Several of Kelowna’s Community Safety Plan recommendations completed

Actions have been taken to address community safety in Kelowna.

The second annual progress report on Kelowna’ Community Safety Plan was presented to city council, which showed that five of the recommended actions had been completed, while many others were underway.

The report stated the following recommendations had been completed:

• Exploring the creation of alternative, community-based responses to police calls involving people in crisis
• Build an early intervention and prevention approach to identify at-risk youth and connect them with integrated, wrap-around supports and services
• Enhance collaborative community partnerships for youth an adults affected by domestic and intimate partner violence
• Implement an anti-stigma campaign aimed at changing people’s perceptions and levels of understanding regarding homelessness
• Create an action table to assess and explore strategies to reduce racism and discrimination

Of those recommended actions, the report outlined three highlights.

It was stated that a collaborative process involving government and non-government partners led to the development of an evidence-based model for responding to calls involving a person in crisis. Kelowna City Council as since approved $250,000 in funding for this project in 2024, with another $500,000 earmarked for 2025. City staff have been tasked with finding funding partners to fully implement the program, which would cost $1.2-million to run.

In terms of supporting youth, at the city’s recommendation, BGC Okanagan is increasing funding available for the Upstream Program, which provides prevention and early intervention services to Grade 8 students and their families.

Several other recommendations are either in the monitoring stage or have just recently been launched in Kelowna, including improving mental health services access for youth; connecting individuals at risk or experiencing homelessness with supports and services; balancing the housing system to address social and economic needs; improve planning and emergency responses to vulnerable people; support and expand family services; and enhance the referral systems and committees to ensure at-risk people are connected to the appropriate services.

The only recommendation still in the planning stages involves expanding the Strong Neighbourhoods program to further support engagement, connection, safety and a sense of belonging by empowering residents to enhance public spaces and bring forward new social opportunities.

Kelowna City Council received the report for information at the regular meeting Monday, June 17.