Homelessness Action Week Declared

Monday, October 06, 2008 07:17 PM

Prince George, B.C.- The Mayor of Prince George has declared October 12-19 as Homelessness Action week.

Homelessness Action Week is a province wide initiative with communities such as Kamloops, Kelowna, Nelson, Victoria, Nanaimo and many Greater Vancouver municipalities taking part. The week of October 12 – 19 has been chosen in recognition of Oct. 17 - International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

A survey in May interviewed 375 people on the streets in Prince George, and 69% consider themselves homeless. Of that percentage, 35% said they had slept the previous night at a shelter, 19% said they had "couch surfed" in staying at the home of a friend, 5% spent the night outdoors or in a vehicle, and the balance spent the night in a treatment centre, motel or "other".

A number of activities have been scheduled for the week, including having a couple of community reps spend a night on the streets to experience first hand the struggles of the people who live on the streets. There is a special pancake breakfast planned and the group that will be heading off to Portland to get details on the Housing first program will provide an update on their trip. Portland has had success in getting 1500 people of the streets and into housing in that city over the past two years.

Councillor Murry Krause says homelessness was a major issue at the recent Union of B.C. Municipalities,"It is an issue for every larger center in British Columbia." Community Partners Addressing Homelessness say there has been an increase in the numbers of homeless who suffer from mental illness and substance abuse, however, the Housing First program addresses permanent shelter first, treatment second.

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Posted on Monday, October 06, 2008 07:17 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Chester on October 6 2008 8:15 PM

What has worked elsewhere and what are we going to do? It is obvious to me that what we have done has not worked. So, what are we going to do differently Coundillor Murray Krause?

Posted by: northman on October 7 2008 7:25 AM

Seems like everyone else is bending over backwards to take action on homlessness except for the people who are actually homeless themselves. Giving them temp shelters is just a band aid fix to treat a heart attack. They need to be taught persoal accountablity so they can work on their problems on an individual basis.

Posted by: HD on October 7 2008 11:33 AM

They need to be put to work.

Posted by: patricia on October 8 2008 7:09 AM

I am rather curious about what percent of the homeless are affected by mental illness compared to the percentage 20 years ago when we had facilities such as Riverview? I am not sure but don't you think when this type of facility closes and is not replaced with enough resources those on the "borderline" have slipped through the cracks? I'm thinking they have to end up somewhere.
I am not saying we should start with large institutions but maybe more of the smaller "homes" where people could have a home, a safe place and some support on a personal level to accomplish whatever each individual is capable of.
I don't think having a place to stay without some kind of monorting of their health including nutrition, excersize, medication, and some kind of responsibility (because we all need to feel useful.)
Not all homeless would fall in this category but if there is a percentage out there that this would work for I would be interested to know.
I think all of us would rather this type of facility to the street if we hade a friend or relative who was affected.