It鈥檚 an anniversary city officials will not be celebrating next week.
For the 10th consecutive year, hundreds of volunteers will take to the streets and shelters March 12 and 13 to count the number of people who do not have a home in Vancouver.
Mitchell Lagimodiere and Kelli Lubbers are tenants at the Sarah Ross House modular housing building on Kaslo Street. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
Last year,聽聽were recorded as homeless 鈥� 1,522 in some form of shelter and 659 on the street. It was an all-time high for Vancouver, with previous Metro Vancouver-led counts showing the city鈥檚 homeless population was once at 1,364 in 2005.
So what will the population be this year?
If the number of temporary modular housing units opened across the city since last year鈥檚 homeless count is used to answer the question, then the easy math would suggest 麻豆传媒映画will see a decrease in its homeless population.
Only the 78-unit complex in Marpole was open during last year鈥檚 count. Since then, nine more modular housing buildings opened across the city, including in Fairview Slopes, Renfrew-Collingwood and the Downtown Eastside.
The most recent one 鈥� Nora Hendrix Place at Union and Gore streets 鈥� opened Sunday.
Some units in the buildings still have to be tenanted, but about 500 people are now living at the 10 sites. When all of the units are occupied, that will mean 606 people will be housed.
Not every tenant 鈥� who range in age from 20 to 89 鈥� came directly from the street, but the city contends 80 per cent were either in a shelter or living outside before moving into a suite. So that accounts for about 400 of the 500 tenants.
The 52-unit modular housing building on Kaslo Street is known as Sarah Ross House. It opened last summer. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
The remaining 20 per cent were at risk of becoming homeless or living in precarious housing situations, according to Abi Bond, the city鈥檚 managing director of homelessness services and affordable housing programs.
The breakdown suggests fewer people will be on the street and in shelters this time around.
But that鈥檚 the easy math.
What complicates an answer to the equation of whether Vancouver鈥檚 homeless population has decreased since last year are two sobering data points.
The first one is that 78 per cent of people surveyed in the March 2018 count said they last paid rent in 麻豆传媒映画prior to becoming homeless, dispelling a long-held myth that the city's population is being fueled by migration from other cities and provinces.
The second point is that 52 per cent of people surveyed said they had been homeless for one year or less.
That has been a reoccurring trend.
The reasons vary, but the drivers of homelessness, as identified in city reports, have included expensive rents, low vacancies, job loss, people living with mental health and addiction issues and lack of housing for people leaving hospitals, jails and foster care.
Those are factors Mayor Kennedy Stewart is keenly aware of, and it is why he could not provide a prediction on what this year鈥檚 count will reveal, although he pointed to the opening of the modular housing buildings in his response to the question.
鈥淎ll our hopes are really pinned on the temporary modular housing,鈥� said Stewart, who plans to participate in next week鈥檚 count. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping that makes a difference.鈥�
鈥楽tepping stones鈥�
Mitchell Lagimodiere on the path that he and friends made outside Sarah Ross House. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
It has made a difference for Mitchell Lagimodiere, who lives in a suite at a modular housing building on Kaslo Street near the 29th Avenue SkyTrain station. It鈥檚 called Sarah Ross House. The 56-year-old self-described jack of all trades was not counted in last year鈥檚 count.
Why?
鈥淚 was hiding,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey couldn鈥檛 find me.鈥�
Lagimodiere may be familiar to聽聽as the guy who built a bunker into the side of a hill in a ravine near Lakewood Street and 12th Avenue. He lived in the fortified space, complete with a bed, lighting and venting for about seven months. He even rigged up a DVD player.
His large collection of tools took up much of the space.
A combination of a police incident involving a friend and media attention ended his days in the bunker. He found a spot in a shelter at East First and Commercial Drive, which connected him with people who arranged for a suite at the Sarah Ross House.
Lagimodiere was grateful for the room. It was a bonus, he said, that it wasn鈥檛 in the Downtown Eastside. He moved in last August.
鈥淚 had a bad drug habit when I was younger, and to go downtown would be just asking to get back into it,鈥� he said, sitting at a table in the building鈥檚 common room while an episode of The Simpsons played on the television. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no way I鈥檒l go back down there.鈥�
His room has a bed, small kitchen and washroom. He鈥檚 filled it with his tools. He鈥檚 got a lock on his door, which, he said, gives him peace of mind. He also has access to laundry and a computer room. If he doesn鈥檛 cook himself, he can get a meal prepared in the building鈥檚 community kitchen.
Atira Women鈥檚 Resource Society, the non-profit that manages the 52-suite building, ensures tenants have access to support services such as health care, counselling and help with income assistance. Harm reduction supplies are available near the front door.
