The office of the Interior Women’s Centre Society, located in downtown Kamloops (Tkʼemlúps), is the only office in the hall with an open door. Here, volunteers welcome women in, guiding them to resources like art therapy and legal or employment supports. On Dec. 16, 2024 that included a boutique with free clothes, refreshments and tickets to the theatre.
The organization initially started in October 2023 as an employment solutions agency, but grew to include other services aimed at rounding out the resources available for women in Kamloops.
“[In Kamloops] there are a lot of agencies that support domestic violence, there’s a lot of agencies that support pregnant women, there’s a lot of agencies that support women in recovery…but there was nothing that was more like a hub where we could just do low barrier access to supports and services,” Kathleen Larose, one of the co-founders of the Interior Women’s Centre Society says.
Low barrier means that the requirements to access certain services in the organization are minimal or limited. Other organizations normally have requirements on who can access support or help. In the case of the Interior Women’s Centre Society they are low barrier and help many women without tons of requirements.
The organization is a non-profit and is 100 per cent volunteer-based. It is funded through public or private donations and federal, provincial or municipal grants, most recently the 2025 Social and Community Development Grant, provided by the City of Kamloops. That $15,000 influx will be utilized for operational costs of the drop-in centre.
The goal in founding the centre was to “really focus on supporting women, empowering women, anyone who’s kind of transitioning out of poverty or challenging situations,” but folks using the resources there don’t have to fit in any box, something Larose says has been key in helping more people.
“They don’t need to have an addiction history, they don’t need to be any sort of marginalized individual. With that, we’ve been seeing a huge uptake in our services which has been really interesting to see the different demographics who are coming in.”
Because of that variation in services offered, the centre assigns case workers, and clients are supported on an individual, case-by-case basis.
“We’re getting people who are on disability, we’re getting single moms who are on welfare, we’re getting seniors who have terminal cancer, [people] getting food from us. Along with TRU students who are international that just can’t afford food,” Larose says.
The current lease on the space the centre operates out of comes to an end in February. A new lease will begin in March, along with extended hours of operation from Monday to Saturday.
“We’re just trying to figure out how we can keep going because since September [2024], we’ve already supported 50 people,” Larose said in November, 2024. “I think it’s definitely proven to be a crucial thing that we need to keep.”
Programs offered by the Interior Women’s Centre Society
The Interior Women’s Centre Society offers three main programs, HER Empowerment and Reinvented Transformation (HEART), Supportive Transitional Exit Pathway Program (STEPP) and Women’s Occupational Readiness and Knowledge Program (WORK)
The HEART program focuses on overall wellness where women can make connections with others through several activities.
“We do provide art therapy workshops. We do a lot of arts and crafts. We have ladies’ nights and field trips. We hope to build mentorship and community,” Larose says of HEART.
The STEPP program provides one-on-one case management with various resources and support following issues like sexual assault, pregnancy, recovery, addiction, detox, treatment, housing, legal issues and more.
“Our STEPP program is our lowest barrier program for vulnerable women, people who are facing homelessness who might have addiction issues. It’s turning into a bit of a first stage rapid exit program for women who want to exit trafficking, sexual exploitation, those kinds of things,” Larose says.
Through this program case workers help women get out of the space they are in and access shelters or other supports, so they do not end up homeless or back in a harmful environment.
Partnerships with other organizations ensure the society can also help relocate women to family, friends or supportive communities in other provinces. For example, a partnership with Thompson Legal Clinic helps provide legal support to those who might need it.
The WORK program helps support women who are transitioning back into employment. The goal is to offer employment support, education and other opportunities, including resume writing, career development, employment coaching and mock interviews.
“We’re just kind of trying to see what the need is at the moment, but for the most part, for the last quarter, we’ve been doing a lot of food and we’ve been doing a lot of fun activities,” Larose says.
Among these programs, the centre also offers opportunities for business development, food share programs and community connection.
“One of the things that we’ve really noticed is with our programs, we’ve been kind of bridging that isolation issue that seniors face. We’ve kind of been building a village for people to come and develop those friendships and whatnot,” Larose says.
In the future, Larose hopes to collaborate with other organizations like Venture Kamloops to help women establish their businesses.
The goal of the organization is to ultimately expand across Interior B.C.
Larose and Bailey Fujita-Stewart, the centre’s other cofounder, have identified various gaps in this type of service province-wide.
This year the organization plans on arranging an Interior women’s leadership network in the hopes that business owners join in to represent women and girls, advocate and bring awareness to domestic violence and missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Ways you can get involved
The organization is always looking for donations like self-care products including shampoo, conditioner, soaps, razors, hygiene care, dental care, pregnancy tests and menstrual items.
During the winter time the centre accepts donations of beanies, gloves, winter jackets and attire for the cold weather.
The society is always open to individuals, businesses or organizations that might want to collaborate.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story stated that the $15,000 from the 2025 Social and Community Development Grant will go toward programming and support of the centre. It will be specifically used for operational costs of the drop-in centre.
The Wren is a community driven local news outlet. Your questions and ideas help guide what we dig into. Your feedback after we publish a story helps ensure we're always improving our reporting to better serve you
What do think about this story?
