Kamloops resident Bobbi Tinline is grateful for the help she received from a non-profit organization that helped her keep her family off the streets.

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A Shuswap woman is trying from a distance to keep her disabled son off Kelowna streets, but it's not cheap.

As he struggles in and out of shelter since his home burned down in March, Bev Brown said her son Andrew's had his belongings stolen on the street, been refused service from a local hotel and had his support dog taken to SPCA by shelter workers.

"He's wandering the streets of Kelowna with nowhere to live," said Brown, who has the dog from the SPCA while trying to support him.

He's in his 40s and he's not drug user. He lives with scoliosis. Brown, trying to support him from her home in Anglemont, sends him money when she can while he supports himself on disability assistance.

"He's a six-foot-three man, but now he's three-foot-six. He can't stand up because of his disability," she said of her son, who's in his 40s.

Brown said she helped him by buying an RV, which was parked in a Westbank trailer park for him to live in. It burned down in March, leaving him without a permanent place.

Although insurance helped, she still hadn't paid off the RV entirely, so the payout was only to replace her son's belongings inside.

They used that to keep a roof over his head.

She reserved a hotel room for him but he wasn't allowed to use it because he didn't have ID. Then she got desperate. 

"I've spent $6,000 just to get him into a hotel," she said.

She's not sure what she'll do to help him, but said she can't support him at her own home.

Disability payments are hardly enough to get into market housing in the Kelowna area, however.

Brown said he gets nearly $1,400 per month, with $375 meant to be dedicated to shelter. He doesn't pay rent, so the $375 shelter cost is clawed back by the province.

While he waits on a BC Housing list to find a home, Brown said they've been searching for other homes to rent, too. They tried a Happipad rental, but it was $950 per month for a room in a 12-person home with a shared bathroom and kitchen.

The average cost of housing in Kelowna, however, is easily enough to force out anyone living on $1,400 per month.

The average one-bedroom rental was $1,952 per month as of April, among the highest in Canada, and more than $2,500 per month for a two-bedroom.

Brown's son continues without a roof over his head, and he recently had his phone stolen while on the street.

He called Brown from a London Drugs phone yesterday just to let her know he's okay.

"He's been beaten up, he's had his bike stolen. He's had lots of stuff happen out there," she said.

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