Hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money will be directed towards helping the city’s homeless.
Nanaimo city council voted in favour of setting aside $380,000 to help address homelessness in 2021 on Monday after they were presented with a draft action plan from its health and housing task force.
The draft action plan identified 280 people in Nanaimo as chronically homeless — with 1,800 people experiencing homelessness at some point this year and another 6,000 living on the edge of homelessness.
It calls for $65.5 million in housing and services over five years, which would support 635 new program and housing spaces.
“Though it was a draft strategy and wasn’t finalized, it was close to being finalized and it shows that this is going to be one of council’s priorities,” said Coun. Zeni Maartman, one of the five councillors who voted in favour of funding the plan immediately.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog was one of four members of council who voted against the idea.
“Council approved funding it without a budget, particularly in place. Not something I was able to support myself but clearly shows the desire and commitment of council to ensure that the work of the health and housing task force is implemented and does succeed,” Krog told CHEK News.
The plan calls for the launch of health and housing intervention teams by the end of February that would offer immediate rental subsidies with intensive outreach of wraparound social and health supports to those experiencing the highest health and housing complexity.
It also calls for a further 90 supportive housing units in the first year.
The proposed measure, according to the plan, would cost $40 a day per person helped and would better use government resources when compared to the cost of an overnight hospital stay at $363, or night in jail at $144.
Council will be asking other levels of government for funding.
“The mental health and addictions crisis and the homelessness crisis is only going to be solved with provincial funding and I’ve always said with recognition by the federal government that it has to play a role because this is a national crisis,” said Krog.
But for those living on the street, there is some skepticism
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” said Kye Rodway.
“Amazing but that’s on the city’s time or government’s time. We all know how long that takes,” said Andre Laflamme.
The plan can be found on page 17 of this link.
Kendall Hanson
