51社区黑料

Calls increase for long-term solutions for unsheltered community in South Surrey, White Rock

By Sobia Moman, Peace Arch News

Read the original artcile .  

This is part three in a series on homelessness in South Surrey and White Rock.

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White Rock鈥檚 daytime warming centre will close its doors on March 31, 2023 until next winter. Not long after, the local temporary overnight shelter will also close for the season in mid-April.

The pending closures are leading to calls from advocates and a local politician for a longterm solution to the homelessness crisis on the Semiahmoo Peninsula.

A volunteer at the temporary overnight shelter, Susan Wieczorek, hopes to see a full-time shelter built in the area, while Upkar Singh Tatlay of Engaged Communities Canada Society (ECCS) wants to see the people his organization helps gain access to permanent housing.

鈥淚 want to not have to do this. I wish we didn鈥檛 have a need for these services. Our goal should be not having a need for this at all,鈥� said Tatlay, who runs the daytime warming centre in White Rock.

So far this season, the centre has been able to get one woman moved into supportive housing, which Tatlay described as a win, stressing this is the actual long-term solution, not a homeless shelter, which he said can be unsafe for some.

This point was also echoed by Surrey-South MLA Elenore Sturko who said many individuals have bad experiences staying in shelters, adding some are worried about thefts.

A 鈥榟ousing first鈥� model has shown promising results in a study conducted by Sarah Canham, adjunct professor at 51社区黑料.

鈥淭he findings from that show that if we give people a stable place from which to function and manage and get themselves situated, while having the support they need to meet their own individual needs, that the ability for them to resolve their homelessness is significant.

鈥淕et people into housing first without any pre-conditions or presumptions that they need to be abstinent from drugs or alcohol, or that they need to go see a mental health clinician before they get housing,鈥� Canham told Peace Arch News.

Nonetheless, what is available now is nowhere near enough. That鈥檚 a point they all can agree on.

Running over capacity

The spell of cold weather prior to Christmas demonstrated the warming centre is seeing a higher need in the community than it is equipped to meet, Tatlay said.

鈥淚n terms of capacity, we were full 鈥� we were beyond full. All the chairs were taken but it was like, 鈥榊ou are freezing outside. It would be inhumane to make you stay outside right now when you鈥檝e already been suffering. Let鈥檚 get you inside so you can at least stand鈥�.

鈥淪o there was a whole section of people who were just standing.鈥�

With a capacity of 30 individuals in the trailer, the number who found shelter inside was actually closer to 40 people, Tatlay told Peace Arch News. Supplies dwindled quickly, but day-of donations from the community kept them afloat.

The plan for the centre was to have nurses and counsellors tending to visitors once a week at the White Rock site. But because of various staffing difficulties Tatlay was informed about beforehand, he said, health care workers have not been at the centre since the first week of December.

鈥淲ith no nurses, it鈥檚 really up to us now to deal with it,鈥� he added, pointing to numerous individuals who get injured in the cold weather and others who come in with sopping wet clothing.

鈥淲e had people inside shivering for hours (because) the cold had reached their bones.鈥�

With only one overnight shelter in the area, demand for the temporary space is far higher than the capacity allows.

Mount Olive Lutheran Church鈥檚 overnight shelter runs daily from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. and has mats for 25 to sleep on in the multi purpose room. The reality is, however, the number of people who show up is in the mid-40s, Wieczorek said.

鈥淚f there鈥檚 more than 25 that come in, they don鈥檛 get a mat but they can come in and get warm and there鈥檚 chairs鈥� We鈥檙e often over-capacity which is a sad comment on society, that so many people need a place to stay.鈥�

Wieczorek adds that because the shelter, overseen by Options Community Services, is temporary 鈥渋t鈥檚 like a Band-Aid solution.鈥�

Many people experiencing homelessness are still sleeping on the streets, Leanne Utendale 鈥� manager of Sources鈥� outreach team 鈥� observes during the group鈥檚 time spent going around the Peninsula with supplies for people they see on the streets.

鈥淢ostly, it鈥檚 people trying different techniques to stay warm. So (they鈥檙e) making makeshift shelters out of cardboard on the streets or underground,鈥� she said.

During days of below-freezing temperatures, the group will see individuals with frostbite and other physical injuries. This is also often the case with folks who frequent the daytime warming centre, Tatlay said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 easily over a dozen people with their hands all wrapped up鈥� (frostbite) is really bad.鈥�

Last winter, there was a man who 鈥渨as sleeping in like a closet overnight, but his feet were outside so his feet were all frost-bitten鈥� leading to his toes being amputated, said Mandave Dhadda, a staff member at the warming centre.

Another visitor of the daytime space, David, was sleeping outdoors on the night of Dec. 19 when the Semiahmoo Peninsula saw about 35 centimetres of snow fall overnight. Lying in a sleeping bag, David鈥檚 head was covered by trees but the lower half of his body was 鈥渃ompletely covered in snow, inches high.鈥�

鈥淔reezing, terrible, numb,鈥� is how David described his night.

