Community Engagement Findings Summary Report January 2026
City of West Kelowna Community Safety and Well-being Plan
Prepared by
Table of Contents 02
Executive Summary
07
Theme 3
03
Engagement Methodology
08
Theme 4
05
Overview of Key Themes
09
Theme 5
06
Theme 1
10
Theme 6
02
Theme 2
07
Conculsion
Executive Summary
The City of West Kelowna is developing its first Community Safety and Well-Being (CSWB) Plan to address the root causes of vulnerability, improve coordination across systems, and strengthen belonging and resilience for everyone who lives, works, and plays in the community. This summary highlights the key findings from the Needs Assessment and Community Engagement phase. It brings together community voices, local and regional data, and lived experience to provide a clear picture of current conditions and to inform the next phase of action planning.
West Kelowna is a rapidly growing community experiencing increasing pressures related to housing affordability, cost of living, mental health and substance use, transportation access, and climate-related risks. While many residents enjoy a high quality of life, these benefits are not evenly distributed. Community members, service providers, businesses, and City staff described a system that is largely designed around crisis response rather than prevention. Housing instability, food insecurity, and limited access to timely mental health supports are pushing people into crisis and public spaces, increasing reliance on RCMP, fire, bylaw, and paramedic services. Participants consistently emphasized that community safety is not just about crime or enforcement. Safety is shaped by access to housing and basic needs, mental health supports before crisis, safe and welcoming public spaces, clear expectations, and systems that are easy to navigate. Six interconnected themes emerged from the engagement. Together, they point to a clear opportunity for West Kelowna to strengthen prevention, coordination, and belonging, reducing strain on emergency systems while improving long-term community well-being.
Prepared by
Melissa K Blair, Dharmarketing Strategic Social Impact Prepared for
City of West Kelowna | Community and Social Development Department City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Engagement Methodology Engagement Methods
204 SURVEY RESPONSES
FIVE FOCUS GROUPS
35 ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS
EXISTING MEETINGS WITH COLLABORATIVES AND CITY OF WK DEPARTMENTS
We considered accessibility needs by offering ways to participate through multiple channels, mobile-friendly tools, translation, stipends for lived/living experience participation where appropriate, and food for in-person sessions when feasible.
Desktop Research
We reviewed key reports, local strategies and best practices from similar municipalities, focusing on upstream safety approaches to ensure alignment and comprehensive coverage of findings and directives. Small sample pictured.
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Key Themes
Community engagement and data review revealed six interconnected themes that together describe how safety and well-being are currently experienced in West Kelowna. These themes reflect a shared understanding that safety is not shaped by single incidents or individual behaviour, but by everyday conditions and how well systems respond before people reach crisis. Across conversations with residents, businesses, service providers, Indigenous partners, and City staff, participants consistently described pressures related to housing affordability, mental health, access to basic needs, and navigation of fragmented systems. When these pressures are left unaddressed, they surface in public spaces, place increasing strain on emergency responders, and deepen feelings of uncertainty, exclusion, and mistrust. The six themes that follow capture these patterns and highlight where coordinated, upstream action has the greatest potential to improve safety, reduce crisis response, and strengthen community belonging.
Theme 1:
Theme 2:
Housing, Homelessness, and Basic Needs
Mental Health, Substance Use, and Health Services
Theme 3:
Theme 4:
Community Safety in Public Spaces and Neighbourhoods
Children, Youth, Families, and Seniors
Theme 5:
Theme 6:
Equity, Reconciliation, and Belonging
Systems Coordination, Navigation, and Prevention
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 1: Housing, Homelessness, and Basic Needs Insights Overview
Housing instability and unmet basic needs emerged as a foundational driver of community safety and well-being pressures in West Kelowna. Participants described a system where rising housing costs, hidden homelessness, food insecurity, and limited shelter diversion push people into crisis and public spaces. Without consistent access to affordable housing, daytime supports, and basic infrastructure, enforcement and displacement become default responses, while underlying conditions remain unresolved.
Sub-Themes 1.1
1.2
1.3
Not enough housing options across the full continuum
Food security and basic affordability pressures
Basic day-to-day supports are missing for unhoused individuals, especially daytime spaces
1.4
1.5
1.6
Hygiene, washrooms, and basic infrastructure are a daily pressure point
Displacement and “moving people along” does not resolve the problem
Public spaces, businesses, and frontline staff are absorbing the impacts
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 2: Mental Health, Substance Use, and Health Services Insights Overview
Mental health and substance use challenges were described as significant and escalating factors shaping community safety and wellbeing. Participants consistently identified a structural mismatch between growing need and limited access to timely, local services on the Westside. As a result, crises escalate and emergency responders are increasingly relied upon to address health-related situations that would be better supported through early intervention, continuity of care, and accessible community-based services.
