Editor’s Note: When asked what caused their most recent housing loss, the #1 answer in all 20 Point-in-Time Counts taken in BC last year was ‘not enough income.’ In Campbell River a quarter of the respondents had been homeless for less than 6 months and 65% had been Campbell River residents for five years or more. When the 2021 Census was taken, 12,835 Campbell River residents, 200 households in Area C and 70 households on Cortes Island were spending more than 30% of their income on housing. They are considered to be ‘at risk’ of becoming homeless. 

In the following story, the residents of a 38 unit subsidized housing complex in Victoria are about to be turned out to make way for a new housing development. They have been promised first right of refusal in the new development’s subsidized units, once it is built. Meanwhile, as they do not possess sufficient income to pay market rental rates, many will most likely be living in the streets.

By Sidney Coles, Capital Daily, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Tenants of a community of subsidized housing units near Cook and Johnson destined for demolition are worried that once their home is gone, they won’t be able to afford another.