In the absence of an emergency shelter in the community, Lift Community Services has launched a homelessness outreach team to support local individuals experiencing homelessness, but more is needed, the qathet-based nonprofit organization says.
“When it became clear that our shelter program was closing, we advocated for and received funding that allowed us to maintain some supports for individuals experiencing homelessness in the community,” stated Lift executive director Kim Markel, in a media release.
Lift received short-term funding that has allowed the organization to employ a three-person team for approximately six months.
The homelessness outreach team makes daily visits throughout the week to encampments that have cropped up in town, and other areas where they know individuals are sleeping rough. The team provides food, water, medical and harm reduction supplies, camping gear, waste disposal, fire extinguishers, laundry support and transportation to help individuals attend appointments or connect with other supports, according to the release.
“The purpose of the team is really to assess individuals' needs and connect them with appropriate resources,” stated Markel, noting that the team has supported more than 45 unique individuals sleeping rough in the past two months alone.
“These are individuals whose home is here in qathet,” added Markel. “We sometimes hear suggestions that people are coming from out of town to set up camp or access resources, and quite simply, we have seen no evidence of that. Frankly, there aren’t enough services here to draw people to our community.”
While the outreach team is providing support to individuals who might typically access shelter services, Markel stated that the program is not able to address all community impacts of homelessness.
“Our mandate with the homelessness outreach team is to support people experiencing homelessness in the absence of a shelter,” stated Markel, adding that Lift is limited in its capacity to address impacts of homelessness such as abandoned debris and garbage, congregation and trespassing, and community safety concerns.
“Solving homelessness and addressing the community impact of homelessness is not something any one organization can do alone,” stated Markel.
Contributing factors to homelessness are complex and positive solutions to homelessness and the impacts of homelessness require community-wide collaboration and coordination, she added.
“We’re hearing from community members who are frustrated that more isn’t being done to mitigate the impacts of homelessness in the community,” stated Markel. “I get it; there’s so much more that should be done. In the meantime, we are continuing our work of keeping people alive and advocating for their right to housing, as community members.”
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