Update on the Homeless Emergency Action Team
This is the initial monthly report to Council on the work done to date by the Homeless Emergency Action Team, or HEAT. On December 9th, the Mayor officially announced the creation of HEAT, chaired by Mayor Robertson and composed of 13 members including city councillors, city staff, housing stakeholders, and the private sector (see list attached).
HEAT’s objective is to identify immediate action steps that the City and its partners can take to get street homeless off the street and into safe and secure shelter over the winter. The terms of reference include a timeline of 90 days, starting from December 9th, and a requirement to provide monthly progress reports to Council.
On December 16th, Council approved allocating $750,000 to fund the City’s contribution to HEAT. The City Manager, in consultation with the Mayor’s Office and HEAT, was authorized to spend the funds to open safe and secure shelters immediately and to work with all available partners and use all available mechanisms to achieve this goal.
Shelter spaces
The top priority of HEAT since its inception has been identifying facilities that could be opened as soon as possible as temporary shelters. On December 9th, the Mayor announced that an agreement had been reached with First United Church, located at East Hastings and Gore, which would allow First United to shelter people 24 hours a day. The agreement included initial funding commitments from the following:
- The City of Vancouver - $10,000
- The Provincial Government - $10,000
- Streetohome Foundation - $10,000
- St Andrew’s Wesley Church - $10,000
The First United Church has operated as a no-barrier shelter, and was originally estimated to hold up to 150 people a night. Since its opening on December 15, demand has required that the Church open up another room, and currently more than 200 people over the course of a night are seeking shelter in the church.
At a HEAT meeting on December 14th, city staff provided an update on fast-tracking work on city-owned buildings to get them open as shelters. Staff identified the following possible sites:
- 1435 Granville
- 1442 Howe
- 1449 Hornby
- 240 Northern Street
1435 Granville and 240 Northern were chosen as they provide shelter where the homeless congregate and require minimal upgrades, though 240 Northern could not open until January due to the need to remove old partitions and provide electrical and plumbing upgrades. City staff went to work immediately to bring the buildings up to fire and safety code, and HEAT member Dr. Patricia Daly coordinated the health inspections through Vancouver Coastal Health.
Care was taken to ensure that the shelters would meet the actual needs of street homeless. Barriers to entry were eliminated: the shelters allow pets; provide secure areas to store personal belongings (e.g. backpacks, shopping carts); are accessible by foot or transit; and open by 6:00 PM.
HEAT members Janice Abbott and Judy Graves contacted shelter and housing providers to see who had the capacity to operate HEAT’s shelters on short notice. RainCity Housing, PHS Community Services Society, and the Aboriginal Friendship Society agreed to provide staff, operational support, design advice, and help develop the operating budgets for the shelters.
On December 16th, the City, the Province, and the Streetohome Foundation entered into a partnership to provide a combined $1.5 million in funding ($500,000 each) for the operation of three temporary shelters over the winter. The three HEAT shelters are:
- 1435 Granville Street: operated by RainCity; opened on December 20, 2008, with a capacity for sheltering 36 people;
- The Stanley New Fountain Hotel: operated by PHS; opened on December 18, 2008, with a capacity of sheltering 30 people; and
- 240 Northern Street (address now changed to 201 Central Avenue, to reflect where the new wheelchair accessible entrance is located): operated by the Aboriginal Friendship Society; opened on January 12, 2009, with a capacity for sheltering 80-120 people.
Once in operation, the three HEAT shelters would provide safe, secure shelter for approximately 150-200 people per night in addition to the 200+ sheltered per night at First United Church.
Once word spread that they were open, the HEAT shelters quickly filled to capacity, despite other shelter options available as part of the Province’s extreme weather strategy. It has been reported that a significant factor in the use of HEAT shelters was because they did not have barriers, were easily accessible on foot or by transit, were safe and secure, and opened early in the evening. The Province’s extreme weather shelters open only on an as-needed basis determined daily. Some are subject to other operational and programming uses of the facility that can, in some cases, prevent opening until 11 PM. HEAT shelters will be open every day this winter.
Table 1: HEAT Shelter Numbers, as of January 16, 2009.
Date opened
Number of Visitors
Turnaways
1435 Granville
December 20
933
142
Stanley New Fountain
December 18
1095
0
First United Church
December 15
6,000 (est)
0
201 Central
January 12
192
0
The tentative closure dates for HEAT shelters is March 31, depending on need and funding. However, sufficient funding is available to keep the shelter spaces open until the end of April when winter shelters have traditionally closed.
Operators have reported that they have been able to operate each shelter without serious security or staffing difficulty, due in part to regular visits by the VPD and sufficient staff and volunteers. Given the volume at First United Church, the City and the Province have contributed another $5000 to the church. In addition to their $5000 contribution to the Church, the Provincial Government (BC Housing) has provided funding for Lookout Emergency Services staff to support the volunteers, and Genesis Security is donating security services.
A significant challenge for HEAT is the lack of shelter facilities in Kitsilano and along the Kingsway strip, which have known homeless populations. Few suitable buildings exist, and for those that do, conversion was not feasible given the length of time required. The interim solution identified by HEAT was to find ways to transport homeless individuals to open shelters. SafeRide (funded by VCH) was being used to transport homeless to the shelters, and Blacktop and Checker Cabs is donating rides to transport people to, and between, shelters. A community or shelter worker contacts Blacktop if transportation is needed and accompanies the homeless individual to the shelter. The taxi transportation response was recently instituted and its effectiveness is being monitored. VPD and VCHA are working to see if Saferide can also be utilized again for transportation.
Next Steps
The Homeless Emergency Action Team is working on a number of projects as it enters its second month. It continues to monitor the need for shelter and the opportunities to provide shelter quickly and cost effectively. In particular, the Province’s extreme weather shelters are presently closed and we will be tracking the impact on HEAT’s shelters.
In the process of creating the HEAT shelters, a number of issues have been identified. HEAT’s mandate is restricted to 90 days (ending mid-March) and there are a number of longer-term initiatives underway where these issues can be addressed. HEAT will be assessing the issues that it has identified and forwarding them to the appropriate initiative.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the need for interim housing until the Province’s 17 SROs are renovated and the 14 new supportive housing projects are ready to be occupied. In recognition of this need, HEAT members are compiling available information on:
- the dates and number of units of social housing that will become available over the next three years;
- physical and mental health needs;
- the type of clientele (e.g. gender, age, families, etc) expected to require services; and
- identification of potential sites for interim housing.
A related issue is ensuring that the homeless (whether on the street or in shelters) are accommodated in the renovated SROs and the new supportive housing, and putting in place a process that ensures the homeless have access to housing.
At the end of the 90 day HEAT mandate, staff will be reporting to Council on the results achieved, costs, issues identified, work underway to address them, etc. An additional outcome of HEAT may be a community forum or forums which bring all those involved in addressing homelessness and impacted by homelessness together to review the larger context and to confirm the community commitment to solving homelessness. The HEAT report will provide input into these forums.
It is expected that the HEAT shelters will be needed during the 2009/10 winter, and the HEAT team may reconvene in the fall to assess the situation and identify actions needed to minimize street homelessness. In particular, it is clear from the number of turnaways that a low- or no-barrier shelter for youth is needed.
Finally, it is important to thank our funding partners: the Province (BC Housing), Streetohome Foundation, St Andrew’s Wesley Church, and Vancouver Coastal Health; and our community partners: the Aboriginal Friendship Society, First United Church, PHS Community Services, RainCity Housing, Safe Ride, and the taxi industry, for their leadership, rapid response and shared commitment to providing shelter for the homeless.
Office of the Mayor
Photos by Jay Black