Lower Mainland - Day Two Surrey

We spent today in BC's second largest city -- Surrey. We began in Whalley, a town centre in North Surrey which has become known for a very high concentration of street level homeless people and a serious and open drug culture.

The Front Room is an emergency shelter and drop in centre which has very low barriers. This means many people who use the emergency shelter are banned from other agencies and service providers because of behaviours which are judged to be unacceptable. We were reminded by Front Room service providers that it is vital to deal with homeless people as they are. If those who stay at the Front Room are going to get off the street, then their culture, life styles and behaviours need to be accepted in the first instance and worked with step by step to achieve change.

Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Centre is a new, well-resourced facility where important work is being done.

At Newton Advocacy Centre we were told of the enormous pressure counsellors work under to find adequate shelter for people when there often isn't any place for them to go. We also heard more about the ongoing supports necessary for homeless people to be successful once they do find a place to live.

Thanks to all of the hard working people we spoke with -- and especially to the homeless people who took time to tell us about their experiences.

Lower Mainland - Day Two Surrey

Itinerary

9:30AM - Front Room
11:00 AM - Options Services to Communities Society
12:00 - Highland House
2:00PM - Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Recovery and
Education Society
3:00PM - Newton Advocacy Centre

Lower Mainland - Day One Abbotsford

Today in Abbotsford we saw the reality of a large Lower Mainland municipality outside of Vancouver with a significant homelessness problem.

We shared a bowl of soup at the Salvation Army and visited with staff members. We were especially impressed by four young outreach workers. They are doing their very best to connect with homeless people on the street, to encourage them to access programs and services, and to find at least temporary, emergency shelter. But they all agreed that at the end of the day homeless people need accessible and affordable housing and that's just not available in Abbotsford.

At the Women's Resource Centre we were reminded that support needs to be culturally appropriate. Indo-Canadian women are accustomed to large extended families in a household. Many are more comfortable, therefore, in a basement apartment than in an apartment building.

When we asked about the motivation for the work of the Mennonite Central Committee, we were told that finding accommodation, support and dignity for homeless people was part of the church's commitment to social justice. We agreed with their assessment that while emergency shelters are necessary, they are not a solution because they are not homes.

Lower Mainland - Day One Abbotsford

Itinerary

9:30AM - Cyrus Youth Centre
10:45AM - Abbotsford Food Bank
12:00 Salvation Army
1:00PM - Mennonite Central Committee
2:00PM - Women's Resource Centre
April 28, 11:00AM - Triangle

Does BC need a UN Complaint?

We usually don't publish excerpts from other people's BLOGs, but this article on David Eby's Vancouver 2010 Olympics Newswire is so good we couldn't resist. Please take the time to read the beginning here and then link to the rest of the article.



Premier Gordon Campbell was quoted in the Sun saying that "B.C. doesn't need the United Nations to tell us we have a homelessness problem, I think all of us understand that there is work to be done." Well, although we may all understand there is work to be done, there's not a lot of work getting done by the Premier and his pals. Here are some examples of why the Province needs to be taken to the UN.

(1) They've got a $250m housing endowment sitting in the bank. A budget ago, the B.C. Government set aside $250m for new social housing. Housing advocates rejoiced. The money was enough to build hundreds of new social housing units and put a real dent in Vancouver's homeless population. So what happened with the money? It sits in the bank, gathering interest, and only the interest is being spent. On a burn unit. Which isn't to say that burn units aren't important, but this is housing money. And this despite the fact that savings well beyond the current interest rate the money is receiving would be experienced by the province if they just used the money to house the homeless.http://davideby.blogspot.com/2008/04/does-province-need-un-complaint.html

Victoria

The City of Victoria is one of the most engaged when it comes to beginning to deal with the crisis of homelessness. The Mayor's Task Force on Homelessness and Mental Health has received a lot of publicity. Many service providers arre working hard to provide support to the extremely large group of homeless people in the Victoria region.

We had a good visit with the staff and volunteers at St. Vincent De Paul Society. It was significant that they told us they will be participating in the May 3 Provincial Stand for Housing. Pleae see the post on this BLOG with details on the provincial stand.

Thanks to the many people we met with in Victoria for their time, energy and for their commitment to ending homelessness.

Victoria

Itinerary

8:45AM - Our Place Society
10:00AM - Umbrella Additions and Mental Health Resource
11:00AM - Cool Aid Society
12:00 - PEERS
1:00PM - Saint Vincent De Paul Society
2:00 PM - Victoria Native Friendship Centre
3:30PM - Mustard Seed
4:45PM - Together Against Poverty
6:00PM - Streetlink