December 22, 2008

Open Letter to Premier Gordon Campbell

Dear Premier Campbell,

As you are aware, the recent cold weather in the Lower Mainland is putting the health of homeless people at extreme risk. Early on Friday morning, Tracey passed away after burning to death at Davie and Hornby. A candle she was using to stay warm ended up causing her belongings and tarp to catch fire. Earlier this year, Darrell Mickasko also died from a fire after trying to stay warm.

Despite recent funding announcements from the provincial government, more needs to be done. There is an immediate need for more outreach workers in the evening to interact with homeless people in order to connect them to services and ensure that funding supports are available from existing programs.

Additionally, the barriers which currently exist at shelters which do not allow shopping carts and pets should be temporarily suspended during the cold weather period to ensure that there is no further loss of life during the next few months. As well, homeless couples are not allowed to share a room which serves as an additional barrier. This policy should also be suspended to ensure that people choose to stay indoors during sub-zero temperatures.

It should be noted that more spaces needs to be available during the day when shelters let people out. And finally, there is also a need to coordinate the delivery of food services especially during the evenings.

Temporary solutions are necessary to address emergency needs. And indeed, the recent shelter announcements are only temporary solutions. We need a comprehensive multi-year commitment to build new permanent housing units. The Homes BC program which your government cut was building 1,200 units per year. There are estimated to be between 10,000 to 15,000 homeless people in BC. In Metro Vancouver, homelessness has more than doubled under your tenure as Premier.

The increase in homelessness that exists today is attributable to your government's shortsighted public policy decisions.

I ask that you immediately commit to lowering barriers for the homeless to access services and to reinstate a permanent social housing program immediately.

Sincerely,

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan, MLA

Vancouver – Mt. Pleasant