Social Development

The Social Development Department provides leadership to the City of Penticton to help create a healthier and more vibrant community. Our team's primary goal is to support Penticton's safety and well-being by working with partners on housing, mental health and wellness supports, homelessness, supports for people who use substances, child care and food security.

Social Development Framework

In December 2023, Council adopted the City's first-ever Social Development Framework. The Social Development Framework serves as a clear vision and set of guiding principles that enable formal action in supporting equality and social wellbeing for Penticton.

The Social Development Framework is a roadmap to guide the areas of focus for the department, in addition to where other partners have key roles in implementing social initiatives, both of which have social impacts. It solidifies the responsibilities and commitments of the City in promoting a better quality of life for all community members.

A Social Development Framework endorses a community capacity building approach by considering how existing assets can be enhanced, and/or how new pathways are created to respond to priority areas. The Social Development Framework offers a structure that assists with coordinating the activities, communications, community alignment, relationships and assets that spur social change through meaningful and proactive leadership to the social services sector.

View an accessible version of the Social Development Framework in a rich text format. If you require a copy of the document in a different accessible format, please contact the Social Development department for support.

These principles will guide the Social Development department when making decisions, working in partnerships, and allocating resources to demonstrate integrity and fulfill our leadership role in supporting solutions that promote social wellbeing.
- Community Safety and Wellbeing
- Accessibility
- Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
- Truth & Reconciliation
- Supporting the Social Sector
These principles have not been ordered by priority and naturally intersect with one another. They have been clustered into two groups:

Relationships
- Collaborative: ensuring mutual respect and responsibility
- Ensuring dignity and well-being of community members
- Honouring responsibility to decolonization and reconciliation
- Honouring diversity, equity and inclusion
Processes
- Evidence-based/informed
- Sustainable: social, environmental, economical
- Proactive: prevention oriented
- Flexible and adaptive: responsive to and of community needs, able to pivot when new information emerges
- Supporting public participation and engagement: accessible, balancing perspectives, authentic
The strategic priorities were arrived at through a consensus-based process. The activities defined in the Framework reflect the areas where the City had a lead role to play. Partnerships are inherent to the successful achievement of our goals in each area of
- Housing
- Mental Health & Wellness Supports
- Homelessness
- Supports for People Who Use Substances
- Child Care
- Food Security