Leadership Team

Brandy Mellows

Director of Outreach and Housing Supports

Brandy Mellows

Brandy started working with Turning Points Collaborative Society in 2018. Her first role was as a Residential Worker in shelter and supportive housing, and that’s where she truly found her passion. Brandy is currently the Director of Outreach and Housing Supports in Vernon.  In this role, she works hard to provide safer spaces and warm meals and to connect residents with medical recourse, housing applications and rental supplements.   

Brandy’s background is in Nursing. She became a nurse in 2008, and it was then that she began working with vulnerable adults who had compromised physical and mental health. She finds deep meaning in her work with the community’s most vulnerable and marginalized individuals.

Brandy has seen loved ones struggle with addiction and homelessness and these experiences have helped her to relate to the individuals she serves. She is passionate about the work Turning Points does every day to help bring awareness and end the stigma associated with homelessness.  

Email: [email protected]

Naomi Poitras

Site Manager Our Place and The Crossings, Case Consultant Lead

Naomi Poitras

Naomi began working for Turning Points in 2017. She’s held many roles within the organization including Residential Worker, Program Coordinator, Community Support Worker, and Homeless Outreach Worker. She’s currently the Site Manager of Turning Points’ Motels Program.

Naomi brings a wealth of experience to Turning Points. She spent seven years working at an all-women’s shelter run by the Association Advocating for Women and Community (AWAC) in Prince George. Her first role with the Association was as a Shelter Support Worker, and she ended her time there as Supportive Recovery Program Coordinator.

Naomi is deeply committed to the work she does and takes great pride in creating safe spaces for her clients whether that be providing them with a safe place to sleep, a warm meal, a shower, or a compassionate ear.

Naomi has lost many friends and family members to addiction and grew up in and out of foster care. She also has a number of friends and some family members who are homeless, in jail, and in shelter. This lived experience is what inspired her to do the work she does. It made her want to be a voice for those who don’t have one, to help those who are struggling, and to treat those experiencing homelessness or/and addiction with the dignity that her family members didn’t receive.

Naomi is a proud and devoted mother and lives her life by the mantra, “everybody is somebody’s somebody.”

Tel: (250) 241-0888 (Our Place) (236) 426-1600 (The Crossings)
Email: [email protected]

Candice Berry

Regional Manager of Shelter Diversion

Candice Berry

Candice started at Turning Points in 2020. She’s currently the Regional Manager of Shelter Diversion.

Candice has spent the last 20 years working with people experiencing homelessness, mental health issues, and/or substance use disorders. Throughout that time, she has worked extensively with Indigenous communities. She spent five years teaching harm reduction and sexual health in First Nations Communities and three years as the Assistant Health Director for Sunchild First Nations before moving to Kelowna to accept an Executive Director position with Living Positive Resource Centre.

Candice brings extensive knowledge and experience working with marginalized populations, as well as a breadth of knowledge in building community capacity and engagement with Indigenous communities.

Email: [email protected]

Stacy Mitchell

Affordable Housing Manager Vernon & Enderby

Stacy Mitchell

Stacy has been with Turning Points since 2019. She began her Turning Points journey as a residential worker for both shelter and supportive housing sites. She then moved into an administrative role as the scheduling coordinator, and has now become the site manager for four sites of affordable housing in Vernon and Enderby.

Stacy spent 25 years as a journalist and in project marketing. She also has a decade of experience as a birth and postpartum doula and lactation consultant. During this time, Stacy volunteered with young mothers and families to support them in their parenting role, as they coped with compromised mental health and/or addiction. Stacy has sat on different committees with Interior Health and has extensive experience liaising with city officials and various non-profit organizations.

Stacy has the lived experience of supporting family members with significant mental health unwellness, while navigating the extensive and often challenging health care that was required. She has also suffered the grief of a losing a loved one to suicide, due to mental health unwellness.

Stacy has a passion for affordable housing as she believes it is the first step in getting to wellness, independence and having a sense of belonging. Stacy says, “Without a warm bed and a door to lock, the difficulty in moving forward and experiencing growth is so much more immense. Doing this type of work with Turning Points gives me an immense amount of pride and my own sense of contributing to others’ well-being.”

