LATE DISTRIBUTION
FOR COUNCIL DECEMBER 10, 1996
RR1(vi)
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: December 6, 1996
Dept. File No. 3451
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: Manager of the Housing Centre
SUBJECT: Provincial Funding - Tenant Assistance Program
RECOMMENDATION
A) THAT Council approve 6 months funding for DERA s housing
relocator for the period July 1, 1996, to December 31, 1996,
in the amount of $10,116, with funding to be provided from the
Demolition Fee Reserve.
B) THAT Council approve funding to the end of April 1997 to the
YWCA for the Vancouver Housing Registry for a total of $52,000
with funding to be provided from the 1997 Other Grants
Budget.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Community Services notes that this may be
the tip of the iceberg. In addition to reducing direct funding for
the City, the Province is reducing or eliminating funding to other
agencies upon which city residents depend. The City may have
increasing demands placed upon it to fill in the gap and in the
face of its own declining resources. Recognizing that these
recommendations begin the phase out of these services, if the
Province does not reconsider its position, and represent the
responsible approach in these circumstances, the General Manager of
Community Services RECOMMENDS the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
The City assists tenants in need of relocation through the Tenant
Assistance Program, and controls the demolition and conversion of rental
housing.
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PURPOSE
This report advises Council of the withdrawal of provincial funding for
2 programs jointly funded with the City that assist tenants - the
YWCA s Vancouver Housing Registry and DERA s housing relocator - and
recommends that the City fund DERA s relocator for the 6 months from
July 1 to December 31, 1996, and fund the Vancouver Housing Registry
until the end of April 1997.
BACKGROUND
Vancouver has long suffered from low vacancy rates in rental housing
that makes finding appropriate housing difficult for tenants, in
particular those with low incomes and special needs. Since the late 70s
the City has funded various community groups to provide housing registry
services, including the Red Door Housing Registry, the Kits Housing
Registry, the Vancouver Homeshares Society and Information Services
Vancouver. In 1987 staff recommended that Vancouver support a
centralized, comprehensive housing registry. City Council supported the
one stop shop concept, and a joint proposal call was issued by the
City of Vancouver and B.C. Housing Management Commission (BCHMC). The
YWCA was selected and has managed the registry, located at 501 East
Broadway, since it opened in February 1988.
Since 1986 the City has also provided funding for emergency relocations
in the Downtown Eastside. Until 1990 services were intermittent and on
an emergency basis only. During the first 6 months of 1990, DERA
assisted with emergency relocations arising from rooming house fires and
City ordered closures on a fee for service basis. In June 1990 Council
approved a grant to DERA to pay for a permanent housing relocator.
Both the Y s Housing Registry and DERA s housing relocator have been
jointly funded by the City and the Province, roughly 50/50. In 1996,
the City provided $130,421 and the Province $126,622 to the Y s
registry, and $19,836 and $20,272 for DERA s relocator respectively.
Since 1994, the Province has funded these 2 services through their
Community Housing Initiatives (CHI) program.
DISCUSSION
By letters dated November 22, 1996, BC Housing advised the YWCA that
they would no longer be funding the Registry after January 1997 and
advised DERA that they would not provide any funding for the relocator
since the funding they last approved ended on June 30, 1996. The Y s
grant from the Province is $10,833 for 1997. They advised both the Y
and DERA, along with other CHI applicants, that CHI will no longer be
used to fund on-going services.
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Unless the Province reconsiders its role for funding on-going housing
services, housing registries and community based housing relocators will
not be viable. Raising sufficient on-going operating funding through
charities and donations is not plausible. Housing is a provincial
responsibility and the Province needs to be a funding partner. It would
be inappropriate for the City to fund these services on its own. As a
result, if the Province does not reconsider its decision not to fund
on-going services such as housing registries and relocators, the
Vancouver Housing Registry will cease operation and there will no longer
be a DERA relocator for the Downtown Eastside.
Vancouver Housing Registry
Without alternative funding, the Y s Registry will have to close at the
end of January, and a valuable service will cease. When Council
approved the 1996 grant to the Y on July 25, 1996, the report noted
that, from an original projection of 300 client contacts per month, use
of the Registry had grown to 3,200 client contacts per month. The
Registry is especially useful to tenants for whom discrimination,
illiteracy, or language are barriers to finding housing. The Registry
has seen a trend toward greater complexity in the problems facing
clients, in particular those clients with multiple disabilities and life
skill deficits.
The Registry leases a storefront at 501 East Broadway. The lease costs
the Registry approximately $4,300 per month including operating costs.
The lease allows the Registry to give one months notice commencing at
the end of March 1997. This commits the Y to the lease until the end of
April 1997.
It is recommended that Council approve a 1997 grant of $52,000 to the
YWCA for the Vancouver Housing Registry. This, along with the
Province s grant, savings and the proceeds of fundraising from previous
years, will allow the Registry to continue operation until the end of
April 1997. It will also allow staff to consult with service providers,
other municipalities and the GVRD, the rental industry, and BCHMC to see
if there is a way to maintain the service provided by the Registry. If
the Registry is shut down, it will be expensive to recreate it.
Consequently, if the service is considered important, a way to maintain
it should be sought before it closes.
Possible improvements to the efficiency and effectiveness of the service
will be explored, as well as expanded partnerships. It is clear,
however, that without on-going provincial funding the Registry will not
be able to continue operating. Staff will report to Council in March on
the outcome of the review. This will allow the necessary one months
notice to be given to the landlord. There may be an additional $10,000
required at that time to phase out the operation if the Registry cannot
continue.
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DERA s Housing Relocator
Council approved the 1995/96 grant for DERA s relocator on May 7, 1996.
Funding has yet to be approved for 1996/7. It had been expected that
the Province would fund the relocator at least until the end of the
year. They have chosen not to, with the result that DERA has provided
unfunded relocation services since July 1, 1996.
DERA s housing relocator provides direct assistance to Downtown Eastside
tenants who need housing. In last funding year, the relocator provided
direct and personal service to 441 cases. The workload has not
diminished since.
It is recommended that the City fund DERA s relocator for the period
from July 1, 1996, to December 31, 1996, at a cost of $10,116. This
will compensate DERA for the work the relocator has done for the City in
the last half of this year. It is not proposed that the City fund the
relocator into 1997. This will mean that the two City s Tenant
Assistance Program staff will experience an increased workload next
year. TAP s Downtown Eastside housing assistance and relocation work
will be monitored and reported to Council in March.
CONCLUSION
The Province will not be funding the YWCA s Vancouver Housing Registry
beyond the end of January 97 or DERA s housing relocator since July 96.
These services were funded more or less equally by the City and the
Province, and are important core housing services.
Of particular concern is the loss of the Vancouver Housing Registry, as
it provides one-stop shopping for tenants, in particular those with
low-incomes or with special needs. It will be expensive to reestablish
once it is closed, and it is important that the service the Registry
provides be carefully evaluated before it is. It is recommended that
the Registry be funded until the end of April at a cost of $52,000 with
a report back in March on the results of consultations with the Province
and others to explore ways to sustain the Registry and the service it
provides.
It is recommended that DERA be paid $10,116 for the work its housing
relocator has done since the end of June. As a result, DERA will cease
to provide relocator service after the end of this year. The impact of
the increased workload on the City s Tenant Assistance Staff due to the
loss of DERA s relocator will be reported to Council in March.
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