Shelter Doors Open for Three More Months
24 Hours - March 10, 2009
Emergency homeless shelters in
Vancouver will remain open for at least
another three months, city officials
announced Monday.
It means the five shelters, opened on
an emergency basis late last year as
part of Vancouver Mayor Gregor
Robertson’s homeless action task force,
will continue to provide a place to sleep
for an average of more than 400 people
nightly well into the spring.
“It means that we’re going to really
get through the worst of the weather,”
said Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry
Jang.
The province is funding the $500,000
per month cost of keeping the shelters
open another three months.
But Jang wants the shelters open for
the rest of the year. Some critics have
warned against focusing on shelters at
the expense of permanent housing.
The city, Jang insists, is still in
discussions with senior governments
to fund so-called “stop-gap” temporary
housing as well as permanent solutions
on city-owned land.
“You don’t want the shelters to
become like the food banks,” Jang said.
“People worry about the length
of the shelter opening, but it depends
on how serious you are on building
permanent housing. I want to end it as
quickly as I can.”
But Downtown Eastside advocate
Wendy Pedersen wonders if “stop-gap”
is a solution at all.
“They’re another form of temporary
housing,” she said. “I worry that stopgap
shelters will replace homebuilding.”