Despite the fact that it didn’t seem to be an important issue in the federal election, homelessness is perhaps the most critical issue we are facing today. This week’s decision in Victoria to allow tenting in parks is a bleak reminder that the homeless need to go somewhere, and that all the money we are spending to give police the never-ending job of “moving them on” might be used in a more positive way.
The problem is that we have no place to put them. Cities that have been achieving the greatest success i.e. Portland, New York, Toronto have found that getting people into a home of their own is often the first step on the road to recovery.
The problem with building new housing is that when/where there are up to a dozen stakeholders that need to come together, everything tends to move slowly. The other issue is where the money comes from, and just to simplify, Nanaimo’s current plan is to provide land and planning/management (smart move), the province to contribute the funds to build, and VIHA to provide the support services to run these homes. Where’s the Federal government here?
This week, Iain de Jong from the City of Toronto shared some of the techniques that his team has used to get 1,200 people off the streets over the past 3 years. Basically, the city and agencies decided to tap into the existing rental market by providing targeted landlords with a business case and incentive for renting units to homeless people. I know, I know what you’re saying here, but the tenant is NOT the tenant himself, but rather the agency, which monitors and manages the suite and the person (my understanding.) This appeals to landlords…if you had a choice between dealing with low-income tenants that tend to have a short shelf life or a government-funded master tenant offering you 100% payment and management for a number of your suites, which door would YOU pick?
One of the most interesting parts of the program is that the new tenants pick both WHERE they live in the city and WHAT goes into their new apartment (a concept that would really work here, given the high amount of cast-offs we seem to generate in Nanaimo. This part of the program could help NRC find better premises and avoid the waterlogged furniture that ends up in the dump.)
The Toronto program, which has about a 85% success rate (people staying in their apartments for over 1 year), goes against the traditional idea that all services must be located in one area. Out of the 15% who have moved, many chose to move AWAY from their dealers, or a former neighbourhood that no longer suits them. This is considerably different than Vancouver, whose housing societies often keep residents segregated from the rest of the world, and can’t boast of the same success rate in moving people out of addiction and into new lives.
The City intends to adopt both strategies…a bold move. Whether it works or not will depend upon the details. And one of the key details will be how it will be marketed. Businesspeople ie.e landlords and social agencies tend to talk totally different languages….I’ve worked extensively with both. Effective translation will be critical.