Sub-Themes 2.1
2.2
2.3
Mental health needs are increasing, while access remains limited
Substance use is increasingly visible and tied to unmet health needs
Co-occurring mental health and substance use needs are not well supported
2.4
2.5
2.6
Accessing health services is complicated, fragmented, and inequitable
First responders are carrying responsibility for health crises beyond their mandate
Cultural safety, trust, and continuity matter
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 3: Community Safety in Public Spaces and Neighbourhoods Insights Overview
Community safety in public spaces was described as an everyday experience shaped by predictability, presence, and shared expectations. Participants emphasized that safety concerns are often less about isolated incidents and more about uncertainty, including unclear norms, inconsistent responses, and gaps in infrastructure. When these conditions persist, discomfort, avoidance, and tension increase in specific high-use locations, affecting how residents experience their community.
Sub-Themes 3.1
3.2
3.3
Safety concerns are concentrated in specific, highuse locations
Infrastructure gaps directly affect safety and behaviour
Vacant and underused sites become safety hotspots
3.4
3.5
3.6
Women, youth, and seniors experience safety differently
Mobility and accessibility challenges increase risk for seniors
Safety is shaped by predictability, presence, and shared expectations
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 4: Children, Youth, Families, and Seniors Insights Overview
Participants consistently described prevention gaps and growing pressures across the life course. Youth face limited access to safe, welcoming, and affordable places to gather, while families often receive support only after challenges escalate. Seniors experience compounding barriers related to mobility, transportation, and digital access. Across age groups, social isolation and inconsistent access to early supports were identified as factors undermining long-term safety and well-being.
Sub-Themes 4.1
4.2
4.3
Youth lack safe, welcoming, and low-cost spaces
Families receive help too late
Seniors face mobility, transportation, and digital barriers
4.4
4.5
4.6
Social isolation across age groups
Recreation, arts, culture, and consistent programming are essential prevention infrastructure but are under-resourced
Navigation and coordination challenges affect families and seniors most
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 5: Equity, Reconciliation, and Belonging Insights Overview
Engagement highlighted that safety and well-being are not experienced equally in West Kelowna. Indigenous residents and equity-denied groups described experiences of stigma, discrimination, racism, and cultural unsafety that affect access to services, comfort in public spaces, and participation in community life. Participants emphasized that reconciliation and equity require action, including Indigenous leadership, culturally grounded services, and clearer coordination across jurisdictions. Belonging was consistently identified as a foundational condition for safety and long-term
Sub-Themes
community well-being.
5.1
5.2
5.3
Stigma and discrimination undermine safety and access to support
Indigenous residents experience racism and cultural unsafety in systems and spaces
Jurisdictional complexity creates gaps in responsibility and coordination
5.4
5.5
5.6
Equity-denied groups often feel unwelcome in public and community spaces
Reconciliation and destigmatization require action, not only acknowledgement
Belonging is foundational to community safety and well-being
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Theme 6: Systems Coordination, Navigation, and Prevention Insights Overview
Systems coordination and navigation challenges emerged as a key issue shaping all other themes. Participants described fragmented services, unclear roles across systems, scattered and digital-first service information, and limited shared data. As a result, prevention is often overshadowed by crisis response, and emergency and enforcement services become default responders for complex social and health issues. Strengthening coordination, navigation, and prevention was identified as essential to reducing crisis cycles and improving community
Sub-Themes
safety and well-being.
6.1
6.2
6.3
Emergency and enforcement services are overburdened as default responders
Roles and responsibilities across systems are unclear
Service navigation is complex, and information is scattered
6.4
6.5
6.6
Limited shared data, feedback loops, and collective infrastructure constrain prevention and system learning
Non-profit service expansion is constrained by lack of appropriate space
Funding, space, and decision-making processes shape which services exist and who they serve
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
Conclusion and Next Steps
Summary
The Needs Assessment and Community Engagement findings show that community safety and well-being challenges in West Kelowna are interconnected and structural. Housing instability, unmet basic needs, mental health and substance use pressures, and gaps in public space design are reinforcing cycles of crisis and increasing reliance on emergency and enforcement services. These challenges are compounded by inequities in how safety is experienced and by fragmented systems that make prevention difficult. Across all engagement, participants consistently emphasized that safety is shaped by everyday conditions, access to supports before crisis, clear expectations in public spaces, and systems that are easy to navigate. The six themes outlined in this report provide a shared understanding of current pressures and a clear foundation for moving from insight to action for the development of the Community Safety and Wellbeing (CWSB) Plan.
City of West Kelowna CSWB Plan - Community Engagement Findings
JANUARY 2026
melissa@dharmarketing.com ourwk.ca/communitysafetyplan