Working with our partners, agencies, institutions, and people responsible for housing in Kamloops, the students of TRU’s CMNS 4020, Representing Community (Fall 2022) seek to tell the story of the points at which our housing system breaks down by mapping some of the hotspots in our community that demonstrate a system in crisis. From the capacity issues in emergency housing, to the development of supportive housing, through issues in non-market and subsidized rental for seniors, students, and others, to the lack of market rentals and the proliferation of illegal suites, and across ownership problems for first-time buyers, such as accessing capital or smaller units, we hope to show that the housing crisis in Kamloops is about more than the visibly homeless—it affects us all. Learn more by reading the following stories.

Use the drop-down menu to view/sort specific Housing Categories or search for specific information.

Acadia Place: Below-Market Housing for People with Disabilities

Housing Category: Non-Market Rental
Location: 400 Seymour Street, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Jodie Cooper

Acadia Place is below-market housing for struggling youth and people with disabilities who are capable of living independently without in-home support.

The Missing Middle

Housing Category: Home Ownership
Location: 238 4 Ave, Kamloops, BC V2C 2A9, Canada
Author(s): Jackson Gardner

Co-op Housing

Housing Category: Home Ownership
Location: 772 Battle St W, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Arthur Costa & Carolina Nappi

This topic will cover Co-op Housing, under the Home Ownership category. We will not only be talking about the Co-op but also addressing it to the Kamloops house crisis.

Spero House

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 317 Tranquille Rd, Kamloops, BC V2B 3G4, Canada
Author(s): Felix Larouche

This hotspot highlights Spero House, a supportive housing facility operated by ASK Wellness on the North Shore of Kamloops.

Handmade thumbnail depicting house with bold, floating text over it.

Illegal Suites

Housing Category: Market Rental
Location: 104 Redwood Crescent, Kamloops, BC V2B 1C7, Canada
Author(s): Elijah Watson

A brief breakdown on the illegal suite problem the city has. Based on data, public opinion and polls, city by-law and including excerpts from Cheryl Gladu, PhD on how the many suites in town are not a long-term solution to the housing crisis the city is facing.

Kamloops Seniors Village

Housing Category: Market Rental
Location: 1220 Hugh Allan Drive, Kamloops, BC Canada
Author(s): Qi Niu

To provide high-quality housing and services for the elderly. Let the old people here can have a "So Nice to Come Home To" feeling.

Kamloops ASK Wellness Society Supportive Housing Program

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 433 Tranquille Road, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Khanh Bui

ASK Wellness is a non-profit organization established in the 1990s that provide outreach, housing, health, education, employment, and emotional support services to improve housing affordability and overlap social crisis.

First-Time Home Owner Financing

Housing Category: Home Ownership
Location: 109 Victoria Street, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Abby Farnsworth & Ilkay Cakirogullari

This hot spot examines the challenges first time homebuyers go through when trying to purchase their first home

The Gemstone Care Centre

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 1955 Tranquille Rd, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Madelyn Gammel

Long-term care for the elderly is where seniors with complex issues can receive complex care. It is usually the last stop in these individuals' lives, that they call home. Unfortunately, there is a large number of elderly people needing this care, but a lack of beds to be provided for every senior seeking long-term care.

The Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Memorial Hospice Home

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 72 Whiteshield Crescent S, Kamloops, BC V2E 2S9
Author(s): Josh Dawson

This location provides hospice, palliative, and end-of-life care for Kamloops residents through a 12-bed facility located in Sahali. However, the lack of hospice beds in Kamloops makes it difficult for each patient to receive the care they require.

The Y Women’s Emergency Shelter

Housing Category: Emergency Housing
Location: 750 Fortune Drive, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Nicole Perry

As a safe home for women and children fleeing violence requires confidentiality, this location isn't the shelter itself, but the outreach office in connection with the shelter, which is situated on the second floor of this building. Outreach supports are a big part of what this shelter offers aside from the known temporary housing.

Densifying Lower Sahali

Housing Category: Market Rental
Location: Lower Sahali, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Liam Marshall

Students may not have the opportunity for on-campus housing, so they look to off-campus housing in the form of residential suites. However...why is there no housing in a prime location? Why current legal suites so far away? Can we even locate or afford decent residential suites?

The Elizabeth Fry Society downtown location exterior

The Elizabeth Fry Society

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 235 1 Ave #702, Kamloops, BC V2C 3J4, Canada
Author(s): Chantel Dobell & Wisdom Nneji

This hotspot demonstrates women in crisis and their need for long-term/transitional housing. These women are often fleeing from domestic violence and dangerous living conditions. The Elizabeth Fry Society is an organization that offers resources to these women. However, there is a lack of living spaces/units available to meet these needs, forcing women to risk homelessness due to minimal alternatives.

Kikékylec

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: 975 Singh Street, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Olivia Holmes and Daria Pavlova

Kikékylec is run by Lii Michif Otipemisiwak Family and Community Services; this Métis organization serves and protects Indigenous youth and Elders in the Kamloops area through a 31-condo housing unit alongside wrap-around service.

Housing Healthcare Workers

Housing Category: Market Rental
Location: Royal Inland Hospital, Columbia Street, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Janelle Rudolph & Paige Kidder

In Kamloops, affordable market rental housing is hard to find, especially around the downtown core near the Royal Inland Hospital. This has created a crisis for young professionals and recent graduates coming to the city, exemplified most concerningly with healthcare professions.

On-Campus Student Housing

Housing Category: Non-Market Rental
Location: Thompson Rivers University, Tru Way, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Kirstynn De Cicco and Nicole Levesque

As of 2018, the City of Kamloops Affordable Housing Summary reported that 46.8% of Kamloops residents do, in fact, rent housing rather than own their homes (City of Kamloops, 2018). Meaning nearly half of Kamloops residents are not homeowners. Many of Kamloops residents who fall under the non-market rental housing category are TRU students.

A Way Home Kamloops

Housing Category: Supportive Housing
Location: A Way Home Kamloops, 653 Victoria St, Kamloops, BC, Canada
Author(s): Maryam Soroorpour and Valeria Molina

Youth struggling with addictions are one of the most vulnerable populations in Kamloops, having limited access to affordable supportive housing options in the city. Such an issue has significant consequences for the whole community. A Way Home Kamloops is a local organization that can assist in telling that story.