During a press conference outside the B.C. legislature on Wednesday (Aug. 21), Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced 72 new shelter spaces will open at existing service sites in Victoria.
Twenty of those opened on Aug. 20. and the rest are set to become available in the coming weeks, the minister said.
Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto said the new beds are important to quickly accommodate those seeking shelter in the city and it's exactly what she expected from a memorandum on understanding on homelessness resources the capital and B.C. inked earlier this year.
"My people, my Victorians need help. This is one step and I thank (the province) for taking it," Alto said.
She added that the announcement demonstrates how governments at various levels can find solutions when they work with each other, with service providers and with those affected. However, the mayor has already conveyed to the province that Victoria is taking on an outsized role in the region when it comes to hosting homelessness supports.
Of the approximately 1,450 supportive housing units in the Capital Region, Victoria has about 1,260 of them, city staff told council in early August. Kahlon also noted Wednesday Victoria is slotted to get another 800 supportive units.
As she said the new beds will be life changing in some cases for those seeking shelter, Alto called on her Capital Regional District counterparts to follow Victoria's lead and work with the B.C. government to find solutions that are tailored to their communities.
"These people are here because no one else is stepping up to provide the same services," the mayor said. "This is essentially not fair, it is not fair to the City of Victoria, it is not fair to the province, it is not far to the people seeking help."
"I urge my colleagues to look at this example and to find the solutions to keep their people home," Alto added.
The housing minister was asked if he's been in talks with other CRD municipalities about them taking on more homelessness supports and whether they've been willing to do so. Kahlon said the conversation he's been having with many – but not all – municipalities is how they address the challenge together.
"I'm not saying one community has to have shelters and another one doesn't, I'm saying let's get to the table and find solutions," he said. "It's going to require other communities to do their part and if everyone does a little, then no one has to do a lot."
But asked then if it's fair that Victoria hosts hundreds of supportive housing units and shelter beds while just down the road Oak Bay has hardly any, Kahlon said neighbouring communities have to do their part and he's willing to work with any of the CRD councils.
"You can’t have one community say, ‘You know what, we are going to support the vulnerable people in our community’ without the neighbouring communities doing their part. Everyone that is looking for housing is from within the region and so it requires regional supports," he said.
Kahlon on Wednesday also announced B.C. is partnering with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness to invest $2 million over the next two years to better coordinate services across the province and ensure that those supports are being used in the most effective way.
Our Place Society will provide 40 of the new spaces and 20 of those have already opened at its Pandora Avenue community centre. The non-profit service provider's CEO Julian Daly called Pandora the epicentre of the crisis.
"The units announced today represent a fantastic and welcome first step in ending the suffering of people who are living rough on our streets, as well as addressing the disquiet and distress that housed citizens feel when they see their fellow citizens living in tents, doorways and parks in their capital city," he said.
Daly added he's optimistic the vast majority of unhoused folks will secure indoor housing shelter in the coming months and be on their way to permanent housing before winter. The remaining 32 beds will be added to the Salvation Army's existing shelter and those spaces will be for men seeking recovery programs.
