Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members
About this project
Homelessness is a complex social issue that requires urgent attention from all levels of government, health authorities and community groups. In Burnaby, our goal is to create a community where homelessness is rare, brief and one time.
To achieve this vision, the City launched a Mayor’s Task Force on Unsheltered Community Members in June 2023. The purpose of the Task Force was to facilitate the development of a coordinated, integrated, systems-based response to unsheltered community members in Burnaby: a response that prevents pathways into becoming unsheltered and supports pathways out of being unsheltered.
The Task Force met over the course of 7 meetings in 2023 and 2024 with the final meeting taking place on April 4, 2024. To fulfil its purpose, the Task Force was directed to:
- build partnerships to effectively align service delivery and promote innovation and integration in our community’s response to unsheltered community members
- develop a coordinated, multi-disciplinary, integrated approach to respond to unsheltered community members including mental health and addiction challenges in our community, as it relates to the unsheltered
- integrate the delivery of mental health and addiction services with other related services including health, housing, social work, law enforcement and others
- identify actions included in HOME: Burnaby's Housing and Homelessness Strategy and any other related actions for immediate implementation
The Task Force was chaired by Councillor Santiago, with the Mayor serving as Vice Chair and Councillor Tetrault serving as members. Additional members were appointed to the Task Force and included people who are leaders in their field and have a strong knowledge and commitment to Burnaby. The Task Force was supported by staff from the Public Safety, Planning and Development, and Corporate Services departments as well as consultants.
It is important to note that while the City can play a key role in facilitating collaborative partnerships for outreach and planning aimed at assisting members of the unsheltered community, shared ownership with other levels of government and community-based organizations in addressing homelessness is essential. The underlying principle for all the recommendations in the final report of the Task Force is the need to develop strategic and operational partnerships amongst relevant partners.