There’s a lot to celebrate looking back through the years since the Journey Home Strategy was created.

There have been bumps along the way as we expected, but there have also been larger challenges that could not be anticipated. The COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis and a challenging housing market for affordability have added complexity to the issue of homelessness in the Central Okanagan.

Despite challenges, there are reasons to celebrate:

• Journey Home was established as the backbone agency for the homeless-serving sector in our region. We enhance and elevate the system of care by assisting, organizing and facilitating the work of homeless-serving sector organizations. This includes better monitoring and mapping of the system, data sharing among all organizations and ensuring their activities and efforts are aligned. 
• More than 300 homes with supports have been built in Kelowna since 2017, which is a key target of the Journey Home Strategy. This significant accomplishment comes as a result of cooperation and coordination with BC Housing, the City of Kelowna and the various housing with support site operators.
• Homeless-serving organizations are changing the ways they operate and collaborate to support a systemic approach to addressing homelessness. This includes the development of new models of supportive housing and more impactful services and resources being offered to those experiencing homelessness at an emergency response level.

For an in-depth look at the key Journey Home Strategy achievements, please check out our Systems Mapping Report and our Pulse Check Report.