Victoria councillors ask province to fund housing support services
Victoria councillors are calling on the province to fund more supportive services in social housing.
Councillors have agreed to a motion brought forward by Coun. Ben Isitt calling on the province to provide “adequate and appropriate support services” in conjunction with housing in buildings such as 844 Johnson St., home to many of Victoria’s former tent city residents.
Isitt said the provision of supportive services would go a long way toward easing neighbourhood concerns about such facilities.
“There’s funding and resources to provide basic tenancy and basic housing for individuals, but we don’t have the range of support services delivered in a respectful way to those residents to really mitigate some of the impacts on both those residents but also on others,” Isitt said.
Some neighbourhoods are becoming increasingly wary of social housing projects, expressing worries that operators have no control over what happens outside their buildings and limited control over comings and goings.
Last year, the Burnside Gorge Community Association called for a moratorium on development of more shelters and supportive housing within its boundaries until problems such as mounting levels of crime and drug dealing are addressed.
Burnside Gorge is home to seven per cent of Victoria’s population, but 77 per cent of the city’s shelter units and 36 per cent of its supportive housing units.
Isitt cited a letter from the Together Against Poverty Society that says there is confusion amongst the public about a recent court ruling regarding guest policies at 844 Johnson.
In that decision, Justice Neena Sharma upheld an arbitrator’s decision allowing residents to have overnight guests at their units.
In his letter, TAPS executive director Douglas King says the decision “does not allow for ‘a free-for-all’ whereby non-profit housing providers are rendered unable to provide for the security of vulnerable tenants.”
“Landlords, whether market or non-profit, continue to be allowed to adopt and enforce reasonable guest restrictions on an individual case-by-case basis,” King says.
He says he hopes the court decision will be “a positive turning point” for the provision of social housing.
“Through our advocacy work, we have become keenly aware of insufficient resources for adequate support services within the social housing network,” King’s letter says.
Isitt said full implementation of the housing-first model means there’s appropriate support services provided in conjunction with housing.
Supporters of housing first believe it is easier to help people overcome the issues that caused them to become homeless once they have somewhere to live.
“It’s a sensitive topic. It can pit very marginalized people who have only recently, sort of, had access to housing with the interests of other residents who have been securely housed for longer. It can be a delicate arrangement that can cause a lot of finger-pointing and not necessarily understanding in the community,” Isitt said.
“The main intent here is I have heard concern from street-involved people that the approach taken by B.C. Housing and the partners — the non-profit operators — have not engaged those residents in what kind of housing and supports they need.”