Bridging Rural Homelessness and Well-being – A Sustainable and Collaborative Regional Response

Social service organizations in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia indicate the incidence of homelessness is on the rise. The colliding crises (housing, overdose/toxic drugs, pandemic, and extreme weather), and the mobility of the target population between communities, introduce complexities that require an innovative and collaborative regional response to support this marginalized population. This social innovation project aims to improve the well-being of rural experiencing or at risk of homelessness living in and around the rural communities of Nelson, Castlegar, and Trail in
the West Kootenay region. The project will: conduct research for evidence-based decision-making; strengthen relationships for sustainable regional collaboration and response actions as conditions change; build regional homelessness response capacity by mobilizing college resources (faculty and students); and disseminate lessons learned in the region and beyond.The project builds off the recently completed Rural Homelessness and COVID-19 project conducted by Selkirk College and funded by NSERC.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jayme Jones

Student:

Partner:

City of Trail;City of Nelson;City of Castlegar

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public administration

University:

Selkirk College

Program: