Bridging Rural Homelessness and Well-being: A Sustainable and Collaborative Regional Response was a multi-year social innovation project that started in fall 2022 and concluded in spring 2026. The overall goal of the project was to improve the well-being of rural residents 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 used participatory action research methodology. The diverse community partners were active participants who helped to shape the project and the research supported local action.
Project participants included people with lived or living experience of homelessness, local governments, social service organizations, community organizations, Selkirk College students and faculty, and other post-secondary institutions. This broad participation provided an innovative collaboration between organizations and communities to transfer lessons, avoid duplication, make best use of limited resources and experiment with regional solutions as conditions evolved.
The project was funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Mitacs, with cash and in-kind contributions from community partners.
Over the course of the project, the work:
- Supported and strengthened a coordinated regional response to rural homelessness through applied research.
- Strengthened relationships for sustainable regional collaboration and response actions.
- Increased capacity by mobilizing college resources (faculty and students).
- Shared lessons learned within the region and beyond.
Project Highlights
Explore the project resources below.
For questions about the project, contact Jayme Jones.
Resources
Regional Point-in-Time Count
West Kootenay Homelessness Response Summits
2025
2024
2023
- Summit summary
- Video: It Takes a Village
- Interview: Kootenay Co-op Radio
Well-Being Insights and Knowledge Briefs
- Technical report: 2024 Well-being Insights: Community Perceptions of Homelessness & Related Service Provision
- Survey summary: 2024 Well-being Insights: Community Perceptions of Homelessness & Related Service Provision
- Full report: 2023 Well-being Insights: Voices of West Kootenay Service Users and Service Providers
- Knowledge brief: Everybody Poops: Public Toilets are a Community Issue
Student Research
2025
- Rural Homelessness 2025 Student Outreach Insights
- Building Belonging: A Community Guide for Supporting Vulnerable Residents in Castlegar
- A Deliberative Dialogue Approach to Addressing Homelessness in the West Kootenays
2024
2023
- Creative Effects Towards Destigmatization
- Spatial Analysis of Rural Homelessness Support Services in the West Kootenay Region
- Community Perceptions of the Trail Homeless Population
2022
Other Resources
- Homeless Hub: Canadian Definition of Homelessness
- Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness National Conference 2025: Building Collaborative Leadership with Intention Presentation
- Visions Journal: Bridging Rural Homelessness and Well-being: A Sustainable, Collaborative Response in the West Kootenays
- Coordinated Access Hub Assessment
- Rural Homelessness and COVID-19: Outreach Survey Results'
- Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy on the Front Lines: Information about COVID-19 Vaccines for Social Service Providers Working with People Experiencing Homelessness in the West Kootenay Region
Selkirk College project team
Jayme Jones
Project Director & Researcher, Selkirk Innovates
Leeza Perehudoff
Research Assistant, Selkirk Innovates
Jennifer Preston
Outreach Team Lead, School of Health & Human Services
Jennifer Reid
Researcher, School of Health & Human Services
Rob Tanner
Researcher, School of Health & Human Services
Amanda Sigurdson
Outreach Team Lead, School of Health & Human Services
Amber Streukens
Lived-Experience Co-Researcher
Matthew Wheating
Lived-Experience Co-Researcher
Alicia Pongracz
Outreach Intern
Brina Bowen
Practicum Student
Christina Wahlers
Outreach Intern
Grace Cline
Outreach Intern
Jennifer Arrowsmith
Intern
Mackenzie Fernquist-Kostensiuk
Outreach Intern
Pier Briggeman
Outreach Intern
Zakeea Al Hanafy
Outreach Intern
Community partners
- Anglican Parish of Kokanee (Nelson, Kaslo & North Shore)
- ANKORS
- BC Housing
- Career Development Services - Trail
- Castlegar and District Community Service Society
- Castlegar Integrated Services Collaborative
- Circle of Indigenous Nations Society (COINS)
- City of Castlegar
- City of Nelson
- City of Trail
- Castlegar Community Harvest Food Bank
- Interior Health Authority
- Kootenay Boundary Community Services Co-operative (The Koop)
- Kootenay Career and Development Society
- Kootenay Savings Credit Union
- Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction
- Navigation Table - Trail & Area
- Nelson CARES
- Nelson Committee on Homelessness
- Nelson Community Services
- Okanagan College
- Rural Empowered Drug Users Network (REDUN)
- Regional District of Central Kootenay
- Regional District of Kootenay Boundary
- Trail Community Action Team
- Trail FAIR
- Trail Skills Centre
- Trail United Church
Funders
Donors
We graciously thank our donors.
- Rossland Healthcare Auxiliary
