Kelowna to build 120 tiny homes to help prevent encampments in the city

The City of Kelowna and the province are building 120 tiny homes to help address a growing homelessness crisis in the Okanagan city.

In a joint announcement made Thursday, Mayor Tom Dyas and Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon signed a memorandum of understanding and unveiled plans to address the needs of Kelowna's unhoused population as part of Homelessness Action Week.

"We are taking action together to better support people who are unhoused, sheltering in encampments every week of the year, to break the cycle of homelessness," said Kahlon.

The city will be responsible for facilitating land use while the province, via B.C. Housing, will fund the tiny homes, which are small single-room units that are quick to install.

Kahlon said the city is looking at three possible locations for the supportive housing units, which will each be 60 square feet, with a bed, a dresser, and access to a communal bathroom and kitchen facilities. 

The city is hoping to have the 120 units in place within the next three months.

Once completed, a non-profit will take over operations and be responsible for providing services such as daily meals, access to skills training and support navigating the housing system.

Dyas said the city drew inspiration from what some municipalities in the U.S. were doing to tackle homelessness.

"The need for shelter and housing solutions in our community has never been greater," he said. 

"I am pleased to see these quick and meaningful actions underway that are helping support those living unhoused access to safe shelter."

The mayor said the tiny homes will be a major upgrade from the tents many people currently use for shelter in Kelowna. 

According to the most recent report by B.C. Housing, there were 297 people experiencing homelessness in Kelowna — higher than in neighbouring Interior communities like Vernon (224), Kamloops (206), and Penticton (114).

With the proposed 120 units, Kelowna will be the first location in the Interior to use tiny homes to house people, according to a joint statement from the city and the province.

Tiny home models have been used elsewhere in the province, most notably on Vancouver Island. 

In Victoria, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and local builder Aryze Developments crowd-funded to build a 30-unit temporary tiny home village in a parking lot, while in Duncan, there's a 34-unit shipping container village. Another one is currently under construction in Port Alberni.

Kahlon acknowledged the similar projects on the Island and expressed his determination to work with other local governments and partners "to ensure that these services can be spread throughout the province."

In addition, the province and the city are partnering to implement Homeless Encampment Action Response Teams (HEART), a new multidisciplinary regional program designed to rapidly respond to encampments to better support people sheltering outdoors and help them move inside.

Kelowna is the second city in B.C. after Prince George to partner with B.C. Housing on HEART, which is part of the province's plan to prevent and reduce homelessness. 

The plan will also add 3,900 new supportive housing units and 240 complex care housing units provincewide.