Another Lower Mainland community says it is carrying a disproportionate burden of helping the homeless.
According to figures from BC Housing, Chilliwack has the highest number of shelter beds per capita out of all the cities in the region.
Chilliwack Mayor Ken Popove said he is now asking BC Housing to develop shelter sites in a more equitable manner among all communities.
He said he is concerned that people with complex care needs are migrating to places like Chilliwack because it has more beds available.
“[Hospitals] are not set up to take care of these folks,” Popove said. “They should be in their own community being looked after and/or in their own hospitals to be looked after, not put in a cab and shipped out here.”
Popove said he is not calling out other communities for not doing their share, he just wants the province to address the homeless crisis on a regional, rather than individual, basis.
The Ministry of Health declined to comment on the matter and directed questions to Fraser Health.
In a statement to Global News, Fraser Health said that discharging a patient to a community shelter only occurs when the patient’s specific housing needs can be met, appropriate supports are in place, the patient is medically stable and both shelter staff and the patient have agreed to the transition plan.
B.C.’s Housing Minister said there is little evidence to support that people are coming from elsewhere into Chilliwack.
“Too often we hear from communities who say these people that are homeless in our community are coming from elsewhere,” Ravi Kahlon said.
“But when we do the research, when we go and talk to people on the ground, they are overwhelming, are from the community, and so all communities have to do their part.”
Chilliwack currently has 2.69 shelter beds per 1,000 people, while other Lower Mainland communities, not including Vancouver, have 1.61 beds per 1,000 people.