Homelessness reaching a crisis, NDP critic says

By GERRY WARNER

Kimberley Daily Bulletin

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Homelessness is a crisis in British Columbia, but the provincial government doesn’t seem to realize, says David Chudnovsky, NDP critic for homelessness and mental health.

Chudnovsky was in Cranbrook Tuesday as part of a tour he’s doing through the Kootenays to get a first-hand look at homelessness situation province wide.

In November 2007, he did a province-wide survey on homelessness by talking with frontline workers and organizations that work with people living on the street and concluded the province’s  homelessness numbers more than 10,000.

“And that’s a conservative estimate.  The actual total is probably higher than that, but whatever the total is, it’s an appalling number.”

Chudnovsky says he asked Housing Minster Rich Coleman how many homelessness people there are in the province, but didn’t get an answer.  “I don’t know if he doesn’t know or if he does know and is just not telling me.  But whatever the answer is, I think his position is preposterous.”

Too many people in the province think of the homeless issue as a Lower Mainland problem when in fact it’s now province-wide, Chudnovsky says.  “It isn’t just Vancouver and the Downtown East Side.  Absolutely not.  I think there’s a homeless crisis all over B.C. and that’s why I’ve decided to get out and see the problem for myself.”

According to his province-wide survey, Vancouver has the most homeless people with an estimated 2,300.  But other cities in the province with a much smaller population than Vancouver have surprisingly high homeless totals too including Prince George with 1,050, Abbotsford 400, Kamloops 300, Kelowna 279 and Nelson 250.  Cranbrook, according to the list has 50 homeless people.

Chudnovsky calls his provincial consultation “Finding our Way Home” and plans on using what he’s learned to frame a private member’s bill recommending ways to reduce homelessness in the province.

“I have been traveling the province to hear from people who are homeless about their experiences, their challenges and obstacles and their hopes and suggestions for a better future,” he says.  “I am also meeting with front line workers who provide services to the homeless and I am consulting with local government officials.”

When the Liberal government was first elected in 2001, it cancelled the NDP’s social housing program, contributing to the homeless now on the street.  “I know we made mistakes in government but if that social housing program was still in existence there would be hundreds of fewer homeless on the streets.”

Prior to visiting the Kootenays, Chudnovsky examined the homeless situation on Vancouver Island, the Okanagan and north-central B.C.  One thing he was shocked to discover is that many people living in the various homeless shelters in the province have jobs.

“At a Kelowna shelter we looked at, 30 per cent of them get up in the morning and go to work.  The same in Victoria.  They have jobs, but they can’t afford a place to live.”

Chudnovsky says this doesn’t make sense in a province that’s currently running a $4 billion surplus.  “These people want solutions.  They want to live in a community that acknowledges they have a right to a place to live.”

Despite this, Chudnovsky says the provincial government isn’t listening.  “The number of homeless people in B.C. is completely unacceptable.  Vulnerable people are being left behind and ignored by an uncaring Campbell government.