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June 04, 2016 - 10:30 AM
KAMLOOPS - New federal funds are coming to help fight homelessness in Kamloops.
Almost $315,000 is coming to projects and agencies working on housing issues, city housing manager Natalie Serl says.
The city was notified, June 3, of $180,000 in new funds towards general homelessness issues and $135,000 for aboriginal housing and support. They new funds will be a part of the 2016/17 fiscal year.
It’s a 50 per cent increase to the general budget, bringing it up to nearly $540,000, while money earmarked for the aboriginal community doubles the current funds to nearly $269,000.
Serl says the city acts as a distribution point for the funding, which is forwarded on to the agencies and projects working on housing support.
That might include the housing first model, which starts by getting a person into a home and then follows with support in other ways. Serl says the program has been successful in Kamloops.
There isn’t a plan for where the money will be directed yet and no decisions have been made.
The increased budget will continue through to 2019, Serl says, when the current agreement ends.
The funding is part of the federal government's Homelessness Partnering Strategy.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2016