Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director of the Housing Centre

SUBJECT:

Regional Homelessness Plan for Greater Vancouver

 

RECOMMENDATION

GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS

COUNCIL POLICY

Council's housing priorities are low and modest income families with children, seniors, low-income singles living in downtown rooming houses and hotels, and those with mental or physical disabilities. The City has undertaken several initiatives to prevent homelessness, including development of new social housing and provision of community services.

BACKGROUND

Homelessness has emerged as a regional issue - there are homeless people throughout the Burrard Peninsula (Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster), Tri-cities, the North Shore, Richmond and within municipalities south of the Fraser River.

Root causes for homelessness are many, and complex in their interconnectedness. In Greater Vancouver, contributing factors include:

· the inadequate capacity of emergency shelter space;
·the demand for social housing consistently outstripping supply;
· the low vacancy rates and high rents;
· the lack of funding for community supports that were to have accompanied the deinstitutionalisation of the mentally ill;
· the inadequate capacity of residential detox and addiction treatment beds;
· the inadequacy of social and income supports in preventing family breakdown;

This regional plan was developed and adopted by the Regional Steering Committee. The Steering Committee includes representation from emergency shelter operators, service providers, health authorities, community advocacy groups, housing providers, urban aboriginal community groups, municipalities, and senior governments. Its work is facilitated by the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Endorsement of the plan is now being sought from municipalities and senior government, community organizations, and from homeless people themselves. This report summarizes the plan and copies of the full document are available in the City Clerk's office.

DISCUSSION

Purpose and Scope
The regional plan that has been developed is a comprehensive strategic document intended to guide the future actions of major stakeholders in the region over the next five to ten years. It documents and confirms emerging regional consensus on policy directions, many of which had been developed through previous work by community networks and government initiatives, and also establishes a context within which federal and other funding initiatives can occur.

Planning Process
The Steering Committee has developed this regional plan through a community-based planning process, over a year in duration, which has included two extensive stakeholder planning workshops, wide distribution of information bulletins at critical phases in the plan's development, and small-group sessions with homeless individuals in shelters and drop-in centres. Committee members continue outreach and consultation efforts with a number of organizations serving homeless people, including urban Aboriginal organizations and youth and youth serving organizations.

The planning process has also involved collaboration among all levels of government. The Government of Canada announced in December 1999 that it would invest $753 million in an approach to help alleviate and prevent homelessness across the country. The cornerstone of this approach is the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative (SCPI), under which this planning process was funded. SCPI requires that a plan for homelessness be in place. In BC, this federal initiative builds upon the previous partnerships under the Vancouver Agreement, and upon previous Provincial and local government partnerships for the regional Cold/Wet Weather Strategy, and the Homes BC program.

Guiding Principles
The guiding principles of the plan are:

Continuum of Housing and Supports
The plan adopts a model for addressing homelessness based on the continuum of housing and support. The continuum consists of three major elements - housing, income, and support, each of which has several sub-elements. The continuum espouses a strong prevention approach by focussing on housing and income as ways to prevent homelessness, while recognizing the importance of support in responding to homelessness. The continuum serves as a framework for organizing the plan and all its elements, including the inventory of services and facilities.

Priorities
The regional plan sets priorities that were identified through an analysis of the inventory of facilities and services, knowledge of Steering Committee members, input from two stakeholder planning workshops, and interviews with key stakeholders. They are:

Under Housing

Under Support Services

Under Income Supports

Investment
It is not possible at this time to anticipate the range of initiatives expected to flow from the priorities identified by the plan's policies. Some of these initiatives will be funded under SCPI, but because the horizon of the regional plan extends to ten years, funding initiatives beyond SCPI, which currently is a 3-year program, will be required as stakeholders within the region move forward with full implementation of the plan.

Next Steps
All constituents whose support for implementation of the plan will have an opportunity to review and endorse the plan over the coming months. It is anticipated that this endorsement process may take six to ten months, and the regional plan will be distributed to all member municipalities of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, to all pertinent Provincial ministries and Federal departments, and to a wide range of community groups and networks.

Years Two and Three of SCPI Funding
The next Request for Proposals for SCPI funding was issued in May, 2001. It will again be fully regional in geographic scope, but wider in eligibility criteria than the first solicitation, to reflect the continuum of housing and supports identified in the regional plan. The Steering Committee will be responsible for reviewing, evaluating and recommending projects to HRDC.

CONCLUSION

The Regional Plan represents a major step forward in addressing homelessness in a regional context and in involving community organizations and all levels of government.
The principles are consistent with City policies and actions and it is recommended they be endorsed.

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