By Cheryl Jahn

Too many barriers for PG shelters

Jun 24, 2021 | 3:38 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Homelessness has been front and centre for City Council in recent weeks. The new Safe Streets bylaw is up for final reading Monday night. That bylaw bans soliciting within 10 metres of a financial institution, a bus stop, a daycare, entrances to liquor stores, cannabis retailers, restaurants, coffee shops or convenience stores. it also bans open drug use and open-air burning. But not everyone was in favour of the bylaw. Councillor Cori Ramsay says the city doesn’t have the shelters needed.

“We have high barrier shelters and minimal barrier shelters that have requirements and you must meet those requirements in order to get into the shelter.BC Housing can say ‘Oh there’s shelter beds available’ but are they the right beds? Not always.”

And BC Housing is the largest governing body for social housing and a major player in Prince George.

“In Prince George, we have full-time shelters with a total of 81 permanent beds,” says Malachy Tohill with BC Housing. “We also, back in December of this year, added thirty more temporary shelter units on Second Avenue that was focussing more on couples. Well over s year ago, we added well over 40 more capacity-expansion shelter beds. And they’re all funded until March of next year.”

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On top of that, BC Housing recently located 21 units and have dedicated them to supportive housing with 24-7 supports.

“Their units are their own units so they’re able to use or drink in their own units. But it is staffed 24-7. There are health checks to make sure everybody’s safe.”

And he says BC Housing’s Community Access Manager is working with Northern Health and POUNDS, which have identified nine individuals living in a camp with critical health issues who have been given housing.

by Cheryl Jahn

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Too many barriers for PG shelters

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