Social wellness
Ensuring a welcoming, safe and vibrant community where everyone feels a sense of belonging is key to increasing social wellness and nurturing the type of community our citizens told us they want through Imagine Kelowna.
The City is taking an evidence-based approach to social development to address social issues including but not limited to homelessness, housing precarity, social inclusion inequities, poverty, and substance addiction.
This approach is anchored in collaboration with senior levels of government and community partners to drive lasting change to cultivate long-term social wellbeing.
Addressing social issues, like poverty and homelessness is a top investment priority for residents according to the 2024 Citizen’s Survey and incorporating equity into planning decisions and resource allocation is a key objective in the City’s 2040 Official Community Plan.
While the Provincial government plays the lead role in addressing homelessness, the City can make a meaningful impact through strategic investment, advocacy, community education and collaboration in order to provide pathways out of homelessness and support those at risk.
Despite the significant progress the City has made with our partners in recent years, the number of people in need of shelter continues to exceed emergency shelter capacity. When there is insufficient shelter space, the law in British Columbia prevents municipalities from prohibiting temporary overnight sheltering in parks and public spaces.
Social issues are complex, and it takes all partners working together to make a sustainable impact. The City works in partnership with senior levels of government, social serving organizations, law enforcement and community organizations to increase the supports available to our community’s most vulnerable.
In the 2024 Citizen Survey residents told us that addressing social issues like homelessness and poverty was the top priority for investment. The City strategically invests in programs and initiatives that address complex social issues like poverty and homelessness. This includes contributing municipal land for rapid safety net housing, and supportive housing projects.
The City offers a number of programs and services that support those at risk of homelessness by increasing opportunities to build connection and belonging. Additionally, we partner with other organization to address the root causes of homelessness in order to better support those at risk.
The City is working to increase c0mmunity understanding of the complex social issues Kelowna faces, and the steps being taken to address these issues. Doing so, increases belonging and reduces stigma for our community’s most vulnerable.
Community safety is also a top investment priority for residents a Council Priority. The City’s five-year Community Safety Plan (2022-2027) focuses on reducing risk, vulnerability, and harm in our community.
The City's Community Safety Plan suggests numerous actions related to social wellness including:
- Enhance multi-sectoral participation to improve housing/sheltering
- Reduce the stigma surrounding mental health challenges and substance use
- Increase security in shelter to prevent those experiencing homelessness from having their belongings stolen.
- Increase emergency shelters for those who have experience domestic violence or intimate partner violence which are the leading causes of homelessness for women.
For more information on milestones achieved in the Community Safety Plan visit: Community Safety Plan annual progress update 2024.
Kelowna’s housing system is facing complex challenges, and improving access to housing that meets people’s needs is a priority for the City. The City’s Housing Needs Assessment provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of housing in Kelowna: Learn more.
The Housing Action Plan is a multi-year initiative that outlines actions to increase residents’ access to housing that meets their needs.
Key recommended high-impact actions include:
- Improve access to services for those experiencing or at risk of homelessness by enhancing communication and collaboration among service providers.
- Support tenants facing eviction due to redevelopment.
- Strengthen the City’s incentives for affordable housing.
- Reduce municipal charges for affordable housing projects.
- Ensure minimum parking regulations don’t reduce housing affordability by driving up development costs.
- Increase density along select Transit Supportive Corridors, which are transportation routes connecting urban centres.
The Housing Wheelhouse is an innovative approach to understanding housing as it recognizes that people may move across categories of housing throughout their lives. The Housing Wheelhouse recognizes that additional housing options in any segment of the Wheelhouse allows movement throughout.
Addressing homelessness is a Council Priority and a top investment priority for residents according to the City’s 2024 Citizen’s Survey. Learn more about the City’s Homelessness Strategy.
The City has been a leading and consistent voice advocating to higher levels of government for enhanced care and support for residents with complex health and mental health needs.
