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Supportive Housing Strategy

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City-owned Social &
Supportive Housing Sites
525 Abbott St
1134 Burrard St
1050 Expo Blvd
1237 Howe St
2465 Fraser St
337 W Pender St
111 Princess Ave
220 Princess Ave
1338 Seymour St
1005 Station St
188 E 1st Ave
215 - 225 W 2nd Ave
1601 W 7th Ave
3595 W 17th Ave

Welcome to the Housing Centre’s webpage for the City of Vancouver’s Supportive Housing Strategy for Vancouver Coastal Health’s Mental Health and Addictions Supported Housing Framework.

Community meetings were held across the City in March and April to discuss the Strategy, with a focus on its eight recommendations and how new supportive housing projects can be successfully integrated into neighbourhoods. Public input has been considered and helped inform revisions to the document. On June 6, 2007 the revised Strategy was passed unanimously by City Councillors at a Special Council meeting (PDF, 1.06MB).

Supportive housing is affordable housing that provides links to support staff that assist tenants to stabilize their lives, enhance independent living skills, and re-connect with the community. There are currently over 1,800 units of supportive housing provided by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) in the City, approximately 1,200 units are provided through 37 supportive housing buildings and 600 units are provided through rent supplements in private market rental buildings. These units are located throughout the City.

The Supportive Housing Strategy builds on Vancouver Coastal Health’s (VCH) Framework document and focuses on housing for people with mental illnesses or addictions, and includes low barrier housing for people who may not be actively engaged in treatment.

It is estimated that over the next ten years, 2,200 supported housing units will be needed. Some of these units would be rent supplements in private market rental buildings and some in dedicated or mixed buildings.

The Strategy recommends that the City work with Vancouver Coastal Health and BC Housing to increase the supply of supportive housing with 450 units in newly developed buildings. The purpose of the Supportive Housing Strategy is to give residents of Vancouver a clear understanding of where and how this could happen.

Videos & Presentations on Supportive Housing

	Coast Mental Health & Doug Story Apartments
	Social & Supportive Housing: A huge 14 steps to reducing homelessness in Vancouver

The following are links to City and VCH documents:

• Vancouver Homelessness Funding Model (Dobell-Fairbairn Report) (PDF, 632KB)
• Report to City Council on the Revised Supportive Housing Strategy (May 22, 2007) (PDF, 1.06MB)
• City of Vancouver’s Supportive Housing Strategy (PDF, 1.88MB)
• Vancouver Coastal Health’s A Mental Health & Addictions Supported Housing Framework (PDF, 102KB)
• Vancouver Coastal Health’s A Mental Health and Addiction Framework for Services (PDF, 421KB)
• Vancouver Coastal Health’s Review of Alcohol and Drug Free Housing for People in Recovery from Substance Use (PDF, 402KB)
• An annotated bibliography and literature summary Housing for People with Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders (PDF, 444KB)
• An example Operational Management Plan (PDF, 60KB)

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Questions or Comments? E-mail: housing@vancouver.ca

© 2008 City of Vancouver
Last modified: April 4, 2011