More housing units being built for Vancouver’s unhoused

Vancouver will be getting some new modular housing units for people experiencing homelessness in the city.

The B.C. government has announced construction has begun on two “temporary bridge-to-housing projects” that will provide 90 new units.

Premier David Eby says the projects will help bring people living in the Downtown Eastside off the street and into stable housing.

“These temporary modular homes will serve as a bridge to health supports and more permanent housing,” the premier said.

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Housing projects like this, the province says, give people experiencing homelessness a “transitional step” while other programs are developed.

One of the buildings will be located on Main Street near Science World, while the other is being built on Ash Street near West 6th Avenue. The fixed-term homes will have 24/7 supports for those who are already living in shelters. The projects are being funded by BC Housing, the City of Vancouver, and the B.C. government.

According to the province, the new facilities will help free up shelter space for people living in “unsafe encampments” along Hastings Street and in CRAB Park.

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the situation in the Downtown Eastside is one of the “greatest crises” in the city’s history.

“Today’s announcement from the province makes meaningful progress towards achieving our shared goal of securing quality housing for our city’s most vulnerable residents,” Sim said.

Those who work with people on the Downtown Eastside, however, are hopeful Wednesday’s announcement is the start of many similar moves from the province.

More support for unhoused still needed, advocate says

Nicole Mucci with the Union Gospel Mission says she welcomes the building of any supportive housing to get people off the streets.

“Our big hope is that coming in the new year that the government continues to come out with these releases, quickly one after another,” she told CityNews.

Mucci says the cost of living has led to more people experiencing homelessness.

“The difference between someone being unhoused and someone being housed is often so minuscule. It’s a paycheck away, it’s a missed opportunity with a job,” she explained,  the stigma around people experiencing homelessness changes.

“It really could happen to anybody and we’ve seen it happen with so many kinds of individuals.”

It’s unclear how many people in Vancouver are experiencing homelessness, Mucci says. The last official count was in March of 2020, before the pandemic, where it was found at least 3,000 people were unhoused.

“What we know is that homelessness hasn’t disappeared over the last three years and certainly hasn’t gotten better for a lot of people. In fact, we know that more people are becoming unhoused,” she said.

The new modular buildings are scheduled to open in March and be in place for “at least three years,” the government says.

With files from Liza Yuzda