The Society To End Homelessness in Burnaby is committed to working with the City as well as the senior levels of government, the health authority, social service agencies, business, faith communities, & concerned citizens to ensure the provision of housing, support services, and adequate income for Burnaby residents who are without housing or at risk of homelessness in Burnaby.
Public Hearing –September 20, 2016
#2 Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 1965,
Amendment Bylaw No 37, 20216 – Bylaw No. 13642
Rez. #15-25
7121 Fourteenth Ave (Southgate)
Mayor Corrigan, City Councillors, City of Burnaby employees
Hello My name is Wanda Mulholland.
I live at ******** Burnaby. I am the Coordinator for the Society To End Homelessness In Burnaby.
The Society wishes to take this opportunity to commend the City of Burnaby’s collaborative work with BC Housing and Ledingham McAllister, to develop this plan for one six story non-market seniors residential building and five six storey market multiple family buildings.
We ask that the City request BC Housing to develop policy for the new seniors housing with language that ensures Burnaby seniors have priority access to the housing.
Recognizing the vulnerable health and specific needs of seniors we applaud this effort to provide suitable housing for seniors on low income.
Homelessness is a life threatening health hazard; homeless people die between the ages of 40 and 49, and 48% die by accidental means.
The median age of death of Burnaby people who are homeless is 42. In Burnaby, 36 residents have died since 2006 as a result of the long term effects of homelessness and extreme poverty.
There are too many Burnaby seniors who are currently being forced from Burnaby, their home community, because of financial constraints and the loss of local affordable housing.
We regularly hear from people throughout the four quadrants of Burnaby who have lost their housing due to fire, demolition or creation of condos for sale.
Many others are forced to live in housing which is neither safe, suitable nor affordable.
This difficult reality is faced by seniors, families and young adults.
Southgate is an excellent model of collaborative work between governments and developers which will benefit families and seniors.
Thank you for recognizing and promoting the opportunity to provide housing for families and seniors in the Edmonds area.
We urge the City of Burnaby to continue to seek out additional opportunities for collaboration with senior levels of government and businesses to expand on this successful model and to invest in creating more affordable housing units to meet the needs of all residents throughout Burnaby, especially including the homeless and those at risk of homelessness.
#4 Burnaby Zoning Bylaw 1965
Amendment Bylaw No. 39, 2016 – Bylaw No. 13644
Mayor Corrigan, City Councillors, City of Burnaby employees
Hello My name is Wanda Mulholland.
I live at ******** Burnaby.
I am the Coordinator for the Society To End Homelessness In Burnaby.
One of the goals of the Burnaby Task Force On Homelessness and now The Society To End Homelessness In Burnaby is to raise the awareness of homelessness in Burnaby.
One of the multiple ways this has occurred has been regular displays at community events such as Canada Day, City Fair, and Kensington Fair…….
In 2005 homelessness was considered by Burnaby citizens to be an issue specifically for the DownTown EastSide of Vancouver.
At that time citizens did not realize that there were Burnaby people living in extreme poverty and homelessness.
The City of Burnaby 2011 Social Sustainability Report states that poverty is a serious issue confronting some residents of Burnaby, many of whom are increasingly challenged in accessing basic life necessities. Almost 20% of Burnaby households had incomes below $20,000 in 2005.
An Angus Reid Poll commissioned by the Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness in September 2012 found that one-in-four (23%) people surveyed in the Lower Mainland know someone who is currently homeless or has been homeless during the past five years.
Burnaby citizens began subsequently to realize that their neighbors, friends and relatives were challenged with homelessness and requested assistance for people that they cared about. No longer was homelessness only happening to other unknown people.
Over the past few years, the general public has frequently expressed their anger that so many Burnaby people are losing their homes due to demolitions. Specifically identified in the concern is the Metrotown area.
Increasingly citizens are fearful that their own housing- both rental and owned may be lost- and that they will be forced to move- and be faced with the grim reality of trying to find affordable housing in Burnaby.
What has most recently been evident is that Burnaby citizens in their fear and anger about housing security are blaming the loss of housing on newcomers to the area, people from other ethnic origins, demonstrating racism and judgment.
The housing crisis is growing. The unrest and anger from citizens is increasing. The numbers of Burnaby people displaced from their homes is increasing. The trauma, uncertainty and hopelessness facing homes people at people at risk of homelessness is increasing.
We urge the City to create bylaws and/or zoning that protect affordable housing – e.g. rent controls, one-for-one replacement policies and maintenance by-laws, as well as by-laws that encourage the building of new housing that is affordable to those living on low fixed incomes, e.g. dedicating city owned land for social housing and advocating to senior levels of government to build that housing, creating by-laws dedicating a percentage of new housing to be affordable, or requiring developers to direct required community amenity funds into creating affordable housing units.
The city could continue to actively advocate to the provincial government for enabling legislation so that the municipality can protect and increase the numbers of affordable housing units.
The Society To End Homelessness In Burnaby is concerned about the impact of the continued loss of affordable housing for vulnerable Burnaby citizens.
The Society believes that collaboration between all three levels of government is the only way to create viable housing solutions for vulnerable Burnaby citizens.
Thank you