Busy Thanksgiving highlights homelessness
Even small towns like Nelson facing rising numbers of homeless residents.
Last Updated: Monday, October 12, 2009 | 5:09 PM PT
CBC News
About 3,000 people were expected for Thanksgiving dinner at the Union Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on Monday afternoon. (CBC) As Homeless Action Week kicked off in B.C. on Monday, as many as 3,000 people lined up outside the Union Gospel Mission on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside for the annual Thanksgiving Day turkey dinner.
In total, the mission was preparing to serve up 130 turkeys, 500 pumpkin pies, and more than 500 kilograms of mashed potatoes on Monday afternoon, making this year one of their busiest, according to Bruce Curtiss, a senior chaplain.
Homeless Action Week, which runs from Oct. 11 to Oct. 17 is intended to draw attention to the every growing number of B.C. residents who are unable to find or afford housing.
'I think it's going to be a rough winter,'—Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson
Amongst the new faces in the line-up this year at the Union Gospel's annual meal were more senior citizens and more families, said Curtiss.
"It's a testament to the need in the community, " Curtiss said. "It could be tough getting on assistance, the rents are increasing, the economy is down, people are trying to make ends meet …. We are just seeing a lot more people."
Mayor Gregor Robertson was among the volunteers at the mission on East Cordova, and he was predicting another long, cold winter for Vancouver's estimated 1,600 homeless residents.
"The effects of the recession are now full-blown, and people are without jobs, or on the streets more," said Robertson. "I think it's going to be a rough winter, but we are making some progress with shelter and housing spaces. We just need a whole lot more."
Small-town homelessness
The homelessness crisis is not just affecting B.C.'s big cities — it's also hitting small towns, which are also seeing the price of real estate soar as the supply of cheap rentals dries up.
During Homeless Action Week, the southern Interior city of Nelson will be hosting films, forums and workshops in an effort to find ways to tackle what many once considered an urban problem.
Pastor Jim Reimer says his church serves a free hot lunch every day, and the number of people coming in for the meal is growing — and many of them have nowhere to sleep.
About 150 turkeys were cooked up by volunteers for the annual dinner at the Union Gospel Mission. (CBC) "The reason it is increasing is there is no stock being built for rent — no mobile-home parks, no apartments — and that is the issue," said Reimer
And when new accommodation is built in Nelson, it is high-end real estate for people with a lot of money, said Reimer.
Celeste LeDuigou with the city's Homelessness Action Committee said the vacancy rate is below one per cent, and even people with jobs can't find places to live.
"Even for people with money, housing is very difficult to find. Some of the [homeless] people we know are working, working downtown," said LeDuigou.
"They couch surf," said LeDuigou. "There are people living in and around the beaches around Nelson. They may be staying with friends or family. However, the situation is temporary, and they do not have a home."
Mayor John Dooley said the city was trying to relax bylaws to allow for more secondary suites and to open up some long-closed dorms rooms in a local college.
"We see those as opportunities to create more stock. The more stock, the more opportunity to find accommodation," said Dooley.
Homeless Action Week is organized by the Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness, based in Metro Vancouver.
