The City of Kamloops says it is partnering with the ASK Wellness Society and the Canadian Mental Health Association Kamloops to launch the Community Services Officer (CSO) Outreach and Response Program on November 1.
Community and Protective Services Director, Byron McCorkell, says the program will pair CSOs with outreach workers to connect people who are homeless to shelter and support services.
The program will operate 16 hours per day – from 8 a.m. to midnight – seven days a week.
“We hear residents loud and clear on their concerns about health and safety in Kamloops,” McCorkell said, in a statement. “Our partner agencies do great work, and we have been working closely with them to determine how we can support and enhance those efforts to have the greatest impact within the community. This program is an example of that out-of-the-box thinking.”
“We continue to improve and make bold decisions to help provide the care and support that is needed on the streets and to provide confidence and security to the residents in our community. The change we need cannot be done with a magic wand. It is done by showing connection, compassion, and offering a helping hand.”
McCorkell says CSOs and outreach workers will be out on foot, on bikes, and in vehicles in “commercial centres and corridors” as well as around shelters. He also says they will “initiate a case management approach” to identify and understand the health, housing, and support service needs people experiencing homelessness.
In a statement, Alfred Achoba, the Executive Director of the CMHA in Kamloops says the partnership will “result in a reduction of street issues.”
“We all share an agenda to listen, support and respond to the issues in our community,” he said.
“Some of our key focus is to empower and support our clients and our community in the hopes that both parties’ needs will be addressed. Addressing community concerns also includes communicating, connecting, and breaking down stigma and barriers.”
Added Jeremy Cain, the Director of Outreach and Clinical Supports, ASK Wellness, “[we welcome] this new collaboration…which will assist in facilitating street level case management that will benefit the most vulnerable members of our society, while working to mitigate the negative impacts felt by our community due to the ongoing crisis of homelessness, mental health, and addictions.”
This outreach program will be funded through the Union of BC Municipalities Strengthening Communities’ Services Program.
Back in August, the City got $1.5-million to be put towards outreach and response, peer-based programming, and community coordination and collaboration efforts that provide solutions to address increased urgent and immediate needs related to unsheltered homelessness.
“While the primary focus of the Community Services Officer Outreach and Response Program is to provide an urgent response and connections to shelter and services for unsheltered people experiencing homelessness, the program model also offers additional benefits to support the collective efforts of the City, government agencies, and community partners,” the City said, in a statement.
“The outreach worker positions will help provide on-the-job training and a social perspective to increase the organizational knowledge and capacity of outreach services within the City’s Community Services Officer program.”
