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Local Kelowna organization, Inn From the Cold, has opened the doors to the Chandler Housing Project through the help and support of the community. The Chandler Housing Project was developed as a means of providing shelter for eight men suffering from chronic homelessness in the community.
Through crowd funding, privately funded donations, and local business support, Inn From the Cold raised upwards of $20,000 in order to kick start this project.
“We were able to get the house open. People started moving in at the end of September and we have six of the eight rooms filled,” said Tara Tschritter, Coordinator at Inn From the Cold Kelowna branch. “We have applications for the other two rooms and we're going to be moving men into those rooms in the next week or so. That's getting eight men directly off the street in our community thanks to the support of our community.”
Caption: Inn From the Cold Winter Shelter (Photo Credit: Inn From the Cold Handout)
The main goal for Inn From the Cold is to provide individuals with chronic homelessness (individuals who have been homeless for over a year) with a safe and stable place to live. By providing housing, the idea is that eventually individuals will stabilize through adequate housing and nutritious meals.
In the future, Inn From the Cold would like to see these men further their rehabilitation process by participating in some of the programs associated with the organization.
Housing is only the first step to a long-term goal of transitioning and integrating homeless individuals back into the community. In collaboration with the Kelowna Food Bank, Inn From the Cold will provide shelter, food, and 24/7 staffing support in order to take the first step in getting these eight men off the streets.
“We also provide case management for the individuals, as well as weekly house meetings with one-on-one skills development sessions,” added Tschritter. Additional programs include treatment programs, trauma therapy, and independent housing assistance.
Inn From the Cold is busy working on several charitable projects in the community and they are always looking for volunteers. The Winter Shelter will be opening on November 15th and approximately 1,000 volunteer shifts will need to be covered.
Caption: Volunteers gearing up for the Winter season at the shelter. (Photo Credit: Inn From the Cold Handout.)
The local organization has had great success with some of their past initiatives and are hopeful about the results of the Chandler Housing Project. For more information, visit the Inn From the Cold website or give them a call at 250-448-6403.
Photo Credit: Inn From the Cold Handout.
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