People with complex needs experience overlapping conditions such as substance use disorder, co-morbid developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, which often result in the experience of homelessness and frequent use of crisis and emergency services.
Complex care is voluntary with people choosing to enter on advice from their care teams.
- In 2021, Council endorsed our Complex Needs Advocacy Paper, which adopts a regional approach to advocating to provincial ministries and senior levels of government to fund infrastructure resources and create an integrated, system-based model for delivering care. This paper was endorsed by the Mayors of Vernon, West Kelowna, the District of Lake Country, and the Chief of the Okanagan Indian Band.
- In 2022, the provincial government confirmed funding of up to 20 complex care housing and supportive housing spaces in Kelowna.
- In 2023, Interior health and the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions announced the opening of the first complex care housing beds in our community.
- In 2024, a new purpose build facility with 20 complex care beds, and 20 supportive housing beds was announced.
People with severe overlapping mental health and substance use disorders require specialized treatment and support. In some cases, that includes mandatory care with concurrent mental health, and substance use treatment.
It is a Council Priority to advocate to senior levels of government for a regional compassionate mandatory care facility to support vulnerable Okanagan residents who are at risk of harming themselves or others.
The City is advocating for a Red Fish Healing Centre model of care, which provides trauma-informed, culturally safe care, including mental health and substance use treatment as well as life skills training for those who have been detained under the BC Mental Health Act.
Involuntary care is considered a last resort, and the threshold for medically prescribed care under the BC Mental Health Act, Federal Health Act, and the superseding Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is extremely high.
The Community Social Development Grant makes funding available to non-profit, Kelowna-based organizations that make an impact on the social well-being and resiliency of the community. Learn more and apply online at kelowna.ca/grants.
The City is committed to listening to, and learning from those with lived and living experience of homelessness.
Members of LECoH are knowledge bearers with a deep understanding of the pathways in and out of homelessness, the key challenges faced by those experiencing it, and the supports necessary to transition into permanent housing.
The City’s Social Development department maintains continuous consultation with LECoH to inform homelessness strategy, including prevention and upstream initiatives.
The City works in partnership with PEOPLE to provide opportunities for low-barrier work and community connection for those with lived and living experiences of homelessness. For example, the Community Care Project provides peer supported work opportunities in community clean-up for those experiencing homelessness. The program pairs workers with peer navigators who provide guidance, help cultivate a sense of belonging and offer opportunities for participants to contribute to their neighbourhoods.
Our Strong Neighbourhoods team created the Block Connector program in 2020 to support our residents in building a sense of community in Kelowna’s neighbourhoods.
Block Connectors are residents committed to connecting face-to-face with the closest 10-20 households on their block or apartment floor, learning more about who lives on their block and building connections. They’re dedicated to animating the block, building connections with and among neighbours, hosting socials to bring neighbours together and inspiring neighbours to share their gifts, skills, passions and talents with each other.
Learn more: Block connector program | City of Kelowna
How our city grows is shaped by the 2040 Official Community Plan (OCP). A twenty-year plan that provides a policy framework for Council by addressing issues such as housing, transportation, infrastructure, parks, economic development and the natural and social environment. Learn more.
Kelowna is working to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to access to participation in civic life, spaces and services.
An Accessibility Plan is currently in development and will be shaped by input from experts including people with disabilities, their care partners and family members. Barriers to accessibility are not only physical, but include all societal barriers, such as technology, digital access, and people’s attitudes towards people with disabilities.
Find more information about our commitment to accessibility at kelowna.ca/accessibility.
The Care for our Kids project is a collaborate initiative between the City of Kelowna, City of West Kelowna, District of Lake Country and District of Peachland, along with the Child Care Council of Central Okanagan.
It has four key areas of focus:
- Collect information regarding child care needs of the community
- Create an inventory of existing child care spaces
- Establish space creation targets over the next 10 years
- Identify actions that can be taken to meet space creation needs
Learn more: Making room for more childcare spaces | City of Kelowna
Youth between 13 and 24 years old make up approximately 20 per cent of the homeless population in Canada. Early intervention initiatives and strategies are vital to support children and families.
