Tag Archives: Cortes Island homelessness

Housing, Poverty

Options ever slimming for unhoused people attached to Pandora

Editor’s note: Greater Victoria’s most recent Point of Time Count, taken on March 7, 2020, found 1,665 people experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness continues to be a problem throughout our region and the rest of British Columbia. When the Cortes Island Housing survery was carried out in 2023, 8 of the 265 respondents were ‘unhoused.’ Point in Time counts in urban areas like Campbell River, the Comox Valley and Powell River found 197, 272 and 126 ‘unhoused’ people, respectively. A quarter of the respondents in Campbell River reported they had been homeless for less than 6 months and the #1 explanation all respondents gave was they did not have enough money to pay rent. 16% of the respondents in Campbell River, 20% in the Comox Valley and 12% in Powell River reported a full or part-me job.

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

After a series of City of Victoria tent-clearing operations along the Pandora corridor in the fall, interlocking blue fencing was installed to deter illegal sheltering along its 900 block. At around the same time, a facility at 926 Pandora used by people to store their belongings was shuttered. 

Continue reading Options ever slimming for unhoused people attached to Pandora →
Housing, Poverty

Free workshops support a collaborative response to homelessness in the Comox Valley

Editor’s note – Editor’s note – 197 ‘unhoused’ Campbell River residents were reported in the 2023 Point-in Time count. Data from the 2021 census suggests another 3,450 ‘housed’ residents 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. 

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Housing

Cortes Island Opts in to BC Short Term Rental Act; Quadra Considering

Effective May 1, 2024, all BC communities with a population over 10,000 have to limit short term rentals to the host’s principle residence plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit. Campbell River, Comox, Courtenay and Powell River are all on the list of  64 communities where this applies. Cortes Island is too small to be on that list, but has chosen to opt in, and Quadra Island is considering the idea. 

Continue reading Cortes Island Opts in to BC Short Term Rental Act; Quadra Considering →
Housing, Poverty

Unhoused People Struggle with ‘Street Feet’ in Rainy Vancouver

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in the Tyee, which gives a warning about the photos you see above (and puts them in the text below). When people cannot dry their feet out for a prolonged period of time, they get what some of our WWI grandfathers and great grandfathers called ‘trench foot.’

This report is from Vancouver, but probably also applicable in our area. The 2023 ‘Point in Time counts‘ found 197 ‘house challenged’ people in Campbell River, 272 in the the Comox Valley, and 126 in Powell River. There is less data about rural areas, but 11 of the respondents to the 2022 ‘Collecting Stories Of Where You Live’ survey on Cortes Island reported they had been ‘unsheltered’ at some point during the year. There were fewer respondents in Area C (which includes Quadra, Read and other Discovery Islands), where the number was 12.

Even more alarming, the number of ‘homeless’ people appears to be growing. 32% of the respondents to the Campbell River ‘Point in Time’ count said they had been ‘unsheltered’ for less than a year. There were actually 81 more people on the streets than in the 2021 count. Similar increases were reported in the Comox Valley, Parksville/Qualicum, Port Alberni and Sechelt/Gibsons. (This was the first ‘Point in Time’ count in Powell River, so there are no previous numbers for a comparison.) When people were asked why they were unsheltered, the #1 response in every one of these ‘Point in Time’ counts was they could not afford to pay for housing.

There are far larger numbers of people spending more of their than income than they can reasonably afford (i.e. +30%) for rent or mortgages. According to the 2021 census, 47% of the renters on Cortes Island and 38% of the renters in Campbell River and Electoral Area C are vulnerable. Roughly 15% of the home owners in these three communities are also considered to be ‘at risk.’

By Michelle Gamage, The Tyee, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

In the winter and spring, unhoused people in Vancouver struggle with something known anecdotally as “street feet.”

It happens when the rain soaks your socks and shoes and you’re unable to clean and dry your feet regularly, sometimes leaving them damp for months on end.

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Housing, Poverty

Port Moody calls on province to mandate supportive housing requirements for TOD areas

Editor’s note: Port Moody was one of the communities that participated in 2023 Homeless Count Greater Vancouver.  It is one of the Tri-cities, whose homeless population people has almost doubled in the three years since the previous Point in Time Count (2020). A total of 4,821 people were listed in Greater Vancouver. When asked, the #1 cause respondents cited was ‘not enough income’ to afford housing. This was the same answer that Point in Time Counts found in Campbell River, the Comox Valley, Parksville/Qualicum, Powell River, Port Alberni and Sechelt/Gibsons.  ‘Low wages,’ ‘the inability to pay rent or mortgages’ and the lack of available housing during the tourist season were among the reasons given by the 46 Cortes Island residents known to have ‘couch surfed,’ found some other temporary shelter or lived outside at some point during 2022.

By Patrick Penner, Tri-Cities Dispatch, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Port Moody is calling on the province to provide dedicated supportive housing for homeless populations in cities expected to densify around their transit hubs.

The motion, introduced by Coun. Amy Lubik on Jan. 9, advocates for an amendment to recent provincial legislation mandating densification around all SkyTrain stations.

Port Moody will be sending the policy to the Lower Mainland Local Government Association and Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) conventions in 2024, and copies have been forwarded to the provincial ministers of housing, municipal affairs, mental health and poverty reduction.

Continue reading Port Moody calls on province to mandate supportive housing requirements for TOD areas →