Peachland POST YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
The week of April 18, 2025
ZIP IT Peachland has one of the province’s tallest ziplines P.8
PUT YOUR MIND TO IT You may already be practicing mindfulness P.6
Visit our website at peachlandpost.org • Vol. 1 Issue 16
ABOUT TOWN Find out what’s going on and where it’s happening P.11
UP FOR BIDS A chunk of downtown Peachland has been listed for sale P.3
Sheltering in Place SUBSIDIZED HOUSING
The rent-controlled seniors residences downtown are meeting a housing need Peachland didn’t know it had
By John McDonald
P
Staff Reporter
eachland isn’t usually the first place that comes to mind when it comes to homelessness in the Okanagan – it might even be the last. No one pushes junk-filled shopping carts down Beach Avenue. No tent encampments lurk in the side streets and no groups of people wait around the entrance to a homeless shelter. In fact, no homeless shelter exists in Peachland, but that doesn’t mean the housing crisis affecting many communities in British Columbia has not touched the district and one of the most visible signs of that are the pair of rent-controlled seniors residences hugging the edge of downtown just off Highway 97, one of which is half-built. Jodie Brennan has been
managing the first building since it was opened in 2019. “There have for sure been a few tenants who were one hundred percent homeless before they moved in,” she says. “Some were living in their cars or on a friend’s couch.” Even those who were living in an extra bedroom of a family member did not necessarily enjoy an ideal housing situation, Brennan adds. “As much as it’s lovely to have mum and dad living with them, it takes away from everyone’s privacy,” she says. “And mum and dad very often would prefer their own space.” Others may have found their own space but were so constrained by astronomical rent they were essentially held captive by their own homes. SEE RESIDENCES PAGE 7
GREAT FOR YOUNG SAVERS EARN FUN AND UNIQUE PRIZES ALONG THE WAY RECEIVE THE BOOK AND A PIGGY BANK WITH YOUR FIRST DEPOSIT OF $50
BOO$T
John McDonald photo
The future Residences on Sixth are under construction on the edge of downtown Peachland.
Youth Account & Book
Visit our Peachland Branch or www.vantageone.net