Community Well-being

Help us understand housing and support needs in our community

Welcome to the 2024 Westside Unique Identifier Count Survey

This initiative aims to gather updated data on housing instability and support service needs within the City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation. Your participation is crucial in helping us better understand the challenges our community members face and how we can improve housing and social services.

Housing plays an important role in health and our community's well-being. We want to be a place where people can call West Kelowna home and to make this possible, a variety of housing types and tenures are needed for our young city. Using the concept of a housing continuum, the City continues to strive towards different housing options for residents.

Learn more on our Housing webpage.

To support community members with housing service navigation, including those community members who are unhoused, here are some housing resources:

• Housing Resources Information
• Government of British Columbia - Housing and Tenancy

The City of West Kelowna collaborates with the City of Kelowna, District of Peachland, District of Lake Country, and the Regional District of the Central Okanagan (RDCO) to develop a Central Okanagan Poverty and Wellness Strategy (COPAWS). The COPAWS funding was used to do a community analysis to create a strategy. 

Read the following documents:

• Central Okanagan Community Analysis
• Background Report
• Central Okanagan Community Poverty & Wellness Strategy 
• What we Heard Report 

Access to safe and nutritious food is vital for the health of our West Kelowna community. As part of the Central Okanagan Poverty and Wellness Strategy (COPAWS) Table, the City is currently working with other local and regional partners on a food security strategy, focusing on working collaboratively on food distribution, storage and distribution, innovation, and a map of our food security system.

Accessible, affordable childcare is an important part of our poverty reduction initiatives in the City. The City of West Kelowna is an active member of the Childcare Council of the Central Okanagan, which works collaboratively with a variety of local childcare program owner-operators, local colleges who grant Early Childhood Educator certificates, School District #23, and the local Child Care Resource & Referral Centre.

In 2020, the Childcare Council worked together with other municipalities in the Central Okanagan on a childcare needs assessment with subsequent recommendations and actions. Read the Community Child Care Planning report. 

If you are needing childcare supports to find and afford childcare, please contact your local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCRR) Centre through the Ministry of Education Child Care.

 Community Safety

Bylaw Community Support Officer (CSO)

To support public health and safety of the community, the City of West Kelowna secured funding to help increase the impact of the community's peer network on building relationships, guidance and support between those who are street-entrenched and outreach workers, bylaw and protective services, and neighbourhood, business and community members around our shelter sites.

The funding added a Community Service Officer to the Bylaw team to provide support for specialized populations to join local efforts, seek those who are at risk and bridge positive dialogue, ensure appropriate resource allocation and create a safe environment for all in our community. Staff received training in areas of vulnerability screening, peer support, harm reduction, first aid, conflict resolution, bylaw orientation, fire safety and mental health first aid. The role supports community clean up, warm referrals to support services and daily Point in Time (PiT) counts to help better understand the needs of the community.

This position is now a permanent position at the City, as it's seen as an integral part of our community health and safety, and helps support our community's most vulnerable residents.

HUB Model – Situation Table for the Westside 

A joint Situation Table (HUB) for the City of West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation and District of Peachland has been developed to provide coordinated, mobilized and integrated responses for vulnerable individuals facing elevated levels of risk.

Since 2019, the Westside Hub meets to provide community and organizational updates. During the second part of the meeting, referrals of individuals who are at high risk of harming themselves or someone else are brought forward, and collaborative interventions are made with those organizations around the Table.

The purpose of the Accessibility and Inclusion Committee (AIC) is to have community members and organizations work collaboratively with City of West Kelowna staff to discuss, develop, improve, promote, and sustain community accessibility and inclusion. This includes removing barriers associated with accessibility, focusing on experiences of people with disabilities, and fostering an all-encompassing community.

The AIC will further Council’s vision, mission and strategic priorities that increase the accessibility and inclusivity in our community by advising Council on strategies to reduce social, physical, and sensory barriers that prevent people from fully participating in all aspects of community life. 

At the June 13, 2023 Regular Council Meeting, Council adopted the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the new Accessibility and Inclusion Committee. Within the TOR, it states that the committee must contain up to seven members with majority of composition aligning with the requirements of the Accessible British Columbia Act. Appointments to the AIC shall be by resolution of Council, and members will be appointed for a two-year term which will end July 22, 2025.

To learn more about the committee, visit: Accessibility & Inclusion Committee.

The Central Okanagan Early Years Partnership hosted by Childhood Connections is a collection of over 25 non-profit agencies that provide programs, services and advocacy for children, youth, and families. 

Together, these agencies created a resource page to help families navigate programs and services in the Central Okanagan.

Check out the Central Okanagan Community Connections resource page.    

The Westside Health Network Society provides wellness to seniors through volunteerism, education, referral, and social programs.

The Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre offers programs, services and an array of support for seniors including a housing directory for seniors living in the Central Okanagan looking for low-income, supportive, long-term and assisted living housing.

To learn more, please read the Supports for Seniors resource page.

More housing supports for Seniors:

• BC Housing's Seniors' Supportive Housing Program 

• BC Housing's Independent Living BC Program (supports for seniors and people with disabilities)

• Shelter Aid For Elderly Renters (SAFER)

To search for resources, programs, or community organizations in the Central Okanagan, go to the website BC 211 and for Provincial Health Information and advice go to HealthLinkBC by calling 8-1-1. 

To support community members with housing service navigation, including those community members who are unhoused, the City has created a community and housing resource list:

• Central Okanagan Community Connections resource page.    
• Housing Resources Information
• Supports for Seniors Resource Page.

City of West Kelowna Snow Star Program

With each snowfall, it is a challenge for many residents to keep their sidewalks clear of snow and ice. The City of West Kelowna Snow Star Program encourages residents to lend a helping hand to those who may be unable to clear snow and ice from sidewalks or driveways. 

Visit OurWK.ca/snowstar to nominate a snow star today. Nominees will be entered to win a great prize in a random draw at the end of the season. To be eligible, the Snow Star must be a resident of the City of West Kelowna.