Non-profit groups are named as operators for two new social housing projects in Nanaimo, but will controversy fade?
Pacifica Housing and Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, in partnership with Columbian Centre Society and Haven Society, have been selected as the successful non-profit providers to develop, manage and operate two new supportive housing developments for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Nanaimo. The announcement came from B.C. Housing on November 30th. (more…)
Judy Graves’ next fight will be to ensure that homeless people actually get into the housing that is built for them
The City of Vancouver’s advocate for homeless people, Judy Graves, recently warned the provincial government of the consequences of not providing sufficient emergency shelter beds in the face of worsening weather and ongoing need. Housing Minister Rich Coleman has now confirmed that the province will pay for a new 42-bed shelter in the Marble Arch Hotel on Richards Street. Ongoing news stories and comments from the city and the province suggest a tug-of-war has been going on with regard to homelessness, shelters, and money for dealing with continuing needs. All that new social housing must negate the need for emergency shelters—or so the province’s thinking seems to suggest. (more…)
An online YIMBY toolkit from Vancouver’s Pivot Legal Society may be coming soon to a neighbourhood near you
NIMBY is an acronym for “not in my backyard” used to describe a person who objects to something they perceive as unpleasant or potentially dangerous in their own neighborhood. YIMBY—“yes, in my backyard”— is a lesser known antonym to NIMBY. The term YIMBY first emerged in the late 1980s and is used to describe people who understand the value of addressing homelessness, addictions, and mental illness in a proactive and positive way and are active in welcoming new projects and people into their neighbourhoods. (more…)
Opponents to a new housing project for teenage girls say it must exist outside the DTES, away from pimps, predators
Atira Women’s Resource Society has opened an 18-unit single room accommodation facility for young women in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. The Society says it is responding to an urgent need for low barrier supportive housing for girls and young women who are homeless or in unsafe conditions.
But opposition to the move has been fierce and considerable. Most of the concern seems to focus on the location—and use of a building in the Downtown Eastside. But other concerns have been expressed about the process that led to the project’s opening—and plans for the way it will operate. (more…)
As Nanaimo social housing projects experience predictable, continuing opposition, citizens are invited down to the 7-10
The City of Nanaimo’s 2008 homelessness action plan [opens to PDF] estimated there were anywhere from two to three hundred individuals sleeping outside or in their vehicles or makeshift shelters—and hundreds more living in unsafe or unstable conditions and vulnerable to losing their housing and becoming homeless. The situation had generated considerable concern for Nanaimo residents, government agencies, service providers and elected officials and led to a general recognition of the need for a collective response. (more…)
Nanaimo Transitional Housing group opens two houses for homeless people in Nanaimo this week
The Victoria Human Exchange Society has been successfully assisting people in need of housing for 19 years—and now the organization’s Nanaimo branch is opening two transitional houses, one for men and the other for women.
Community organizer and Nanaimo Transitional Housing chairperson Leanne Salter says the houses will provide shelter for up to six months to people who might come to Nanaimo and find that they are homeless, couch surfing, or unexpectedly without shelter. An on-site facilitator will assist with community service referrals and the search for stable housing. The transitional housing is drug and alcohol-free. (more…)
