Survey finds more than 230 people are homeless in Kelowna

Homelessness in Kelowna was the focus of a recent study conducted in the city.

A group of 50 volunteers took to the streets of Kelowna on Feb. 24, to speak to those living on the streets. The Point-in-Time (PiT) count was a way to gain important information about who is homeless in the city and why they don't have a home.

Before heading out the volunteers compiled and categorized a list of sheltered and unsheltered locations people frequently stayed at in Kelowna.

The Central Okanagan Foundation, in the role of the Community Entity carried out the study, which is to be viewed as a minimum number as it was solely one night. Volunteers were recruited from the School of Social Work. Southern Medical Program and the School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia Okanagan Campus, as well as the Human Service Work program at the Okanagan College.

“PiT Counts are limited in their ability to capture hidden homelessness (e.g., people who are “couch-surfing). Further, by focusing on a single night, the count will not include some people who cycle in and out of homelessness,” explained the Central Okanagan Foundation.

“As such, a PiT Count should be considered the minimum number of individuals experiencing homelessness in the community. Thus, the focus of the 2016 Kelowna PiT Count is to identify individuals who are absolutely homeless (e.g., sleeping in shelters or on the street) and temporarily housed on the day of the count.”

At least 233 people in Kelowna were experiencing homelessness in Kelowna on the night the study was conducted. Out of those 233, 70 per cent were male, 29 per cent were female and 1 per cent was transgendered.

More than half (60 per cent) were chronically homeless, which means they have been homeless for six months or more within the past year. When it came to ages, 79 per cent of the homeless were between 25 and 64-years-old, 13 per cent were 15 to 24-years-old, 6 per cent were over 65 and 2 per cent were under 14-years-old.

Nearly all of the individuals who took part in the survey (93 per cent) said that they have stayed in an emergency shelter within the past year, and in addition to the 233 homeless on the streets, there were an additional 273 individuals living in temporary system-supported housing.

Getting evicted was the highest reason for why people were homeless with 20 per cent saying they were evicted because they were unable to pay rent and 19 per cent said they were evicted for other reasons.

Other causes for housing loss in Kelowna included family conflict, addiction, job loss, illness, domestic abuse and being unable to find housing.

The results of the February survey can be used to provide direction and inform strategic community planning moving forward.