Made in Penticton housing for homeless

PENTICTON – Penticton will be the recipient of 52 new housing units for the homeless the province announced today.

Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Selina Robinson made the announcement today, April 6, at Metric Modular in Penticton.

The 52 units, which are being built at Metric Modular, will be located at the Skaha Sunrise Motel on Skaha Lake Road, and operated by ASK Wellness, a regional outreach agency geared to providing services to marginalized people.

The property located near the intersection of Skaha Lake Road and Green Avenue is owned by the province. An open house is planned for late April to provide more information to neighbouring residents and businesses.

Penticton mayor Andrew Jakubeit said the city was making significant headway in resolving its homeless issue.

Jakubeit said the housing project included an economic positive for Penticton with the resurgence of the Metric Modular (formerly Britco) factory, which had been shut down for a while last year.

The units will be provided with 24 hour a day, seven day a week support services.

The units contain a private bathroom and kitchen, with shared amenity space for programming and laundry facilities.

The project should be completed by December 2018.


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Steve Arstad

I have been looking for news in the South Okanagan - SImilkameen for 20 years, having turned a part time lifelong interest into a full time profession. After five years publishing a local newsletter, several years working as a correspondent / stringer for several local newspapers and seven years as editor of a Similkameen weekly newspaper, I joined iNFOnews.ca in 2014. My goal in the news industry has always been to deliver accurate and interesting articles about local people and places. My interest in the profession is life long - from my earliest memories of grade school, I have enjoyed writing.
As an airborne geophysical surveyor I travelled extensively around the globe, conducting helicopter borne mineral surveys.
I also spent several years at an Okanagan Falls based lumber mill, producing glued-wood laminated products.
As a member of the Kaleden community, I have been involved in the Kaleden Volunteer Fire Department for 22 years, and also serve as a trustee on the Kaleden Irrigation District board.
I am currently married to my wife Judy, of 26 years. We are empty-nesters who enjoy living in Kaleden with our Welsh Terrier, Angus, and cat, Tibbs.
Our two daughters, Meagan and Hayley, reside in Richmond and Victoria, respectively.

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