The City collaborated with community partners on the Community Safety Plan and the following actions are currently underway to support youth:
- Support and expand family support services to promote and strengthen healthy lifestyle and to enhance child and family development.
- Improve accessibility of mental health services for youth.
- Build on early intervention and prevention approach to identify and contact at risk youth to integrate wrap around supports and services with the goal of reducing school disengagement, preventing homelessness, and connecting youth to mental health supports.
Learn more: Community Safety Plan I City of Kelowna
This grant provides opportunities for youth to create and led projects that benefit their communities, like neighbourhood beautification, murals, and film festivals.
Learn more: Strong Neighbourhoods grants | City of Kelowna
The City is partnering with Central Okanagan Public Schools on the Youth Gang Prevention and Reduction Strategy aimed at interrupting the pathways that can lead high-risk, vulnerable youth toward gun and gang involvement. The program is facilitated by a $2 million contribution from the Government of Canada’s Building Safer Communities Fund.
Learn more: Community Safety | City of Kelowna
National Child Day takes place in late November and is an annual event that celebrates children as active participants in their own lives and communities. It recognizes that children are active citizens who can make meaningful contributions to decision making.
Each year, the City marks the event by gathering with representatives from other local governments, government ministries, and social serving organizations to foster increased understanding and collaboration on issues concerning the wellbeing of children, youth and families.
The City offers discounted rates for older adults accessing recreation programming, specialized programs and Active-at-Home resources.
Learn more: Active living for adults 50+ | City of Kelowna
In May 2024, the City partnered with BC Housing to deliver Trailside, a sixty- unit rapid safety net housing site that supports seniors and people with lived and living experience of disability. The site is designed to be a temporary stop on people’s housing journey and provides services and supports residents need to transition out of homelessness.
This community planning table is designed to strengthen collaboration and communication between service providers supporting older adults.
The City works collaboratively with community organizations to ensure that residents have access to opportunities to help lift them out of poverty. We also continue to advocate for, local and regional solutions to address complex social issues such as rising rates of poverty.
In 2023, the City of Kelowna completed the Central Okanagan Poverty and Wellness Strategy (COPAWS) in partnership with the Regional District of Central Okanagan, the City of West Kelowna, and the districts of Lake Country and Peachland.
The strategy is guided by feedback from people with lived experiences of poverty and/or homelessness in our region and includes initiatives that improve access to transportation, housing, health and wellness, food, and financial resources. It also seeks to address inclusion and community belonging challenges by creating welcoming spaces, offering opportunities to participate in community recreation and promoting diversity and accessibility.
The Kelowna Food Innovation Project, developed in partnership with the United Way of BC, and funded through a Poverty Reduction Planning & Action grant, aims to tackle food insecurity and improve access to healthy food in our community. Informed by feedback from people with lived experiences of food insecurity, as well as contributions from a diverse group of partners—including food producers, distributors, consumers, institutions, and community organizations—the project has identified three community-driven initiatives to promote equitable access to healthy, locally sourced food:
- An Indigenous garden led by Knowledge Keepers and Elders.
- A Community Food Resource Hub with food learning opportunities.
- A low-income grocery store that will offer lower-priced groceries for low-income people and families.
Together, these initiatives reflect a collaborative and inclusive approach to addressing food insecurity, fostering a stronger, healthier, and more resilient community.
The Emergency Transportation Assistance Program, which began in 2001, provides thousands of transit tickets to low-income residents, enabling them to access essential services and opportunities such as employment, housing, health and social services. The program is operated by United Way of BC and tickets are distributed through participating social serving organizations.
In 2024, the program expanded to meet increasing community need. The number of passes doubled to 22,000 per year, and a pilot project was introduced to provide day passes which are helpful for those attending multiple appointments or travelling to or from employment.
