The City of Kamloops, United Way, Thompson Rivers University, and the Kamloops Community Action Team (a coalition of over 40 social and municipal organizations and service providers) have identified “the impacts of climate change” as accelerating wildfire risks and effecting public health challenges and social vulnerabilities. The number of those who are unhoused and disproportionately affected by wildfire mitigation policies is increasing. Conducting community-driven research in the present moment allows for the development of adaptive strategies that can respond to changing conditions, rather than relying on more reactive approaches that attempt to address social and health problems after they have become entrenched.
Our ongoing work with FireSmart BC, the CAT, and United Way investigates program awareness and has revealed a troubling gap: while homeowners report varying fire mitigation awareness, individuals experiencing homelessness remain almost entirely absent from FireSmart program outreach and emergency planning.
Aided by a grant from SPARC BC, The Same Sky Collective Society, a member of the Kamloops CAT, recently partnered with our university research team to conduct a focus group: the purpose was the collection of survey data from those experiencing chronically unsafe and unstable housing, focusing on those with lived and living experience of wildfires. We are working toward a cultural mapping of this population to complement and augment the survey, thus providing a deep community response narrative.
Same Sky has taken the community lead in establishing a People with Lived/Living Experience Advisory group, working in collaboration with the CAT and United Waythus making Same Sky an ideal partner for a deep mapping of climate change’s impacts on community health. Together we propose an incremental series of three half-day dialogues to develop, first, an updated inventory of PWLE community response; second, an elaboration of the inventory and the SPARC BC provincial survey in dialogue with the CAT, Interior Health, Harm Reduction & Population Health, the Substance Use Team; and, third, develop a blueprint for action, with the City’s Fire Chief, the FireSmart Coordinator, City staff, FNESS, the FireSmart BC Program Lead, and the General Population Liaison. These meetings will begin with PWLE, and then draw into the dialogue the service and health providers, along with emergency management experts and FireSmart program decision makers.
Additional team members and participating organizations:
Kristi Rintoul, Manager of Community Impact at United Way British Columbia; the City of Kamloops Community Action Team; the People with Lived/Living Experience Advisory Committee; and the Thompson Rivers University Community and Cultural Mapping Research Group.