A significant milestone for A Way Home Kamloops as they have been granted charitable status, effective April 1st of this year.

“It provides us with a solid foundation and we’re also able to issue tax receipts for our amazing donors that are supporting the work to end youth homelessness,” said Executive Director Katherine McParland.

McParland says the milestone would not have been possible without the support of the Conconi Family Foundation, who’ve given over $160,000 over the last five years.

She noted that charitable status is a big deal for an organization that has come a long way since inception in 2012.

“I was a former youth in care and aged out into homelessness. That experience helped me gain valuable knowledge and expertise that helps the work that we do today,” McParland said.

“And so I brought together a group of people and we met in an abandoned building – very fitting for youth homelessness. And we just had passion and we wanted to create change.”

In the years since then, A Way Home Kamloops has grown to over 160 members including businesses, landlords, non-profits, youth, and community members dedicated to preventing and ending youth homelessness.