New complex care spaces set to open this winter in Kelowna, B.C.

Twenty new complex care spaces will be coming to Kelowna, B.C., soon.

On Wednesday, Interior Health and the city of Kelowna announced that the new spaces are expected to open up this winter.

The housing and health-care supports will be provided by Interior Health staff and contracted service providers.

Interior Health said they are currently working with community partners and the city to confirm locations and service providers.

“A lack of safe and secure housing is a significant barrier for people with severe mental illness and substance use disorders,” said Interior Health president Susan Brown in the release.

“By working with our partners to embed clinical health supports in these new homes, we will ensure our community’s most vulnerable people are able to receive the care they need when and where they need it.”

According to the release, Kelowna Council endorsed the City’s Complex Needs Advocacy Paper in July 2021, joining Interior Health, the Central Okanagan Journey Home Society, and the BC Urban Mayors’ Caucus, in applauding the provincial government’s work in delivering a new model of care this year.

“This announcement will be transformational for our approach to homelessness and housing and speaks to the multiple-site model recommended in the Complex Needs Advocacy Paper,” said Central Okanagan Journey Home Society executive director Stephanie Gauthier.

2:31 An ambitious plan to get everyone living on the streets of Kelowna housed

“These new homes for up to 20 people with complex needs won’t solve homelessness in our community but it’s a big step in that direction.”

This complex care model provides supportive housing with an emphasis on intensive clinical health supports available round the clock.

The new model will serve people who suffer from concurrent mental health and substance use disorders, acquired brain injuries, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, and developmental disabilities.

“There are residents in Kelowna who are left to shelter outside, on the street because there’s no other place for them to go,” said Gauthier.

“We have a grave need for more housing locally, and a backlog of need for supportive housing, particularly for those with the most complex needs.”

2:15 Kelowna’s newest supportive housing unit set to open its doors