Tel: (778) 692-5656
Email: [email protected]

Kathleen MacKinnon

Affordable Housing Manager, Kelowna

Kathleen MacKinnon

Kathleen’s bio is coming soon.

Email: [email protected]

Kate Richardson

Site Manager - My Place Supportive Housing

Kate Richardson

Kate completed her Human Services Diploma at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops. During university Kate began working as a behavioral interventionist with youth on the Autism spectrum or diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. In 2016 she moved to Maple Ridge where she worked as an education assistant in the school district before changing direction toward a career in housing and addiction. Kate worked both as a residence worker in shelter and as a community support worker in supportive housing during her time in Maple Ridge.

Upon returning to her hometown of Kamloops, she obtained a position with the John Howard Society and worked as an Intensive Management Program Coordinator. As the IMP’s Coordinator she supported individuals released on parole from federal institutions. She worked closely with Kamloops Parole on intensive case management to help these individuals build a stable foundation to work towards deinstitutionalization.

This foundation of experience has been a tremendous asset to her role within the organization. Kate began working with Turning Points in 2022 as the Supportive Housing Program Coordinator at My Place, until her transition into her current leadership role.

Through working with many different demographics, Kate has found a common theme – support and stability is essential to grow and reach personal potential. She is excited to use her education and experience to help TPCS clients discover this support and stability.

Tel: 236-426-0360
Email: [email protected]

Caitlin McKenny

Site Manager

Caitlin McKenny

Caitlin began working for Turning Points in 2020. Within the organization, she’s held the positions of Residential Worker, Outreach Worker, Community Support Worker, and site manager for the Richter Street Shelter. She’s currently the Site Manager for the supportive housing complex My Place.

Caitlin holds an Honours Diploma in Community Support Work and Social Services. She brings a wealth of experience working in the field of low-income housing in Vernon and has been proud to work with and support Indigenous communities in the North Okanagan.

Caitlin came from a background where both of her parents lived in addiction and had unhealthy lifestyles. She later found herself engaging in these same unhealthy behaviours with her peers. She lost her father and many of her friends to addiction.

Caitlin learned a lot from her struggles and her loss. What’s more, these early experiences of adversity fueled her desire to help others in similar circumstances. She prides herself on being able to help people see the good in life and to help them access the resources available to them – whenever they are ready.

Caitlin strives to set a beautiful example for her children to show compassion, love and light to everyone they meet.

Tel: 236-426-0360
Email: [email protected]

Vanessa Kreway

Site Manager Richter Street Shelter, Case Consultant Lead

Vanessa Kreway

Vanessa began working for Turning Points in 2020. She’s currently the Site Manager for the Richter Street Shelter and the Temporary Site Manager for Bartley Court Shelter.

Vanessa brings a wealth of experience to the organization. She began volunteering with the non-profit organization Inn from the Cold in 2011 while she was completing her diploma in Human Services Work at Okanagan College. When she graduated, she was hired on at Inn from the Cold and after progressing through many positions in the organization she took over as their Shelter Manager. In the five years she spent in that role, Vanessa oversaw all shelter operations including case management, drop-in, outreach, and housing. She then spent two years working on Interior Health Authority’s Mental Health and Substance Use Team where she specialized in supporting high-risk substance use clients.

Ever since her first volunteer role at Inn from the Cold, Vanessa has felt a deep connection to the work she does and a passion for working with our community’s most vulnerable people.

Email: [email protected]

Gbolahan Oyenola

Acting Site Manager, Vernon Emergency Shelter

Brittany Yadernuk

Bartley Court Site Manager

Brittany Yadernuk

Brittany’s bio is coming soon.

Tel: 250-808-1661
Email: [email protected]

Matthew Parmiter

Site Manager, Addiction Services

David Burdett

Food Service Manager

David Burdett

David brings over 20 years of culinary experience to Turning Points. His background in restaurants, kids camps and soup kitchens have made him a perfect fit for the organization. He is passionate about making sure our clients are fed with healthy and nutritious food, and he is excited to use his experience and knowledge to get the most out of donated ingredients.

Tel: 2508990583
Email: [email protected]

Kody Woodmass

Fund Development Coordinator

Kody Woodmass

Kody’s bio is coming soon.

Email: [email protected]