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.