Burnaby City Council has endorsed a broad strategy to address the needs of unsheltered community members, after receiving the final report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members.
“Over the last five years, the City of Burnaby has made significant efforts to improve affordability and support the needs of the most vulnerable members of our community, but we know we can’t do it alone,” said Mayor Mike Hurley. “This final report from the Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members marks another important step as we seek to harness all parties who have a role, to create a community where homelessness is rare, brief and one time.”
Burnaby City Council endorsed all 13 recommendations in the final report, which includes eight actions designed to be implemented as soon as possible, including:
- Develop a shelter strategy for the City of Burnaby;
- Create and maintain an interagency working group to meet on a regular basis and support people who are unsheltered; and
- Explore the provision of day programming, services to be provided, its location, and its funding for people who are unsheltered
The recommendations build on the strategies developed in HOME: Burnaby’s Housing and Homelessness Strategy, which details specific initiatives and actions the City will take over the next 10 years to improve housing opportunities for our community.
“Addressing these challenges in a meaningful way requires political will and response from all three levels of government,” said Councillor Maita Santiago, chair of the task force. “I am grateful to all members of the Task Force for contributing their thoughts, ideas and solutions to this innovative process.”
The task force included elected representatives at the provincial and federal level, Fraser Health, BC Housing, Burnaby RCMP, community non-profit societies, the business community, as well as representation from the unsheltered community. Expert consultants helped guide the work and assisted in the development of the final report.
Learn More: Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members