Homelessness Arleta Beckett, Manager, Community Services & - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Cross-Jurisdictional Action on Homelessness Arleta Beckett, Manager, Community Services & Community Development David Hawkins, Manager, Community Planning & Sustainability July 20, 2020

Purpose – Responding to Motion • Update on North Shore homeless situation • Homelessness within West Vancouver’s existing housing stock and initiatives • Staff resource implications and opportunity costs of supporting and participating on a tri-municipal homelessness initiative CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Understanding Homelessness

Homelessness – Background & History • North Shore Homelessness Task Force (1998) • Safe houses, transition houses, North Shore Housing Centre, local shower program, other housing and support services delivered by NPOs • Triennial Canada-wide point-in-time homeless counts • Addressing Housing in Metro Vancouver (2017) • TogetherBC : BC’s Poverty Reduction Strategy (2019) • COVID-19 • July 6, 2020 resolution CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Homelessness – What We Know Today • COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted need for safe housing for vulnerable people • North Shore Emergency Management’s Social and Community Impact Team have provided some support to address pandemic-related barriers and challenges • Systemic weaknesses and failures • Need for low-barrier, supported housing with harm- reduction services and ideally a single point of entry CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Homelessness – What We Are Currently Doing • North Shore Poverty Reduction Strategy (2020-2021) • Analysis of 2020 triennial point-in-time homeless count and secondary count • West Vancouver shower program continuing into the fall • Monitoring for a potential second wave of COVID-19 and re-start of NSEM Social and Community Impact team • Responding to North Shore organizations’ call for help CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

West Van’s Housing Context

Housing – Existing Stock CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Impacts of Housing Costs and Supply • 2006-16 household incomes decreased by 0.8%, cost of ownership increased by 130% • 96% of 1900 purpose-built rental units built in the 1960- 70s, vulnerable to redevelopment, and only 1.2% vacant • Rents ($2,000/month) “exceed” renter incomes ($48,000/year) • 58% of renters spend >30% of their income on shelter, and 14% of all households are spending >50% • 2,200 households are in “ core housing need ” (defined as condition, crowding, or affordability) • 1,000 subsidized units, only ~50 for non-seniors; waitlist for social housing is increasing (96 to 132 from 2016-18) CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Resourcing and Action on Housing • Report outlines roles / capacity; a new objective would impact deliverables, implementation, and future work • Council is taking action on housing: • 1.1 Approvals, including rental and accessible units • 1.2 Targets and incentives for 'missing middle‘ housing • 1.3 Cypress Village planning • 1.4 NCWG and single family zoning • 2.2 Horseshoe Bay Local Area Plan • One output that could inform action on homelessness is the Housing Needs Report (targeted for end 2020) CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Financial Implications • Challenges to estimating costs: requires tri-municipal involvement, an agreed terms of reference (duties, work plan, resourcing) • Steering Committee and Working Group would likely identify and direct further work, studies and actions • WV’s working groups typically take two years, 0.5 to 1.0 FTE, plus budgets of between $50,000 and $250,000 • Steering Committee / Working Group outcomes could have potentially substantial ongoing or one-time costs (e.g. additional support services, provision of housing) CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020

Conclusion: Staff Recommendation THAT 1. the report dated July 14, 2020 titled “Cross -Jurisdictional Action on Homelessness” from Arleta Beckett and David Hawkins be received for information; 2. staff be directed to discuss establishing a framework for a North Shore Cross- Jurisdictional Action on Homelessness Steering Committee and Working Group with the appropriate colleagues from North Shore Homelessness Task Force, City and District of North Vancouver and Vancouver Coastal Health, and report back to Council on the results of these discussions, including required specific District resources; 3. staff report back to Council on the findings of the Housing Needs Report upon its completion; and 4. staff be directed to brief any eventual Steering Committee and Working Group on the findings of the Housing Needs Report upon its completion to inform and shape the framework along with similar data from other jurisdictions. CROSS-JURISDICTIONAL ACTION ON HOMELESSNESS - JULY 2020