Editor's Note: an inaccuracy has been corrected in this story relating to the application submitted by Iris Housing to BC Housing.
Lack of affordable housing in Powell River is one area a new social action and planning committee plans to look at, said City of Powell River Councillor Maggie Hathaway.
BC Non-Profit Housing Association released its province-wide Rental Housing Index last November. The index looks at issues of income, affordability and overcrowding across nearly 100 communities in BC. Powell River was given a “poor” rating, while Gibsons and Sechelt were “severe” and Vancouver’s situation “critical.” The group’s overall findings show a need for more affordable rental housing developments in Powell River. That echoes the findings of a consultant report presented to the city in 2011 which described the invisibility of rural homelessness compared to urban areas and the high rates of near homelessness rural communities like Powell River face.
Hathaway told the Peak that Mayor Dave Formosa will create the committee with councillors Rob Southcott, Russell Brewer and Hathaway. One of the committee’s mandates will be to look again at what role the city can play in alleviating regional housing issues.
Ron Brunt, Sheri Marino and her son Richie have been living in the single family rental house for the past two years. The family is being forced to find a new place to live after their lease was not renewed, something they feel was the result of their complaints about the house’s leaky roof and faulty wiring. They live on disability assistance and Marino said that finding that house at $780 per month was a challenge two years ago. “Richie has autism and can be loud, so basement suites or apartments do not work,” said Marino. She questions the affordability of homes with monthly rents of between $1,200 to $1,500, which she said is becoming increasingly common. “This is not the big city,” she said adding that she is worried the trend will be most difficult on families with fixed incomes, like hers, and seniors—those who she calls, “our most vulnerable.”
Hathaway and former-councillor Debbie Dee began meeting together in 2008 in a housing working group. That group contracted Alofii Consultants to create a report to look at the issue of homelessness in Powell River. The report was presented to council and included a number of recommendations, some of which have not been addressed, said Hathaway. She hopes this new committee will take another look at the report’s recommendations, which include: making homelessness prevention a strategic goal for the city, establishing a standing committee on homelessness, create a 0.25 FTE city position for a minimum of a year, appoint a person to coordinate the committee, research grants and support a public campaign, identify and create a solution for emergency housing and communicate with the general public on the issue.
Two factors stand out in Powell River’s situation. There is not any transitional housing for men, only women, said Hathaway. “This has been a big issue for me ever since I worked with legal aid,” she said. “There’s absolutely nothing for men. And there is no emergency cold weather shelter. Those are two things I want to address.”
Hathaway said that one of the issues in Powell River is that there are already a number of groups working on addressing the problem. One of the committee’s first goals will be to look at what is already being done.
Iris Housing, a group which advocates for affordable safe housing for adults living with mental illness, has submitted its proposal to BC Housing to build 12 units on Ontario Street, however financing has yet to be confirmed, Hathaway said.
That is in addition to a 14-unit multi-family affordable housing project being built near Duncan Street on Fernwood Avenue.
Hathaway said she is meeting with federally-funded group Youth Across the Threshold designed to look for creative local responses to youth homelessness in small communities.
Hathaway said it is not clear how quickly the Iris Housing project will move forward or what effect other projects will have on the current situation, but she added that once the committee has met with various groups it will have a better idea of how the city can be involved in helping address the issue.
