About half of those left homeless by the Victoria Towers apartment building fire are in new places to live. For those remaining, between 40 and 50 people, the provincial government has extended emergency accommodation support (hotel rooms and food vouchers) for one more week.
"That really speaks to the scope of this incident," said Brad Beckett, one of the city's lead organizers of the emergency response to the Nov. 3 blaze that displaced about 100 people from the 60 units in the building. "The set provincial emergency response is only for the first 72 hours, but on a week to week basis this has been extended for a month, now, and it is possible it may be longer."
Many of the Victoria Towers residents were on fixed incomes, had medical conditions or mobility challenges. The overall vacancy rate in Prince George has not been heavily impacted by the sudden outburst of housing need, but most of these displaced people are in an inflexible demographic.
"They are going to take up all of the properties at the lower end of the market," said MJ Jacobson of Pace Property Management, a place 25 of the refugees turned to for help. Six have so far found placements through Pace and more are in negotiations. "The vacancy rate in that price range will be zero and it will make it very difficult for people in that price range. Many from Victoria Towers were senior citizens who just want decent, clean affordable housing and the affordable part is already really hard to find in PG and now it is going to be even more stressed."
Jacobson is a former member of the city's afforable housing committee and said this municipality was already stressed at that end of the market, and end most landlords aren't interested in servicing.
One Victoria Towers resident Jacobson spoke with was paying $532 per month after six years at the building. She said a comparable room in a comparable building anywhere else in Prince George was closer to $700 per month.
"They just don't have that kind of wiggle room in their budgets," she said of the displaced residents.
"The number one challenge we face is availability and affordability," Beckett agreed. "If anyone has a place that could be rented out, contact the Red Cross [250-564-6566] and there is a process to match up the places to rent with the potential tenants."
In the next issue of The Citizen we talk to some of the residents about their month-long ordeal and their varying experiences finding a new home.
