BC Housing and the provincial government have secured more than 100 additional living spaces in communities across northern B.C. for homeless and vulnerable people to shelter and self-isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The housing spaces are part of an initiative originally announced on April 7 to provide living space in hotels and civic facilities for the homeless, people leaving unsafe living situations and youth who need shelter. When the program was initially announced earlier this month, there was only one site in the Northern Health region – a single location in Prince George with seven spaces.
As of April 17, there were nine sites available with a total of 123 living spaces in seven northern B.C. communities: a second site with 10 additional spaces in Prince George; one site in Quesnel with five spaces; one in Vanderhoof with five spaces; one in Burns Lake with 10 spaces; one in Smithers with 21 spaces; one site in Terrace with 10 spaces; and two sites in Prince Rupert with a combined 55 spaces.
"In addition to these sites, BC Housing has worked with its partners to keep three temporary winter shelters in Prince George open until the end of June," a Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing said in an email to the Citizen on April 8. "These shelters will provide an additional 40 spaces for people experiencing homelessness in the community."
Temporary winter shelters typically close at the end of March each year.
Since April 7, the total number of housing spaces made available under the program has increased from 939 to 1,894 at 60 sites throughout B.C.
The names of the hotels and motels taking part aren't being released. Several municipalities, including Vancouver, Surrey, Nelson and Vernon, have made spaces available in civic facilities. On April 7 the City of Prince George declined to comment if it was approached to take part in the program.
Health authorities are identifying people who need to self-isolate and is working with BC Housing to refer people to hotel rooms or community centres.
"Staff will be on site regularly and will provide daily meals and cleaning services," a ministry statement said. "When required, health-care workers will also provide on-site care to ensure people are getting the medical attention they need."
The most recent official data on homelessness in the city comes from the 2018 Report of Homeless Counts in B.C., released in December 2018. The report identified 160 homeless people living in Prince George. The report also identified 96 homeless people in Terrace, 71 in Prince Rupert, 29 in Smithers and 61 in Fort St. John.
The current number of sites and spaces in each community can be found online at www.bchousing.org/COVID-19/community-sites.
