Homelessness Must be a Priority
Homelessness is a province wide issue. It exists in communities large and small throughout the province. It exists here in Prince Rupert.
Shelter spaces are urgently needed, but they are just the barest of essentials needed to provide for those in need. Ultimately we must aim towards increasing our supported affordable housing.
In Prince Rupert, as in communities across the province, it is not just the most vulnerable citizens who struggle to provide themselves with a roof over their heads; it is young people, seniors, students and families. We need to re-evaluate the public policies we have to create more access to supported housing.
When I learned that we would be losing apartments in Prince Rupert, I knew that many of the residents would have a very tough time finding adequate housing. In a small community like ours even a few changes can have major impacts on the available housing available. It is important for the province to work with municipalities and developers to preserve quality affordable housing units.
It is appalling for people to be paying upwards of $400 per month for little more than a small room. The government would be better off investing money in clean and safe social housing rather than paying endless rental payments to landlords. That is why the New Democrat Housing Critic, David Chudnovsky, recommended in his report, “Finding Our Way Home,” that the government immediately commit to building 2400 units of social housing, and then continue the commitment with another 1200 units per year.
It is well known that homelessness is linked to many other social problems such as poverty, mental health and addiction. We must increase mental health and addiction services to effectively address homelessness, or our most vulnerable citizens will continue to end up on the streets.
The lack of detox facilities in the region is made even more shocking by the fact that Prince Rupert may have a rate of fetal alcohol syndrome that is more than double the provincial average. This is unacceptable. We will save lives and dollars by giving people access to the services they need to heal themselves.
The government needs to be proactive with their solutions, not just in cities like Vancouver and Victoria, but throughout the province. Centralization of addiction and mental health services has contributed to the problem for both urban and rural centers.
We must also address wage inequality to address the homelessness issue. A fair minimum wage would reflect the cost of living, including the price of renting a home. Governments must also reevaluate disability, welfare and pension rates to ensure that we are able to afford clean, safe shelter.
Numerous studies have shown that homelessness is more expensive than providing access to safe housing. Our health and justice systems are affected by the problems caused by homelessness.