FOUR PILLARS PLAN LOOKING FOR CASH

The Mayor's Task Force on Community Safety and Harm Reduction is hoping to
tap into federal money from the Western Diversification Fund to bring its
version of the Four Pillars to Kelowna.

Task force organizer Daryle Roberts said the task force steering committee
is examining looking at how other urban areas such as Vancouver, Edmonton
and Winnipeg managed to secure funding for their own urban renewal projects.

The so-called Vancouver Agreement, for example, brought federal money to
bear on the drug epidemic in that city's Downtown Eastside, resulting in
the opening of a safe injection site.

"They're dealing with the ramifications of what a Kelowna Agreement would
look like," Roberts said.

As part of that, Roberts said he will be trying before the next task force
meeting on March 4 to convince organizations such as the Central Okanagan
Regional District and the Interior Health Authority to assign permanent
representatives to the task force.

"If you take a look at what happened in those other communities, the local
health authority is always a big player and the city took a lead role,"
said Roberts. "It's important to get everyone at the table on this."

On a local level, Roberts said the task force is looking for funding for a
paid task force coordinator, possibly via a social development grant from
the City of Kelowna. "We need someone to facilitate the Four Pillars
coalition work," he said.

The next task force meeting is open to the public and is scheduled for 9
a.m. to 12 noon, March 4, at the Martin Community Centre.