More emergency shelter beds opening in Vancouver
$1.5 million cost to be shared by city, province, private sector
Vancouver's new mayor has teamed up with his old rival in the legislature to create up to 200 new temporary shelter beds this winter, an initiative receiving some $1.5 million in funding.
Mayor Gregor Robertson and B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced Tuesday morning that three new emergency shelters will be opened at two empty city warehouses and one existing low-income shelter facility.
The announcement comes as many shelters in the Vancouver area are at capacity, with hundreds of homeless people seeking refuge during an extended cold snap.
The initiative was announced by the two men who used to exchange barbs across the legislature floor when Robertson sat as an opposition MLA before resigning to run for municipal office.
During his campaign for November's municipal election, Robertson promised to make homelessness his No. 1 priority.
Under the deal, the city and the province will chip in $500,000 each to open the beds for 90 days this winter, while an unspecified private-sector source would contribute the other $500,000 in funding.
The premier pointed out the province already spends $17 million a year to fund 441 emergency beds at 10 shelters in Vancouver, along with an additional 500 spaces available during cold weather.
The province also currently provides more than $15.7 million annually to subsidize more than 5,000 social and supportive housing units, and is in the process of redeveloping 17 rundown single-room hotels and building 14 new supportive housing developments for low-income people.