Penticton homeless shelter gets funding — but with a catch

The provincial government will pay for a Penticton shelter at least through this summer — but that comes at a price.

Security used to be funded by BC Housing, but that $120,000 bill will now go to Penticton city hall.

It comes after Penticton councillors denied a BC Housing tiny home project this winter. They would have been paid for through the same BC Housing funding stream as the Dawson Avenue emergency shelter, and the denial called into question whether it would be funded again.

On Jan. 20, council voted to keep the Dawson Avenue shelter running, but it wasn’t clear whether the province would pay for the 40-bed facility.

At a Feb. 17 council meeting, it was unanimously approved after the province confirmed funding for all but security costs.

Despite the approval, councillors had some objections.

“I’m seriously concerned about if we’re judiciously and responsibly spending the community’s money,” Coun. Shannon Stewart said, questioning whether the shelter has moved enough people into permanent housing.

That was rebutted by Coun. Isaac Gilbert, who said it’s necessary to offer the service rather than close the shelter.

“It might look like a lot, but I’d rather have people being housed than being on the street. I think it costs way more money to be managing people who are unhoused than it is giving them a place to stay in,” he said.

In 2025, the 441 Dawson Avenue shelter hosted 159 different people. Of those, 28 moved into more permanent housing, including 12 in market housing and the rest in supportive or assisted living, according to a staff report.

It was slated to close on April 1, but the extended lease means the shelter, operated by the Penticton Overdose Prevention Society, will stay open until the fall.

In December, council denied the tiny home project in a 4-2 vote, split largely over the inclusion of a safe drug consumption site within the facility.

That was after Penticton lobbied the province for months to provide the tiny home project through its Heart and Hearth funding program, hoping the additional beds would allow the city to clear out the Fairview Road encampment.

At the time, housing minister Christine Boyle said the province would look to one of the many other communities in line for the same funding.