West Kelowna completed its first homelessness count in July and found there are 72 people who are homeless at any given time.

The survey found 61 per cent of respondents identify as Indigenous or have Indigenous ancestry and just less than half of those people identified as Westbank First Nation members.

sa国际传媒淭his is a significant over-representation compared to the overall population,sa国际传媒� reads the report that was submitted to city council.

Many of the sa国际传媒渞ough sleeperssa国际传媒� are camped in and around the Westbank United Church, according to the report, with 17 camps that have been identified in close proximity.

Related: West Kelowna homeless shelter at max capacity

Of those surveyed who are experiencing homelessness 39 per cent said they are inadequately housed, 33 per cent have lived on the Westside for more than 10 years and 22 per cent for less than six months.

Out of the 72 respondents, 48 per cent have been in foster care or a group home.

The top five reasons why people surveyed lost their homes were: addiction or substance use, unable to pay rent/mortgage, conflict with a spouse, job loss and illness or a medical condition.

Diane Roy, PiT Count co-ordinator and Westbank First Nation co-chair told council Tuesday that although the variables leading to homelessness do vary, the common starting point is that rent is too high.

sa国际传媒淭here was a bit of overlap (with causing factors) with addiction but it always started with being unable to pay rent,sa国际传媒� Roy said. sa国际传媒淥ne thing you will find is that if you take a person that is homeless and put them in housing, their mental health will settle. Every human being needs a place to live.sa国际传媒�

West Kelowna staff member Nancy Henderson and Roy presented their findings about what next steps need to be taken to address the needs highlighted in the study and how to implement them properly.

Providing health care on a more regular basis to those experiencing homelessness, and news that the John Howard Society will be opening a location on the Westside will allow people to access medical care without having to cross the William R. Bennet Bridge into Kelowna, Roy said. The people she has spoken with do not feel comfortable going to a walk- in clinic and often ask for band-aids when receiving their meal at the Westbank United Church.

sa国际传媒淭his is something that council has been advocating on for a long time,sa国际传媒� said Mayor Doug Findlater.

Related: Kelowna homelessness count shows more people without shelter

Coun. Rick de Jong said the need to be able to care for West Kelownasa国际传媒檚 residents experiencing homelessness instead of only offering services in Kelowna.

sa国际传媒淎s a younger city we had to ship those struggling to Kelowna, we donsa国际传媒檛 have the services. But now we are maturing as a city and we need to rise up with our own resources. We have our own needs and this report identifies them, we cansa国际传媒檛 ignore this report,sa国际传媒� de Jong said.

Another report will be completed in July and submitted to the federal and provincial governments along with non-profit organizations. The findings of Julysa国际传媒檚 survey has been submitted already.

sa国际传媒淭his is breaking the cycle which I think is really important,sa国际传媒� Coun. Rusty Ensign said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 imperative that we continue to work together (with WFN) and I am pleased to see that we are working together so well.sa国际传媒�

Roy said the next step would be creating supportive housing where tenants could rent a mini-suite, be enrolled in supportive services such as employment services, alcohol and drug addiction services where tenants pay 30 per cent of their paycheque as rent to break the cycle. Tenants would also be assigned caseworkers and would have to sign a contract to live in the supportive housing.

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