The newly launched BC Recovery Benefit opened for applications last week — a key NDP promise in last fall’s controversial election — but already it’s turning into an insurmountable barrier for some low-income people and seniors faced with an unexpected barrage of paperwork and documentation.
By Jen St. Denis, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A church that has provided services to homeless and precariously housed people in the Downtown Eastside for over a century is preparing to redevelop the property it owns at 320 E. Hastings Street. First United Community Ministry plans to partner with Lu’ma Native Housing Society to build an 11-storey building with seven floors of housing and four floors for First United’s social programs.