That’s what Executive Director Mark Smith said when he was asked by CNN about how Vancouver (and RainCity Housing) is addressing homelessness. He was referring to how many more people were inside — almost 80% more — when comparing the numbers from the latest Metro Vancouver Homelessness Count (2011) to the count that was done in 2008.
While it isn’t a home, providing a low barrier shelter a great way to bring people inside that have been living on the street for years. Once inside, a person can stop wondering where the next meal is coming from, or if they’ll be safe when they’re sleeping, and start to focus on locating affordable housing, like our Lux Apartments, or make friends that can become roommates, and then pool their resources in order to make a place more affordable.
Providing low barrier shelters and building new housing like the Lux or the Budzey Building — these are great ways to address homelessness!
What else can Vancouver do to end homelessness?
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