Cranbook
Point-In-Time Counts
Point-in-Time (PiT) Counts help communities gain a clearer understanding of the extent and nature of homelessness. By providing a snapshot of how many people are experiencing homelessness at a given time, these counts help identify needs, monitor trends, and guide informed development of effective policies and programs aimed at reducing and ultimately ending homelessness.
- City of Cranbrook - Point-In-Time Count Around Homelessness In Cranbrook Set For Monday, April 14, 2025
(Count completed April 14, 2025. Results not yet received.) - Cranbrook - 2023 Homeless Count
- Homeless Count 2020 Infographic - Cranbrook
- 2018 Report on Homeless Counts in BC: Community Profiles - Cranbrook
Empowered Employment
In October 2024, one of the recommendations presented to Council, by the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness and Community Wellbeing, was the development of a low-barrier employment readiness program. The intended outcomes of this recommendation were:
1. Enhanced economic participation. Financial stability and equity for participants
2. Reduced reliance on survival crime to meet basic needs.
3. Increased skills and employment readiness
4. Modelling alternative employment models
5. Creation of a sustainable pathway out of poverty
The Mayor’s Task Force, in partnership with FRESH START Collaborative Society and ANKORS East, has developed a low-barrier employment program that is positively impacting both the unhoused or precariously housed individuals and the broader community.
Empowered Employment Purpose Statement
Empowered Employment provides a pathway out of poverty for people facing homelessness or housing insecurity through paid work and skill-building opportunities.
Through targeted projects such as cleaning abandoned encampments and maintaining public spaces, participants gain employment skills, improve their ability to meet daily needs, and restore their dignity- while the community benefits from safer, cleaner environments.
Access to low-barrier employment has been shown to reduce survival crime and substance abuse by addressing immediate economic needs and offering a positive alternative to illicit activity.
Empowered Employment operates at the intersection of public health, economic opportunity, and community revitalization.
Common Ground
A second recommendation presented to Council by the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness and Community Wellbeing was support for a community-driven outdoor sheltering site.
The intended outcomes of this recommendation were:
1. Adherence to the Federal Advocacy Report recommending that all levels of government adopt a rights-based approach in providing basic services to those living unhoused.
2. Reduced fire risks to occupants of the site and the surrounding community.
3. Ability to provide outreach and embedded services.
4. Decreased strain on emergency services.
In collaboration with BC Housing, the RCMP, Bylaw Services, service providers, ministerial groups, and provincial ministries, Common Ground has delivered stability, essential services, and consistent outreach—contributing to a significant reduction in violence, fires, overdoses, and fatalities commonly associated with encampments.
Afterhours / Weekend Services
Cranbrook has a strong social network that effectively responds to complex social needs. However, through discussion and consultation with community and service providers, the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness and Community Safety and Wellbeing identified a large gap in available services after hours and on weekends and reached out to stakeholders to address the problem.
Although in the early stages, ANKORS East collaborated with The Dwelling Place and other service providers and community groups to address this gap by opening Safe Havens.
“The purpose of this space is to offer harm reduction and gentle-space service that is not currently available in Cranbrook on the weekends. We are hoping to support those struggling with mental health challenges, those unhoused who need weekend support, those who are housed but may feel isolated. We are mindful that with the new shelter opening in the downtown area that there will be more visibility to the public of unhoused folks and we are concerned for our service users and the stigma they face often by the public. We also know that the public may be in opposition to the shelter sight and by having spaces like this after-hours program now called safe haven, that we may assist in mitigating some of this stigma by having a safe place to go during weekends. Safe Havens will be open on Saturdays to begin and move to Sundays as funds come available.” -ANKOR’s Team Lead
- Cart Retrival Program
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