The Province will continue to support shelter spaces in the City of Vancouver this winter with ongoing funding for HEAT shelters and an expansion of the Extreme Weather spaces.

In addition to the 638 year-round provincially funded emergency shelter spaces in Vancouver, the Province will support the following shelter resources in the city over the winter months:

Three temporary HEAT shelters (Stanley-New Fountain, 201 Central, First United Church) that provide 340 spaces.

• Additional funding of more than $230,000 to the Downtown Eastside Women`s Coalition to extend their shelter hours. The Province is also working with this organization to resolve housing, shelter and safety issues for women in the neighbourhood.
• An increase of 100 spaces for the Vancouver`s Extreme Weather Response shelters, which are opened at the discretion of a community co-ordinator based on locally established criteria. Last winter the Province supported up to 247 extreme weather spaces in Vancouver when extreme weather alerts were activated. The additional funds will allow for more than 300 available spaces this winter.

While shelters are an important element of the provincial housing strategy, the focus for the Province is to create housing that helps people move off the streets permanently.

• Under a partnership with the City of Vancouver, the Province has committed more than $300 million to build more than 1,500 supportive housing apartments on 14 city-owned sites. Four buildings with 393 self-contained supportive housing units are already open. The remaining sites will open over the next two years.
• Since 2007, we have purchased and renovated 24 Single Room Occupancy Hotels in Vancouver, with close to 1,500 units in total, protecting an important source of affordable housing in the city.

This permanent housing is a key component in the effort to reduce homelessness by helping people move along the housing continuum from street homelessness through to permanent housing. Since January of this year, 90 per cent of new tenants moving into provincially owned SRO hotels have come from the streets and emergency shelters.

Creating permanent housing is also more cost-effective, as permanent housing units costs less than half of the cost to provide an emergency shelter bed.

Quick Facts:

• The March 2011 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count indicated an 82 per cent decline in street homeless in the City of Vancouver since 2008.
• In addition to annual funding of $1.7 million, in July of this year the Province committed an additional $1.14 million for transition funding to First United so it can continue to operate until no later than March 31, 2012. A team of provincial, city, and Vancouver Coastal Health staff are working with the existing shelter residents to find permanent housing options. So far, over 100 people have been housed out of the First United shelter.
• The Province has budgeted $800,000 for this year`s Extreme Weather Response program and is currently inviting communities to submit Extreme Weather Response shelter proposals for funding. The Extreme Weather Response (EWR) program funds time-limited, temporary shelter beds needed from Nov. 1 to March 31 during extreme weather conditions.
• Last year the EWR system provided more than 1,400 extreme weather spaces that were available in 34 communities, with the ability to reach homeless people in 53 communities.
• Usage of Vancouver Extreme Weather Response shelters was well below 50 per cent utilization in 2010-11.

Contact:

Communications
Minister Responsible for Housing
250 952-0617