Kelowna's new tiny home village will provide stability, says minister
The temporary housing initiative is set to welcome people from local homeless shelters in the next 2 weeks
The province of British Columbia says dozens of people residing in Kelowna homeless shelters will soon find a place to call their own.
The province unveiled a 60-unit tiny home village on a city-owned lot at 759 Crowley Ave. in Kelowna's industrial district on Friday.
Known as STEP Place, the new temporary housing initiative will not only offer a roof over people's heads, but also a range of support services, said B.C. Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon.
"They're gonna get support, they're gonna get meals, they're gonna get life-skills training so that people can get the stability in their lives," Kahlon said.
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Tiny home models have been used elsewhere in the province, most notably on Vancouver Island.
In Victoria, the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and local builder Aryze Developments crowdfunded to build a 30-unit temporary tiny home village in a parking lot. In Duncan, there is a 34-unit shipping container village.
Plans are also underway for a similar government project in Prince George.
While not the first of its kind in the province, Kahlon said Kelowna's tiny home initiative stands out for its rapid completion — the entire process took just over four months from the initial pitch to the project's opening.
"Normally it takes us six to nine months to get housing set up in communities once we've identified the location," the minister said.
In Vancouver, construction of a 10-unit tiny shelter pilot project at 875 Terminal Ave., was completed in December 2023, 22 months after it was approved.
"I actually go to communities throughout B.C. and say … if you want to do it in a quick way, look at what Kelowna is doing," Kahlon added.
Each of the supportive housing units are 60 square feet and contain a bed, dresser and access to a communal bathroom, laundry and kitchen facilities, according to the John Howard Society of Okanagan and Kootenay, the non-profit responsible for running the tiny home village.
"It will be a place for healing and progress, a step on the path forward," said Patricia Bacon, the organization's executive director.
A second 60-unit housing project at 2740 Highway 97 N is expected to be completed in April, the province said.
The majority of those transitioning into STEP Place's new tiny homes will be people residing in local homeless shelters, said Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas.
"[The goal is] to move individuals from encampments into the shelter systems and the individuals who are within the shelter systems…into these tiny homes [and then move them] into more of a permanent structure for their future," Dyas said.
Genevieve Begbie is one of the residents at Kelowna's tent city along the Okanagan Rail Trail.
She says she has applied to stay at the tiny home village. The project will begin moving people in within the next two weeks and she hopes to hear back.
WATCH | Tiny homes taking shape in Kelowna
After more than five years on the streets, Begbie says the temporary housing will help her find stability.
"I just recently got funding for my paramedics course in West Kelowna and I really hope I get in there so I can do my schooling."
According to the most recent report by B.C. Housing, there are 297 people experiencing homelessness in Kelowna — higher than in neighbouring Interior communities like Vernon (224), Kamloops (206), and Penticton (114).
- With files from Tom Popyk and Brady Strachan