leading a tour of the new Stephen Village supportive housing project.
“Housing allows people to move out of survival mode and into improving the quality of their life,” said Rogers, noting the building will be comprised of four stories.
Rogers said there will be 51 units, six couples units and seven accessible units.
The residents will consist of people who have been deemed most at risk, They will start moving in on August 17th.
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The building, though, is controversial — numerous area residents were extremely upset when the project came before Kelowna council last year.
However, now that that building is nearing completion, the John Howard Society says they will set up a community advisory committee.
“It allows us to address ongoing concerns and make sure that the community is happy and our residents are happy,” Rogers said.
That’s a tall order, given just how much opposition the supportive housing unit received when it was first conceived.
“There were 600 people definitely against it,” area resident Gary Mauro told Global News.
Mauro, who lives right next door to the building, says he was one of those people.
“I was against it . . . because of the drug issue and that,” Mauro said.
But Mauro says he’s had a change of heart.
“They definitely need housing,” Mauro said.
Mauro says there’s still lots of opposition, but he’s willing to give the housing project a chance.
“We’ re going to give it a try,” he said.
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