British Columbia's government has pledged $6 million to help reduce homelessness in the province.
Minister for Poverty Reduction Shane Simpson said the money will be distributed over the next three years through the Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia. One-time grants will be available to frontline organizations addressing the homeless crises.
“We know that this work is going on today in communities around the province,” said Simpson. “We know that there are many communities that have homelessness task forces and homelessness action committees, and this work is to support what they’re doing.”
Simpson acknowledged that the challenges faced in different communities require different responses, and the solutions needed to combat and prevent homelessness will be based on local input.
"Homelessness touches virtually every corner of our province and affects at least 8,000 individuals on any given night of the year," said BC Non-Profit Housing Association CEO Jill Atkey. “We also know that those numbers don’t represent everybody experiencing homelessness throughout the year… Those numbers are in fact much higher.”