Movie nights, bingo nights and a women鈥檚 sharing circle are some of the programs available. Tenants can volunteer in the kitchen and management is currently developing a life skills program.
The cost for Lagimodiere to live there is $375 per month, a sum that is paid for with the income assistance he receives from the provincial government.
For all he has, his new surroundings took some getting used to.
鈥淚 just couldn鈥檛 come inside,鈥� said Lagimodiere, who is originally from Winnipeg but moved west to 麻豆传媒映画as a young boy with his mother to escape being recruited into gangs. 鈥淚t took a while to adjust. I actually didn鈥檛 sleep here for the first month. I found it real uneasy. I鈥檇 spend the day here and then turn around and go sleep outside.鈥�
Having a place to live has allowed him to reconnect with some of his 12 children. He believes one of his sons from Prince George will be in town to celebrate his birthday later this month.
In the past few months, he said, he鈥檚 also been thinking about returning to 麻豆传媒映画Community College to improve his limited literacy skills; up until three years ago, Lagimodiere said, he couldn鈥檛 read or write.
Kelli Lubbers and her dog, Bubba, in her room at Sarah Ross House. Photo by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
For now, he spends his days doing odd jobs around Sarah Ross House. He recently built some gravel walkways with fellow tenants and friends. He鈥檚 also built shelves for tenants, including Kelli Lubbers, who was in hospital during last year鈥檚 homeless count.
Lubbers, 40, had been living in a single-room-occupancy hotel in the Downtown Eastside until she contracted an infection, which she blamed on the condition of the hotel. She learned about Sarah Ross House through the building鈥檚 manager.
鈥淭his definitely helps with my stepping stones,鈥� said Lubbers, who noted she was once certified as a 鈥淩ed Seal鈥� chef. 鈥淢y next goal is to get clean [from using drugs]. I don鈥檛 use very much, I use actually very little but I can鈥檛 get rid of it. And I really need to. I don鈥檛 know how I鈥檓 going to go about doing that, yet.鈥�
Since Lubbers moved in, she got a pit bull puppy she named Bubba, which played at her feet for a portion of her interview with the Courier.
鈥淚鈥檓 much more stable, way more relaxed,鈥� she said of her life at Sarah Ross House.
Lagimodiere feels the same.
鈥淚 love it 鈥� it鈥檚 great,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel at home here now. I got friends out there right now who would kill to get in here.鈥�
$66 million for 606 modular units
This City of 麻豆传媒映画graph shows the steady increase in homelessness.
The mayor wants to get more people into housing, but he鈥檚 not promising what his predecessor, Gregor Robertson, did 鈥� to set a deadline to put an end to the number of people living on the street.
鈥淚 was a boy scout for a long time and the motto is 鈥業鈥檒l promise to do my best,鈥� and that鈥檚 exactly what I鈥檓 doing,鈥� said Stewart, noting he鈥檚 met with politicians in Victoria and Ottawa to press for more funding for modular and permanent housing in Vancouver.
As Robertson acknowledged in 聽to end 鈥渟treet homelessness鈥� in 2015, any reductions to homelessness have to be done with millions of dollars of commitment from the provincial and federal governments.
Robertson, who served 10 years as mayor, believed the governments of Christy Clark in Victoria and Stephen Harper in Ottawa would address the homelessness crisis and help him meet his goal. That didn鈥檛 happen, he said, and the homeless population increased from 1,576 in 2008 to 2,181 last year.
During the provincial Liberals鈥� time in government, they funded 13 supportive housing buildings, bought and renovated more than 20 Downtown Eastside hotels and provided funding to operate shelters and offered rent supplements for low-income people.
Still, the homeless population increased in 麻豆传媒映画and throughout the region.
Then-housing minister Rich Coleman would repeatedly tell reporters the Liberal government had invested more in housing than any jurisdiction in Canada. The provincial Liberals and Harper鈥檚 Conservatives lost both elections as Robertson was winding down his last term.
In leaving office last fall, Robertson argued the newly elected NDP-led provincial government and the Liberal-led federal government were more aligned with the city and region鈥檚 push to build housing for homeless people.
He pointed to the $66 million for the 606 modular units in 麻豆传媒映画and the federal government鈥檚 $40-billion, 10-year national housing strategy announced in 2017 to reduce chronic homelessness by 50 per cent in Canada.
That is an alignment Stewart 鈥� a former NDP MP 鈥� has also referred to when discussing homelessness, noting the provincial government鈥檚 recent budget forecast called for another 200 modular housing units province-wide this year.
