Penticton to provide $45,000 in funding for 100 More Houses
An organization that is doing great work to try and assist with the City of Penticton’s ongoing issues with homelessness will remain a partner moving forward.
At Tuesday’s regular meeting of council, 100 More Homes Penticton signed an extension of its Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Penticton to continue its working relationship until the end of 2025 and that council would provide $45,000 in funding to the organization this year.
It was also agreed that council direct staff to refer a $120,000 contribution for 2026-2028 for a proposed regional MOU with 100 More Homes and the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen to the 2026-2030 financial planning process.
Julie Czeck, Penticton’s general manager of public safety and partnerships, and Naomi Woodland, Housing Initiatives Manager at the United Way of BC, made a presentation to council May 20, detailing the great work done by 100 More Homes since it was formed back in 2016.
In 2022, council endorsed an MOU with 100 More Homes Penticton, which is a collective group of partners addressing housing and homelessness in the city.
Given the success of the that partnership, staff recommended that council extend the existing MOU until the end of this year, said Czeck.
Staff are looking to create a regional MOU with the RDOS, which will be referred to the 2026 budget process for both regional government and city, she said.
An extension of the partnership with 100 More Homes will advance council’s two key priorities of having a safe and resilient community and one that is livable and accessible by investing in the non-enforcement element of public safety that prioritizes addressing the root caused of homelessness, affordable housing and collaboration through meaningful engagement and investment with social sector partners, she said.
100 More Homes started almost a decade ago in 2016 when various social sector partners and government came together to collaborate on solutions to housing and homelessness.
That same year, United Way was asked to co-ordinate this partnership in Penticton, said Czeck.
Since entering into an MOU with the city back in early 2022, 100 More Homes has identified its role in helping address the community’s issues relating to homelessness, she said.
“This MOU came with $85,000 per year over three years and a formal recognition of 100 More Homes as the lead entity in Penticton to address affordable housing and homelessness,” said Czeck. “This funding investment allowed United Way to hire a full-time strategy co-ordinator to help set collective goals, co-ordinate various partners to pursue initiatives and enhance community engagement, communication and education.”
Goals were set over the three-year plan, including forming action groups, analyzing data, formalizing government structure and developing guiding principles.
Many of the achievements of 100 More Homes were made because of the collective commitment of all the partners involved and there are now more than 40 organizations that are actively involved in 100 More Homes, said Czeck.
The city’s financial commitment over the past three years has been complimented by more than $150,000 of in-kind contributions from partners working together to try and strengthen the impact of 100 More Homes in the community, she said.
100 More Homes has also led the way in applying for various grant applications that have improved services for the homeless in Penticton, she said.
The future MOU would include creating a robust fundraising strategy for 100 More Homes, she said.
It should also be pointed out that it’s a reality that housing and homelessness is not just a challenge within city limits of Penticton, but is spread across the region and regional challenges require collaborative solutions, said Czeck.
Homelessness is regional and growing problem within smaller communities in the RDOS and that funding decisions are being discussed at the upcoming RDOS budget process, she said.
Discussions have focused on the fact that the impact of 100 More Homes should extend beyond Penticton and that a more regional approach is needed.
“The key distinguishing component of this proposed renewal is a dedicated focus on regionalizing the approach to housing and homelessness,” said Czeck.
100 More Homes is committed to supporting the new temporary winter shelter in Penticton, supporting the application for more affordable housing at a project on Galt Avenue through BC Housing and a forthcoming youth housing proposal.
Having a full-time strategy co-ordinator be hired to work with 100 More Homes has resulted to improvements in emergency response, implementation of cold winter shelters and co-ordination of partners to respond to emergency services needs, she said.
The United Way has also hosted a monthly neighbourhood forum to allow residents to discuss the impact of the temporary winter shelter, which has resulted in great positive feedback from most participants, she said.
The United Way will continue working on getting more provincial funding for youth housing and working on proposals for federal grants, she said.
There has also been progress made on working with protective services organizations such as the RCMP, Penticton Fire Department and bylaw services in Penticton, she said.
The United Way is seeking $200,000 per year for a three-year term between the RDOS and City of Penticton in the next budget process, she said.
Coun. Isaac Gilbert said he’s looking forward to the budget process over the next three years at the city and RDOS and providing the money to allow 100 More Homes, through the leadership of the United Way, continue its great work on this council priority moving forward.
“I’m looking forward to those talks coming this fall,” he said.
In early April, council unanimously endorsed signing the three-year MOU with the agreement spanning June 2022 to June 2025 with 100 More Homes towards housing and homelessness initiatives.
Council voted in favour of approving $45,000 in funding to continue the MOU until the end of this year. Future funding commitments will be discussed as part of the 2026 budget process.
— This article was originally published by the Penticton Herald
