Kamloops homelessness action week, count and outreach event all planned for mid-October | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Kamloops News

Kamloops homelessness action week, count and outreach event all planned for mid-October

This homeless camp adjacent to Pioneer Park in Kamloops was disassembled by bylaw officers and contractors on Nov. 10, 2015
Image Credit: FILE PHOTO

KAMLOOPS - Homelessness will be front and centre in Kamloops this fall.

The city has announced a Homelessness Action Week from Oct. 10 to Oct. 14, with an event on Oct. 13. Additionally, a project coordinator will be hired and a count of all forms of homelessness will happen around the same time, according to a media release.

City homelessness and housing manager Natalie Serl says the HomeFree Collective is behind the different projects and hiring someone to quarterback them.

“This year we’re looking for a project coordinator,” she says. “It’s open to individuals and organizations.”

Part of the coordinator’s responsibilities is Project Homeless Connect, a one day event at Spirit Square on Oct. 13 aimed at connecting the transient and entrenched homeless population in Kamloops with services they might not know about. The long term goal will be to get people off the streets and into housing.

The event may also feature art and music from people who have already made that transition, Serl says. The collective is also consulting with people who were formerly homeless in order to figure out how to reach out to the current population and what they need to know about.

She says the point-in-time count of Kamloops’s homeless population will also be part of the coordinator’s job. In the past it’s been spearheaded by ASK Wellness, who will still be involved.

These projects and the coordinator position are funded by a federal government program.

Serl says the job will last from early September to early November. Those interested can view the job description here. Organizations can also apply for the position, she says, and pitch how the group would like to see things done.


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