鈥淭he province is the reason we have the first 600 units of [modular] housing, but I鈥檓 glad that they鈥檝e made more available and I鈥檓 going to take as many as they鈥檒l give me,鈥� the mayor said.
But while Stewart and Abi Bond of the city鈥檚 homelessness services department say funding for modular housing is crucial, it鈥檚 the drivers of homelessness that they say need to simultaneously be addressed by the provincial and federal governments.
鈥淎s long as we still find people entering homelessness in that way, we鈥檙e going to see the homeless numbers affected,鈥� said Bond, referring to people living with mental health and addictions and other factors related to poverty that leave people on the street. 鈥淲e need big system changes in order to prevent that from happening. And we need more investment in supportive housing, not just in 麻豆传媒映画but across the region, as well.鈥�
Added Bond: 鈥淚f new people are becoming homeless every day, every year, then we need a system that鈥檚 going to pick them up quickly and re-house them as fast as possible. But right now, our shelters are full to kind of bursting and we don鈥檛 have sufficient supportive housing options for people in the year that they鈥檝e become homeless. So unless we can start to do that, I think we will see continued pressure on our system.鈥�
All types of housing for all types of people
Housing Minister Selina Robinson, Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Abi Bond, the city鈥檚 managing director of homelessness services. Photos by Dan Toulgoet/麻豆传媒映画Courier
Housing Minister Selina Robinson and Social Development Minister Shane Simpson are troubled by Vancouver鈥檚 homeless crisis, as they are about people living on the street and in shelters in the rest of the province.
In separate interviews last week, both ministers rattled off a list of initiatives the NDP-led provincial government has taken since elected in 2017 to address homelessness.
Some of that list included modular housing, investments in mental health and addictions services, increases to income assistance, the move to set up a rent bank, keeping the allowable rent increase at 2.5 per cent and making post-secondary free for young people leaving foster care.
The government, however, did not open any new stand-alone permanent housing for homeless people in 麻豆传媒映画since last year鈥檚 homeless count. Only 52 units of the 198-unit Olivia Skye building at 41 East Hastings 鈥� which opened in March 2018 鈥� rent to single women at the provincial welfare rate of $375 per month.
In addition, the government paid $12.5 million for the Jubilee Rooms near Main and Hastings, which opened in June 2018. But that purchase was done to accommodate nearly 80 tenants evicted from the Regent Hotel, which the city closed because of its dilapidated state.
Both ministers would not predict whether Vancouver鈥檚 homeless population would decrease this year but said they were hopeful progress had been made since last year鈥檚 count.
Robinson, who was in 麻豆传媒映画March 3 to open the 52-unit Nora Hendrix Place at Union and Gore streets, said her ministry continues to work with municipalities to bring housing to their communities, noting homelessness is a B.C.-wide problem.
She provided some examples of progress 鈥� one in the Whalley area of Surrey, where people were moved off a notorious strip and into modular housing, and another in Smithers, which she said will close its shelter because of the construction of modular housing in the northern community.
鈥淎s a town, they are very excited that they don鈥檛 need their shelter anymore,鈥� Robinson said.
'30-point' housing plan
But, she said, the government is not solely focused on modular housing to reduce homelessness. She pointed to the government鈥檚 30-point housing plan, saying addressing homelessness has to include providing all types of housing for all types of people.
鈥淲e recognize it鈥檚 not any one thing,鈥� Robinson said. 鈥淲e need affordable rental, we need seniors housing, we need housing for families, we need to address what鈥檚 going on for renters 鈥� the fixed-term lease loophole. Fixing all of those pieces is about preventing homelessness.鈥�
The drivers of homelessness that Bond referred to are expected to be a focus of the provincial government鈥檚 poverty reduction strategy, which Simpson said he will reveal in a couple of weeks.
鈥淲e know much of [being homeless] is linked to poverty 鈥� the connections, obviously, are very strong,鈥� he said, noting the plan involves input and action from a range of government ministries. 鈥淚f the issue of poverty reduction rests with my ministry alone, it鈥檚 not going to succeed. It has to be bigger than that, or we鈥檙e not going to have a lot of success.鈥�
In the meantime, Vancouver鈥檚 homeless count will go ahead next week for its 10th consecutive year. The data, so far, has shown no significant signs that an 11th or 12th count will not be necessary.
鈥淥bviously, we hope we鈥檙e going to see some progress,鈥� said Simpson, the MLA for Vancouver-Hastings. 鈥淭hat would be great. But there鈥檚 still going to be significant numbers of people out there who are struggling with homelessness. That鈥檚 a for sure.鈥�
