After securing enough funding for the project, Vernon’s homelessness initiative is underway in time for Homelessness Awareness Week, Oct. 16 to 22.
Once it is completed the North Okanagan Homelessness Strategy will include an assessment of the services available to Vernon’s homeless. Annette Sharkey, executive director of the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, said a $35,000 grant from Service Canada has allowed the group to hire a full time employee to work on the plan.“We’re very determined that this will not be a document that collects dust on a shelf,” she said. “Our city is ready for this.”Sharkey said the goal is to forge partnerships between the city’s different social organizations to avoid overlap and fill in the key pieces that are still missing in the local battle against homelessness. She said the strategy should allow local non-profit groups to co-ordinate their projects and work toward larger-scale goals.There are a number of obstacles that have worsened the homeless problem in Vernon, Sharkey said. Among them is that many people are struggling to earn enough money to pay for the food, shelter and other basic necessities. “We are asking people to live on practically nothing,” she said. “To think that someone can survive on $525 per month, in my mind, is ridiculous.”The homelessness initiative will bring groups together and encourage them to petition the provincial government to raise welfare payments, Sharkey said.Through the project Sharkey said they are also hoping to identify ways to ensure stable funding for local non-profit groups. Currently, many local organizations are struggling to stay open at a “bare bones” level, she said.“Once we have a set strategy we will start looking at how to get funding,” she said.Part of the study will also look at ways to increase the inventory of affordable housing in Vernon, Sharkey said. The problem affects as many as 40 per cent of local residents, Sharkey said. Boarding houses, once a source of housing for the homeless, is increasingly being snapped up by full-time workers who can’t find anywhere else to live, she said.“For people who are making a decent income their crisis is impacting down the ladder of rental properties,” she said.A lack of income, lack of cheap housing and a lack of services add up to a visible homeless problem. Sharkey said local social service organizations need to make sure they are doing all they can to help those on low income become self-sufficient.“It’s difficult for someone to think about looking for a job or making changes in their life if they don’t have the basic survival pieces in place,” she said.As part of the strategy, Sharkey said local projects will be compared with those in other communities to see what ideas can be imported to improve the services available to Vernon’s homeless.Sharkey said the time has come for Vernon to take seriously the domestic homeless problem and focus on attainable solutions. She said that local organizations are willing to work together. The next step is to finalize a plan.“We’ve got a city council that is open and ready to look at it so that’s huge,” she said.The homelessness strategy is scheduled to be completed and available to the public by March 2007.
Once it is completed the North Okanagan Homelessness Strategy will include an assessment of the services available to Vernon’s homeless. Annette Sharkey, executive director of the Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, said a $35,000 grant from Service Canada has allowed the group to hire a full time employee to work on the plan.“We’re very determined that this will not be a document that collects dust on a shelf,” she said. “Our city is ready for this.”Sharkey said the goal is to forge partnerships between the city’s different social organizations to avoid overlap and fill in the key pieces that are still missing in the local battle against homelessness. She said the strategy should allow local non-profit groups to co-ordinate their projects and work toward larger-scale goals.There are a number of obstacles that have worsened the homeless problem in Vernon, Sharkey said. Among them is that many people are struggling to earn enough money to pay for the food, shelter and other basic necessities. “We are asking people to live on practically nothing,” she said. “To think that someone can survive on $525 per month, in my mind, is ridiculous.”The homelessness initiative will bring groups together and encourage them to petition the provincial government to raise welfare payments, Sharkey said.Through the project Sharkey said they are also hoping to identify ways to ensure stable funding for local non-profit groups. Currently, many local organizations are struggling to stay open at a “bare bones” level, she said.“Once we have a set strategy we will start looking at how to get funding,” she said.Part of the study will also look at ways to increase the inventory of affordable housing in Vernon, Sharkey said. The problem affects as many as 40 per cent of local residents, Sharkey said. Boarding houses, once a source of housing for the homeless, is increasingly being snapped up by full-time workers who can’t find anywhere else to live, she said.“For people who are making a decent income their crisis is impacting down the ladder of rental properties,” she said.A lack of income, lack of cheap housing and a lack of services add up to a visible homeless problem. Sharkey said local social service organizations need to make sure they are doing all they can to help those on low income become self-sufficient.“It’s difficult for someone to think about looking for a job or making changes in their life if they don’t have the basic survival pieces in place,” she said.As part of the strategy, Sharkey said local projects will be compared with those in other communities to see what ideas can be imported to improve the services available to Vernon’s homeless.Sharkey said the time has come for Vernon to take seriously the domestic homeless problem and focus on attainable solutions. She said that local organizations are willing to work together. The next step is to finalize a plan.“We’ve got a city council that is open and ready to look at it so that’s huge,” she said.The homelessness strategy is scheduled to be completed and available to the public by March 2007.
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