Permanent shelter may be in works for city

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 26, 2005


In the last edition of the Burnaby NOW, reporter Dan Hilborn looked at a local shelter that provided a warm place for the homeless during the cold weather, and at a new task force preparing to look at the impact of homelessness in Burnaby. In this edition, the NOW examines the long-term planning for a permanent shelter, and where to go for help.

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Planning for a permanent homeless shelter in Burnaby is underway, but it may take several years before a facility is built to keep the poor and destitute from having to set up tents on vacant lots or in city parks.

"We all recognize this could be a long process, but I think they're finally putting the building blocks in place," said Lynn Wood, the executive director of the Progressive Housing Society.

Along with a growing awareness that there are homeless people in Burnaby, Wood said she is seeing signs that local service agencies and businesses are willing to step up to the plate to lend a hand.

Last month, the City of Burnaby formally asked the Fraser Health Authority to fund a homeless outreach street worker.

And unbeknownst to all the official planners, a small non-profit group was able to open a temporary emergency cold weather shelter on Edmonds Street.

Simrita Johal-Virk, spokesperson for the health authority, said that request to fund a permanent homeless outreach worker is now being processed, and the health authority does have a role in making sure that residents of the region can find appropriate housing.

However, Johal confirmed that almost all of the $32 million currently spent by the Fraser Health Authority on housing is targeted at people with mental health issues.

"We do recognize that having proper shelter is a determinant of health," Johal said.

"And we do fund a lot of partnerships and agencies, but more of that is on the mental health and addiction side. There is nothing strictly for homelessness on the north side of the river."

Several actions are underway to help fill that gap. This spring, the Greater Vancouver Regional District homeless task force will conduct a survey of homeless people around the region, including Burnaby, which will help determine the need for a shelter in this city. Wood is currently looking for volunteers to help conduct that survey.

Wood is also looking for partners to help open and operate a facility for the homeless in Burnaby.

One of the partners will likely be Annie McKitrick, the coordinator of the extreme weather response for the Cold/Wet Weather Strategy task force funded by the provincial government, GVRD and other agencies.

"One strategy of the GVRD committee is to ensure that when people are homeless they should be provided for in their own community," McKitrick said.

"I'm sure there are people who are homeless (in Burnaby), but my guess is that they're going into Vancouver or New Westminster for shelter.

"The strategy has been to put shelters in each municipality rather than concentrate them in the Downtown Eastside," she said.

"That's why you're seeing shelters open in Maple Ridge, Surrey and the North Shore plus an effort to open one in Langley."

McKitrick noted that homeless people can often become discouraged after their first few attempts to find a warm bed because permanent housing is typically only offered to people who are already known to the government. An exception to that rule is the provision of "cold/ wet weather beds" - which are offered on a first-come first-served basis, but are only opened on days when the temperature drops below - 4 C.

"If you're homeless and you go to a shelter, you may be turned away because there's no space," she said. "Then, if you do this a few times, you probably won't want to go to the shelter again. Not only that, but sometimes people may lose the warm dry place that they had on the street, and still find no room in the shelter."

Fortunately, that was not the problem experienced by the Arrows to Freedom Cultural Healing Society, a small aboriginal service agency based on Edmonds Street, that was able to open a temporary cold weather shelter for almost two weeks this winter.

As a member of the aboriginal homeless steering committee based out of Vancouver, Arrows to Freedom also wants a role in helping to plan for a permanent homeless shelter in Burnaby, Stevens said.

"We'd like to be involved," Stevens said. "We're aware there's a real need for a shelter for the homeless and for those who are at- risk of becoming homeless. We get a lot of families who, for various reasons, end up on the streets, and most of the services for them are in Vancouver."

Stevens noted the Arrows to Freedom temporary shelter had capacity for 25 people, but averaged only six people per night for the 10 nights the facility was opened. In addition to providing a warm place to sleep, people who used the service were also offered food, hygiene kits and the use of the society's clothing bank and furniture bank.

Meanwhile, Wood said she is heartened by the response she's received since she first alerted this newspaper to the presence of a homeless person living on a vacant lot near Edmonds and Kingsway last month.

Last week, Wood met with Paul McDonell, chair of the Burnaby parks commission and former chair of the Simon Fraser Health Region, who expressed a commitment to help shepherd the homeless shelter project through the official channels at Burnaby city hall and the Fraser Health Authority.

Once the groundwork is laid, Wood said Progressive Housing will likely open and operate a shelter in Burnaby with another partner such as the Lookout Emergency Aid Society, which operates a variety of permanent and temporary shelters in Vancouver and the Cliff Block residence in New Westminster.

"Progressive Housing typically provides supportive living, which is really the next step after getting people off the street. Our thought is to partner with a group like Lookout, which has experience providing homeless shelters."

Wood also said that she understands why officials in Burnaby may be reluctant to open a temporary shelter. "People are hesitant to put up trailers as shelter because their afraid that would turn into a long-term facility," she said.

"However, I got a distinct impression from the mayor that there would be lots of cooperation from the city if other levels of government come to the table."

WHERE TO TURN FOR HELP:

People seeking emergency shelter are asked to call the following numbers:

Daytime services -- Salvation Army, New Westminster, 604-521- 5043- Elizabeth Fry Society, New Westminster, 604-540-1238

24-hour emergency services -- Arrows to Freedom Cultural Healing Society, 604-780-9859- Ministry of Human Resources (1 to 8:30 a.m.) 1-800-663-9122