Recent incidents of people sheltering in Langford parks and new information suggesting the city needs 116 housing units in the next five years for ‘persons experiencing homelessness’, has caused a handful of locals to speak up in concern.
At a council meeting on Oct. 7, residents appealed to the city to be “bold” and find a housing solution suitable for people who are “economically homeless”, while pressing the province to build separate facilities for people living with serious mental health disorders and addictions.
“The homeless issue is provincial, which has been foist upon municipal governments everywhere,” said one resident.
“People with addictions and mental health problems need to be treated, not municipally but provincially, in provincial facilities that need to be built,” they added.
Referencing the Sept. 25 incident at Aurora, the supportive housing building in Central Saanich, which involved a person with a firearm, another resident raised concerns about the safety of these types of housing solutions.
“We don’t want that in Langford,” they said after earlier urging councillors to not “follow suit” and be the leader in finding its own solution to support homeless people. “We want something new, something that’s going to be great for everybody who’s facing homelessness.”
“I hope your intentions are not to repeat these mistakes and put families, seniors and businesses in danger – in our own homes and neighbourhoods,” added another local.
Sheltering in Veterans Memorial Park and Danbrook Park in recent weeks was also flagged at the meeting.
“It’s very discouraging to see them there all day,” said a Massie Drive resident. “Something has to be done with them. I don’t care what it is. I just don’t want it in front of my face, constantly."
Another local resident described upset in the community about open drug use in front of local businesses.
“The hardest working, most honourable people are being victimized by this,” they said, urging the city again to lobby the province to find a solution to the ongoing issue.
The locals were responding to new information shared in Langford’s Interim Housing Needs Report, completed under the direction of the province.
According to the report, Langford needs a total of 5,081 housing units in the next five years; and a total of 16,942 units in the next 20 years.
The total number of units is broken down into categories, including ‘persons experiencing homelessness’, which has a target of 116.21 units in the next five years, and a total of 232.41 units in the next 20 years.
Langford’s housing need has been calculated based on a method prescribed by the province, using specific sources of publicly available data, said a city spokesperson.
“The purpose of these calculations is to provide an estimate of the housing that will be needed in the city over these timeframes to address both expected population growth and the demand that currently exists,” they said.
Local municipalities are not required to ensure the specific categories of housing in the report, including ‘extreme core housing need’ and ‘persons experiencing homelessness’, are built, said the city spokesperson.
“But [they] are required to adjust their official community plans and zoning bylaws to ensure the overall 20-year housing need noted is accommodated through their policies and regulations,” they added.
