PG applies for $625k to support the unsheltered population

The Union of BC Municipalities is accepting applications for the 2022 Strengthening Communities Services Program to help homeless people, and address the impact to surrounding communities.

The City of Prince George gave the green light to submit the application in last night’s (Monday) city council meeting.

PG is eligible for up to $625,000, based on the population, and the deadline for applications is set for April 22nd.

The City’s application has initiatives that include:

• Reducing community concerns in neighbourhoods where unsheltered homeless populations are seeking temporary shelter with the addition of security;
• Providing secure and monitored access to the new downtown pool;
• Increasing the capacity of the City of Prince George to work with urban Indigenous organizations providing services for unsheltered individuals;
• Installing modern needle drop boxes in targeted locations and;
• Implementing short-term initiatives aligned with preliminary findings emerging from the City’s evaluation project.

Many of the City’s councillors were grateful for the funding, but were concerned about the provincial and federal governments passing the buck on an issue that lands in their jurisdiction.

“I really appreciate this from the province, but I do have a concern. It’s like a bit of a shift from the province, their responsibility to us, they might be funding it, but my concern is that we open up the door when we talk about homelessness, health, and a bunch of other initiatives. It’s provincial and federal responsibility,” said Councillor Brian Skakun.

“I’m going to be keeping an eye on what the province and the feds are doing, but if they keep offloading and downloading some of these costs there’s going to be some pushback.”

Councillor Kyle Sampson echoed Skakun’s sentiment.

“I just have a concern, and will be monitoring it closely, because if this funding dries up, the province decides they are no longer going to offer this funding and we’re left hanging the bag, looking for ways to fund these services that are now expected in the community.”

Sampson noted that this kind of work is the responsibility of other levels of government.

Councillor Murry Krause said that this money will help, but it won’t solve all the problems.

“We still have a lot of unsheltered individuals in our community. And who knows, this probably won’t fix it, but it certainly will provide services to those individuals.”