Another man has been sleeping on concrete under steps leading up to a portable washroom, Tatlay said.

Some who sleep outside have had their belongings stolen, including one man who showed up at the centre on a rainy day with no shoes and told staff that he was 鈥渟leeping and someone just ripped them off my feet.鈥�

While doing outreach, Utendale said that it feels great to give people supplies from donations they receive but oftentimes 鈥渨hen we see them again, they don鈥檛 have those same things. It can get lost, stolen and it鈥檚 hard for them to move around with a bunch of (items) because they don鈥檛 have a home to put it in.鈥�

During the extreme weather, hand warmers and blankets are crucial for the unhoused, Utendale said.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e literally worried about shoes, a meal, not sleeping under some steps, how can you even begin to think about the next steps in life?鈥� Tatlay wonders.

During the extreme weather, Fraser Health鈥檚 Integrated Homeless Action Response Team (IHART) were working throughout the region also.

鈥淭hese teams form a regional network of multidisciplinary care providers to support the needs of people who are sheltered, unsheltered and living in encampments and select supportive housing environments,鈥� said Nick Eagland, communications representative for the health authority.

鈥淎s an example of this dedication, the Burnaby IHART drove and hiked through ice and snow to reach several difficult-to-access encampments and ensure people could get the care they needed.鈥�

鈥�2 steps forward, 20 back鈥�

Once White Rock鈥檚 daytime warming centre and South Surrey鈥檚 overnight shelter close, cooling centres, including a tent with misting stations, which Tatlay鈥檚 organization runs, will likely return in the warmer months. ECCS鈥檚 summer space sees similar visitors as the winter centre does.

The time in-between, however, is unpredictable, Tatlay said.

鈥淲e have people on the last day when we close who say, 鈥楬ope you guys open up again soon. I don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen to me between then and now鈥� and they鈥檙e serious about that. The next time they鈥檒l be inside is the next time we open up the doors again. They won鈥檛 go anywhere else.鈥�

Reasons for this range from some individuals having been banned from shelters to others who do not feel safe staying in any shelter.

鈥淲hat that does is it makes work harder because when we re-open, either in the summer or the winter, that鈥檚 a lot of medical stuff that鈥檚 been on the backlog for them. Nurses will be like, and they鈥檝e said this already, 鈥楾his is the problem.

鈥淏ecause you guys close, that wound care we were doing, we鈥檙e back to the start, if not worse.鈥� So we鈥檙e trying to build that back up again,鈥� Tatlay said.

A similar situation was seen at the warming centre last winter, Tatlay said.

While unhoused people in South Surrey and White Rock can get access to counsellors, nurses, food items and a designated space during the day in the summers, their nights are not as stable, as the overnight shelter only operates during colder months.

For this reason, Wieczorek wants to see a permanent shelter established in the area, but notes that government involvement is needed to support that initiative.

Dangerous waiting game

Sturko visits with and speaks to Tatlay often, she said, as a resource to learn more about the demographics of people experiencing homelessness in the area and to see exactly where the failures lie.

鈥淭here鈥檚 just a spectrum of issues and for (wintry) days, it can be deadly,鈥� Sturko told PAN, pointing to individuals who work while living on the streets or in vehicles, many while dealing with serious mental health concerns, substance use issues, physical disabilities and more concerns that are not being addressed.

The newly elected BC Liberal MLA describes government action in addressing these issues as 鈥減utting a bucket under a drip and meanwhile, a tidal wave came. I think many communities and provinces find themselves with an overflowing problem (that is) under-resourced and that鈥檚 where we are today. Now, we need a solution that addresses a tsunami after it鈥檚 already happened.鈥�

Meanwhile, White Rock mayor Megan Knight, who declined a request for an interview with Peace Arch News on the topic of homelessness in the city, sent a prepared statement.

鈥淭he City of White Rock appreciates the need for supportive housing, especially during extreme weather, which is why it has formed a partnership with Surrey to operate an emergency warming centre鈥� until March 2023, and also operates cooling centres in the summer,鈥� the statement reads.

鈥淎s the newly formed Council sets plans and priorities for the term, this is definitely a topic we will be discussing.鈥�

The need to play catch-up to the issues in society today dates back to the 1980s, notes Canham.

鈥淚t really is a structural system-level issue wherein the federal government discontinued their investment in social and subsidized low-income housing and so we鈥檙e now dealing with the repercussions of not having enough housing that鈥檚 affordable for people,鈥� she said.

More funding into BC Housing is crucial, Sturko believes.

In addition, mental health and addictions treatment are 鈥渟everely under-funded in my opinion.鈥�

鈥淲e need to ensure that when a person is ready, it鈥檚 there."

鈥淎 lot of times, that waiting period between when a person is ready to go and have the help and when it鈥檚 actually available, there鈥檚 so much time for a relapse or overdose (so) we need to close that hole,鈥� Sturko said.