The City of Coquitlam has unanimously voted to send letters urging the province to address concerns about a supportive housing facility and a nearby homeless encampment.
This decision Monday follows a new staff report highlighting escalating safety issues at the encampment outside 3030 Gordon Avenue, the Tri-Cities’ first and only homeless shelter.
Coquitlam’s general manager of planning and development services report says the shelter — which provides transitional housing units, emergency weather response services and other harm reduction services — has become a magnet for people seeking services such as overdose prevention.
Tents have been erected on both sides of the avenue, and the staff report says community members have raised concerns about open drug use and other issues.
Increasing instances of overdoses, trespassing, illegal dumping and other disturbances have strained city resources, the report states.
Last year, Coquitlam Fire and Rescue responded to 218 incidents, mostly medical emergencies, at 3030 Gordon, while the local RCMP handled over 600 calls in the area, according to the report.
The operator of the shelter, RainCity Housing, says the problem is a lack of funding for supports in the community.
“What’s disappointing is there continues to be the reinforcing of a narrative that organizations like ours are part of the problem, and it’s in fact the very opposite,” RainCity’s co-executive director Catharine Hume told CBC News.
“We respond to overdose events in and around 3030 all the time and we are trusted to do that by people who use drugs in the light of a lack of … other safe spaces,” she added.
Hume says all levels of government should invest and increase investment in affordable housing options.
Since the last homelessness count in March 2023, the city says the number of unsheltered individuals has surged to 160, an 86 per cent increase since 2020, far exceeding the 32 per cent increase across Metro Vancouver during the same period.
The city is also grappling with a reduction in provincially funded sheltered spaces and supportive housing, according to Craig Savage, a member of the executive team for Tri-Cities Homelessness and Housing Task Group. The loss of some COVID-era support has played a role, he said.
As homelessness numbers rise and resources remain scarce, Coquitlam Coun. Matt Djonlic said the provincial government should bear the responsibility of supporting the unhoused across the community and non-residents who congregate outside 3030 Gordon.
“I implore the province, please meet with us, please help us find a solution forward to help the residents that are out on the street right now,” he said.
Savage says the community welcomes the call for more resources to the area.
“If people want to see a reduction in their neighborhood of some of the visible signs of homelessness … the answer really is that we need to have places for these folks to go,” he said.