As winter weather approaches, Burnaby in dire need of shelter space, homeless advocate says

A Burnaby homeless advocate says as the region moves into colder, wet weather, the city needs to find ways to shelter its most vulnerable residents.

According to the latest Metro Vancouver homeless count, Burnaby was one of a number of municipalities that saw a sizeable increase in its homeless population. Two hundred and nine Burnaby residents were recorded in the point-in-time count, an increase of 69 per cent since 2020.

Carol-Ann Flanagan, the executive director with The Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby said the city only has one homeless shelter that holds 40 people: 30 men and 10 women. She said it’s always full.

Last winter, the organization oversaw an emergency warming centre located in a church for people to access. Flanagan said the centre was open for 103 nights and had 1,068 visits. She said many of the people who frequented the church were women or seniors.

“I watched a senior woman in a wheelchair being brought into the EWR (emergency warming centre) by her senior son,” she said. “We have to do better.”

In June, the City of Burnaby launched the Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members to tackle the growing issue of housing insecurity. Coun. Maita Santiago chairs the task force and said in the last five years, the city has taken steps to actively support those experiencing homelessness.

“Since then, we’ve got two supportive housing developments, we’ve got emergency warming centres, so we’ve made some progress,” she said.

Flanagan said despite the progress the city has made, there are still gaps when it comes to accessing shelters and warming centres.

She told CTV News the warming centres are only open when temperatures reach zero degrees or if there’s been three consecutive days of rain. Last winter, the warming centre the organization oversaw was nearly always full, according to Flanagan.

“If we only have 20 spaces, or 24 spaces, where do the others sleep? They’re outside again,” she said.

Flanagan said she’d like to see the city open a warming centre that’s open 24/7, regardless of the weather conditions. Coun. Santiago said the city is working with BC Housing and community partners to provide additional winter shelter space.