Advocates for the homeless are predicting some will return to Burnaby this year, now that the provincial government has closed four winter response shelters in Vancouver.
Homeless Burnaby people were migrating to Vancouver to stay in the city's three HEAT shelters and four winter response shelters, according to Karen O'Shannacery, executive director of Lookout Emergency Aid Society.
"When Vancouver's HEAT (Homeless Emergency Action Team) shelters opened, and also the winter ones, the weather was extremely cold. So, a bunch of our Burnabites ended up in a couple of the shelters as a little group," she said.
People are going to Vancouver, because that's where the resources are, she added.
On Oct. 11, the provincial government announced funding for the three HEAT shelters again this year, but not the $1.5 million needed to run the four winter response ones. That means 160 fewer spaces in the cold, winter months.
James Pratt, coordinator for the Greater Vancouver Shelter Strategy, agreed with O'Shannacery's prediction.
"People would find their way to Vancouver. So what this (closure) means is it's more likely people in Burnaby will use the Burnaby extreme weather site this winter given that they won't have many options in Vancouver," he said.
With the winter response shelters closing, the government plan is to focus on more long-term housing that keeps people off the streets. For instance, the provincial government has committed $300-million to build 1,500 supportive housing apartments, in partnership with the City of Vancouver. (Supportive housing typically has staff onsite to help residents.) Four of those buildings, with 393 units, are already open, and the rest are opening in the next two years.
But Vancouver's supportive housing may not be the solution for Burnaby's homeless. When it comes to transitioning from emergency shelters to more stable housing, cities like Vancouver are going to prioritize locals, O'Shannacery said.
"Each of the municipalities want to house their own people first," O'Shannacery said. "They are trying to address their own problems."
There are no supportive housing units in Burnaby, and there is no year-round shelter either.
But there is an extreme weather response shelter, which only opens when the weather is deemed cold or wet enough to threaten someone's health or life. This year, the shelter is at Westminster Bible Chapel (at 7540, Sixth St.) in the Edmonds area.
The shelter, which is basically mats on the floor, can sleep up to 28 people. There are no showers, but there are washrooms and food.
Jaye Robertson is executive director of the Progressive Housing Society. The group helps 250 to 300 local homeless people per month with only four outreach workers. Robertson suspects there may be some impact from the Vancouver shelters closing, but it won't be significant.
"What I hear from my staff in Burnaby is people want to stay in Burnaby," she said. "(But) we're definitely going to see more coming back if they are closing, but not significant, maybe about 100. . They are afraid if they stay in the shelters in Vancouver they'll be caught in that system there."
Throughout the year, Progressive Housing refers up to 25 people a month to services outside Burnaby, while most find local camps.
An emergency shelter is the first step to getting off the streets, then comes support-ive housing and more permanent homes.
"You can't do supportive housing without the shelter first, because you need to stabilize people," Robertson said.
Without either in Burnaby, outreach workers help homeless people go from the streets to a cheap apartment or basement suite. Progressive Housing has about 40 to 60 local people they support in basement suites and rentals.
"You can imagine what the conditions of those are, because they have to be under $500 a month," Robertson said.
"I don't know what it's going to take to change right now, I really don't. It's really hard on my staff. They see clients with so much potential. . It's really heartbreaking to see we can't do what we can with them."
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