Homelessness a complex issue, but more can be done

A series of stories published in The Surrey-North Delta Leader on Friday, Feb. 26 (also available online at http://www.peacearchnews.com/news/370284771.html) is called “No Fixed Address.” It sheds some welcome light on a challenge which Surrey and many other cities all across North America are struggling with.

Most importantly, it features stories and photos of individuals who are or have been homeless. These allow readers to identify with and understand these individuals as people, who face very real challenges. The stories also point out that the road which leads to homelessness, and the road out of it, is complex and involves many very different factors.

As is ever the case with human beings, each person’s story is unique. Each set of circumstances is unique. And solutions to this problem for each individual are also unique, which is one of the reasons the problem remains so intractable.

Surrey’s response to homelessness has been somewhere in the middle of the pack, when compared to other B.C. communities. The city recognized fairly early, prodded by councillors like Dianne Watts (before she was elected mayor) and Judy Villenevure, that the problem was real and growing.

The city has not, for the most part, got in the way of the numerous agencies and charities which have done much of the heavy lifting in responding to the needs of the homeless. Rather, it has encouraged them to help, for the most part. Their efforts have been significant.

However, there has not been a concerted community-wide effort to deal with the problem, even though there are homeless people in all parts of Surrey. Even South Surrey, which is the wealthiest area of the city, has homeless people. Roy and Darlene, featured in the series, lived in the bush near 32 Avenue nad King George Boulevard for 13 years, until the lot was developed.

Most of the efforts to assist have been concentrated in Whalley, where the problem is perhaps most acute. There has been some significant assistance offered in Newton and Cloverdale as well, and a modest amount in South Surrey. There are 60 to 80 emergency shelter beds and more available during the winter months. This is not nearly enough.

There has no real effort to build a community-wide homeless shelter. This probably makes sense, given Surrey’s huge population and sprawling nature. There are homeless people in many parts of the city. Nonetheless, if there was a more intense community focus on this problem, led by city council, it is possible that there would be more provincial assistance made available.

Many communities, as diverse as Langley, Kelowna and Vancouver, have made strong community efforts to give the problem a much higher profile. Through some very successful efforts to work together and form community coalitions, they have convinced the provincial government to fund various initiatives to combat homelessness.

It could be argued that these efforts have only amounted to a drop in the bucket. That isn’t fair to the province and various cities involved, as they have put a lot of money and political capital into the issue. Housing Minister Rich Coleman in particular has made available, again and again, funds for shelters, long-term housing, support workers and many other services.

The significant annual growth of his ministry’s budget, a large portion of which is devoted to homelessness-related issues, is proof of that commitment.

Nonetheless the problem is a challenging one, and one that is almost constantly changing.

Coun. Vera LeFranc, who was first elected to Surrey council in 2014, has been a longtime advocate for strategies to combat homelessness in Surrey. Both she and Villeneuve have been consistent in their commitment to this issue for many years.

Will they be able to significantly reduce the number of homeless people in Surrey, and will they be able to obtain much-needed housing and support for those who are caught up in the homelessness tangle? Time will tell. Broad support from the community will ensure that more is done.

At the same time, one key element of reducing homelessness, as the series of stories points out, is a good supply of affordable rental housing. That is something that Surrey needs to devote much more attention to.