A federal initiative to end homelessness in Canada is giving money to seven Kamloops housing and low-income services projects.

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy announced a $230,000 investment for services ranging from emergency shelters to permanent housing.

“The Government of Canada is giving a hand up to Canadians with housing needs and is helping people seeking to break free from the cycle of homelessness and poverty,” said Cathy McLeod, member of parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, in a press release issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“We are pleased to support the City of Kamloops in finding local solutions to local problems.”

Organizations receiving funding include the New Life Mission, the Kamloops and District Seniors Outreach Services Society, Interior Community Services, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Door to Roof Society, the White Buffalo Aboriginal Health Society and Resource Centre and the Interior Indian Friendship Centre. The Door to Roof Society received $29,000 towards the salary of an outreach worker, as well as replacement appliances for some units in the two apartment buildings it owns for low-income residents in Kamloops.

“The support worker will help to connect our tenants to appropriate resources in the community and also work with them on retaining their housing,” Dawn Hrycun, board president of the Door to Roof Society, told Megaphone.

Since it was created in 2007, the Homelessness Partnering Strategy has invested in preventing and reducing homelessness in 61 designated communities across the country.