About Us | Streetoutreach

Our Mission

JustUs Street Outreach provides caring, respectful, and compassionate nighttime outreach for those living and working on the streets of Kelowna.

For the unhoused community of all genders and especially people involved with street-level sex work, we provide basic supplies, connections to community resources, and one-on-one connections and emotional support to those who need it most, often in life-changing – and sometimes life-saving – ways.

mural in the side of the Gospel Mission Shelter on Leon Avenue, by Syilx artist Sheldon Pi

Limlimpt (Thank You) to Syilx Artist Sheldon Pierre Louis

The mural - "'kwu mrimstn - We are Medicine" in the photograph above, created by syilx (okanagan) artist Sheldon Pierre Louis, is on the side of Kelowna's Gospel Mission Shelter on Leon Avenue.

Limlimpt and much appreciation to Sheldon, who resides at sənƛ̓uxuxtan (place where the grizzly bear killed them) on the Okanagan Indian Reserve IR#1 near Vernon, BC. Sheldon is the lead visual artist for Kama? Creative Aboriginal Arts Collective and a current sitting board member for the Greater Vernon Museum & Archives and a former board member of the Arts Council of the North Okanagan. Sheldon spent the last six years as a member of Okanagan Indian Band Chief and Council, and now works as a full-time artist.

Artist Website

Who Are We?

JustUs Street Outreach was founded by Tasha and Joanna, who shared many years of street outreach experience as well as experience in leadership roles in community organizations. When two outreach services in Kelowna ceased operations in 2024, leaving the unhoused and sex work communities without these crucial supports, Tasha and Joanna started their own street outreach organization, JustUs Street Outreach, in autumn 2024.

Building upon Tasha’s own lived experience and expertise as a Narcan Team Lead and Outreach Manager, and Joanna’s insights in community leadership roles and as an educator at the University of British Columbia Okanagan – alongside the many years they shared together as nighttime street outreach partners previously – they are part of a committed team of people in the Okanagan who are there for the unhoused community.

Working alongside various shelters and community organizations, JustUs Street Outreach is dedicated to providing compassionate, culturally safe, and knowledgeable outreach for marginalized populations in downtown Kelowna.

JustUs Street Outreach is a registered non-profit organization currently in the process of becoming a registered charity.

With the focus on providing responsible, sustainable nighttime outreach, we are starting small and will be growing our volunteer base, including Nursing and Social Work students and other interested members of the community, in 2025.

Together, we are dedicated for being there, and being a lifeline, for marginalized people in our city, and to bringing a sense of belonging, community, and hope.

297
individuals experiencing homelessness in Kelowna (2020)
-The Homeless Hub

Joanna & Tasha

Meet the Team

Co-Founder and Co-Director

President, Volunteer Coordinator, Narcan Team Lead

Tasha

Tasha brings lived experience and firsthand knowledge of many of the struggles faced by those she cares so deeply about. She is now a Business Administration graduate with a background as Narcan Team Lead, Volunteer Coordinator, and advocate. She is also a proud, hardworking mother.