Mayors' caucus calls for haste on complex care housing solutions

The B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus (BCUMC) is prodding the provincial government to hasten action on complex care housing solutions for vulnerable people.

In a press release, the non-partisan group stressed an urgent need for the province to announce a plan.

“Our most vulnerable are falling through the cracks,” Co-chair and Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran said. “Municipalities have invested in supportive housing, funded more police and bylaw officers and created policies to increase inclusion in our communities and yet more needs to be done and for that we need the province’s support.”

People with complex needs tend to have overlapping mental health, substance use, trauma and acquired brain injuries, and are often left to experience homelessness, he said.

They tend not to fit within current supportive housing models or long-term healthcare systems. And if they commit crimes, they do not fit within the overloaded justice system, which perpetuates a catch and release cycle, he added.

The group said local retailers, restaurants, and hotels, who have already been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, are also experiencing the frontline impacts of the gaps, with increased erratic behaviour, open drug use, crime and theft occurring outside their place of business.

“Those with complex needs should have access to the supports they need. Providing appropriate housing with appropriate support at the right time is a game changer, both for the individual and for the broader communities,” Co-chair and Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said.

In a statement to Kelowna10, Minister of Mental Health and Addictions Sheila Malcolmson said she plans to announce the initial phase of the complex care housing framework next week.

She said B.C.'s most vulnerable people need a level of support beyond what is currently available. That is why, she said, the government is acting fast to build a first-of-its-kind system.

"Complex care housing – as we have always said – will be phased in across the province and is an important step in building the system of mental health and addictions care that people need," she said.

The BCUMC is a non-partisan group of mayors from Abbotsford, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Richmond, Saanich, Surrey, Vancouver, and Victoria. They represent over 55 per cent of British Columbians.