The Supreme Court of British Columbia’s decision on Prince George’s two homeless encampments has raised a few eyebrows.
On Friday, the high court ruled the encampment at George Street must be removed by Friday (October 29th) however, the one on Lower Patricia Boulevard, known as “Moccasin Flats” may remain in place until suitable housing is available.
Canadian Mental Health Association Program Manager, Shirley Hogan told MyPGNow.com the ruling was the best outcome for a “band-aid” solution.
“Removing the encampments doesn’t solve the problem of homelessness in Prince George and keeping the encampments doesn’t solve the problem either but at least we are not ripping the band-aid off before we have any other sort of solutions in place.”
In addition, Hogan isn’t quite sure why the province and the city have not considered using the Youth Custody Centre on Gunn Road as a shelter space.
“My understanding is that there is space there. It’s not being utilized and is not considered city space, it is a provincial space that houses beds, it’s warm and it might be an option temporarily.”
“We know how cold it gets in Prince George and we still don’t have good enough solutions where we still have lots of people that have no warm place to be throughout the winter months. It would be really great if we could somehow come up with a better temporary solution.”
Vista Radio contacted Attorney General David Eby’s office for a comment and is awaiting a response regarding the Youth Custody Centre.
Meanwhile, social housing projects are slowly popping up in the northern capital.
The Integrated Housing Model on 1st Avenue, which is expected to open early next year as well as the National Hotel.
In March, a proposal to deliver an additional 50 safe and supportive homes for people experiencing homelessness in Prince George is currently in the works between the provincial government and the city.
The new homes are proposed for 855 1st Avenue – the same block where the integrated housing model is.
Hogan believes the new housing initiatives will go a long way in mitigating some of the mental health issues plaguing our most vulnerable.
“When our housing is in place and our basic needs like having a warm place to sleep and we are fed. When those basic needs are met, we are in a better place mentally.”
When asked if displaced residents from the George Street location may elect to move over to the Lower Patricia Boulevard encampment, Lynn Florey with Community Partners Addressing Homelessness believes that scenario is not out of the question.
“It’s a possibility I guess. I mean, I know people that are working already on ensuring they are given housing with the supports and that is where the problem lies is that we don’t have enough of any of those things.”
“It’s a really complex problem, you can’t just sort of wave it away. Even if you tear down both of those camps they are still there, they still have to go somewhere.”
The only thing not making sense to Florey about the court ruling is why both encampments were either not kept or torn down altogether.
“At this point, is one group who can (Lower Patricia) and one group who can’t (George Street) so I am not quite sure how that will translate.”
“I am not 100% sure why the ruling did not apply to both. And that may be a geographical thing but I don’t really know.”
A BC Housing spokesperson was not available for an interview but a statement was provided to MyPGNow.com.
Street homelessness and encampments are urgent issues we are working to address. This includes Prince George, where BC Housing and our partners are working to bring everyone living in encampments indoors as soon as possible.
BC Housing outreach staff will be on-site at the George Street encampment all week, offering available indoor spaces for people to move to. There are 20 people at this encampment and we are hopeful all will accept indoor offers by the end of this week’s deadline. Outreach staff will be providing bins to people at the George Street encampment later this week to put their belongings in, as well as transportation to shelters.
There are currently 150 shelter spaces in operation across four sites in Prince George, many of which have vacancies on a nightly basis. In addition to shelter spaces still available in the community, BC Housing just secured a two-year lease for the Knights Inn, which will open in early November and will provide 44 new supportive homes for people who are currently sleeping outside. With the addition of the Knights Inn and the available shelter beds, there will be enough indoor spaces to accommodate everyone at the George Street and Lower Patricia Boulevard encampments.
Neither the Province nor BC Housing is involved in issuing or enforcing the order to remove the George St. encampment. Questions about future plans for both encampments should be directed to the City of Prince George.