Help For The Homeless

Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Monday, 24 October 2011 18:18

Vernon has managed to get a handle on a growing homeless problem through collaboration. So says Annette Sharkey  from the Social Planning Council who says pulling the city's resources together has made a big difference since the problem peaked two years ago.  "The number of partners that have come on board, and not the usual partners. Having bylaws involved in the Cool Team is very unique, and it just goes to show, when you pull all the resources together, you can make a difference." The city hit its low point when a tent city was formed by homeless residents in 2007, and two city shelters closed in 2008, but since then the Gateway Shelter opened, and more people have been able to get help and secure housing.  Sharkey says,"It's been huge both personally and professionally just to see this happen because in 2006, it really was chaos. A huge number of people were sleeping outside on an ongoing basis." Rachael Zubick from the Safe Communities Unit says having shelters and other services available, has also cut down on crime.  "Things like mischief and all of those crimes that we associate to people with too much time on their hands and no where to go, and they've certainly decreased. And we didn't just displace them. We know that we have tackled the problems across the Greater Vernon area." Total calls for RCMP service in Vernon, Coldstream and Areas B and C were 23,374 in 2008, while to October 1 this year, calls are at 12,191 The city has gone from having 30 homeless camps  in 2009, to four this fall. Sharkey says despite the positives, there's still a need for more affordable housing units.  "That's still a challenge. We don't have the number of affordable housing units that we'd like, so some of these people are finding places with rent that is too high for the amount that they're making, so they're struggling  in other ways." Sharkey says some developers have come forward with proposals for more rooming houses, and agreements with the city to keep rents low.