Editor’s note – Editor’s note – 197 ‘unsheltered’ Campbell River residents were reported in the 2023 Point-in Time count. Data from the 2021 census suggests another 3,450 are paying more for rent or mortgages than they can afford.
There is less data from rural areas, but annecdotal evidence suggests the number of people living in unstable conditions on Cortes and Quadra Island’s is higher than the 77 and 41 reported through the 2022 ‘Collecting Stories of Where You Live’ survey. They couch surfed, lived in vehicles, sheds etc, or outside. (11 Cortes residents and 12 people in Area C reported they were ‘unsheltered.’) Emma Wallace, who oversaw the project, suggested the actual number of Cortes residents living in ‘unsheltered’ or ‘at risk’ conditions might be 10% higher than what was reported. This gap between is believed to be even greater on Quadra Island, where there were fewer respondents to the survey. As someone recently pointed out, you need access to a computer to fill in an online survey. .
By Madeline Dunnett, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Comox Valley residents have the opportunity to participate in a range of free education workshops this spring, thanks to the Strengthening Communities’ Services Program administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.
The workshops run from April 10 through June 25 and are open to the public. They cover topics including mental health first aid, trauma-informed frontline response education and gender diversity education in the workplace.
“It’s exciting,” said Kathy Collins, manager of recreation programming at the City of Courtenay.
“[This] the second time offering it; we did it last year as well. So just trying to offer some things that are a bit different than the first go-round and try to kind of get more people through it.”
Collins said she wants to highlight that the program is open to anyone, whether a service provider or local business owner, or simply a member of the community who wants to learn more.
Part of a broader community initiative
The Strengthening Communities’ Services Program was created under the Safe Restart initiative, funded jointly by provincial and federal governments to address some of the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A major impact has been a sharp rise in homelessness, not only in the Comox Valley but in communities across B.C. and beyond.
A 2023 point-in-time count conducted by Homelessness Services Association of BC, the province and BC Housing Research Centre identified 272 people experiencing homelessness in the Comox Valley. That more than doubled the 132 people counted in the previous survey in 2020. Point-time-counts are assumed to be an undercount, since they seek to identify as many individuals without access to housing as possible in a 24-hour period. Many people without housing don’t regularly access spaces and services where they can be identified and counted.
The Discourse previously reported that fifty-six per cent of those surveyed in 2023 said they lost their housing because they didn’t have enough income to pay for it. They face significant additional barriers, too. Eighty-four percent reported having at least two health concerns, and 44 per cent reported an acquired brain injury.
The Comox Valley Regional District received $1.093 million in 2021 and $898,603 in 2022 through the Strengthening Communities’ Services Program in an effort to address some of these issues. The City of Courtenay administers the funds in consultation with government partners and local service providers.
The program has funded a Daytime Community Access Hub to help people access health, hygiene, personal safety and administrative support, as well as a number of outreach and community engagement initiatives.
Joanne Bays is the community development coordinator for the City of Courtenay and she administers the funds for the grant.
She said that the workshops are part of a broader approach that the City of Courtenay and Comox Valley Regional District are taking to try to provide support for those facing homelessness in the community.
Alongside the workshops, the grant includes support for multiple organizations in the Comox Valley that work with individuals facing housing insecurity or mental health issues or addiction.
These organizations include Comox Valley Transition Society, Sunday Station, Comox Valley Street Outreach and Hornby and Denman Island Community Health Society.
“We’ve been able to track the impact as well,” said Bays.
“The statistics tell the story, really.”
According to a recent City of Courtenay staff report on the impact of the program, Comox Valley Transition Society provided 17,808 meals and snacks and 696 showers for community members facing housing and food insecurity between July and December, 2023. They also referred 22 individuals to housing and connected 110 people with health care professionals.
Trauma-informed training
Many of the workshops have a trauma-informed approach.
For example, “Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice,” offered by the Justice Institute of British Columbia, supports people to approach interactions in their workplace and community in a trauma-informed way, according to the City of Courtenay’s website.
“Those are really popular,” said Collins, who shared that the workshop “is trying to get people to gain an understanding about how trauma that people may have faced in the past shapes how they behave as an adult.”
She said understanding trauma can help reduce stigma as well.
“How do we get people to understand it from a different lens, to take away that stigma, whether it’s fear or judgment or anything like that,” she said.
Advocacy to action
Bays said that she’s already seen action from the kind of advocacy that she and Collins are working to build.
She explained that the funding has supported partnership, community-building and data collection, which helps the city advocate to higher levels of government to fund needed housing and shelter projects.
That’s been huge, she said, because in the past city staff were limited by the municipal tools and frameworks available to them. But the Strengthening Communities’ Services Program has created new collaboration and information that supports the City of Courtenay to advocate more effectively for the needs of the community.
As evidence of that impact, Bays pointed to recently announced provincial funding for a permanent shelter and supportive housing development at 925 Braidwood Ave. in Courtenay.
The supportive housing development will contain approximately 60 units as well as a shelter with 40 beds. The building is also proposed to “have additional space to be used as an extreme weather response (EWR) shelter during cold weather.”
The city hopes the development will become the permanent home for the Connect Centre shelter, which expanded its daytime services thanks to the Strengthening Communities’ Services funding.
The province purchased the land for $4 million through BC Housing’s Supportive Housing Fund. Courtenay’s city council will need to approve a rezoning of the property, and residents will have an opportunity to offer input through that process.
Bays underlined the importance that advocacy plays towards the completion of more supporting housing.
“The advocacy was built around the fact that we got some great statistics about what kind of support we need out there and what the demand is for it,” she said.
“If it weren’t for these training programs, if it weren’t for Strengthening Communities’, we wouldn’t have this at all.”
She said interacting with members of the community was important as well.
“It’s not just a hello, it’s, oh, you need a doctor? Can we get you on a housing list?”
She said the training was a big part of it too, especially for those working with people who are living with poverty, or without a house or with mental illness.
“The training is just phenomenal. There’s a degree of empathy and understanding and working with each other that wouldn’t have happened,” she said.
Collins said she has noticed the stigma in the community surrounding unhoused individuals, and she hopes that the training programs can help inform people about some of the broader issues that contribute to homelessness.
Those who are interested in the program can go to the City of Courtenay’s website to learn more and to register.
The program page is updated regularly and Collins wants to remind those who are interested to check it for updates. She said she’s also open to emails at kcollins@courtenay.ca if people have suggestions about other training they want to offer.
Top image credit: The City of Courtenay is offering free workshops virtually and in-person at the Lewis Centre. Photo by Madeline Dunnett/The Discourse
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