The City of Abbotsford is addressing homelessness by working in collaboration with government and social service agencies to find long term, sustainable solutions.
According to the 2011 Fraser Valley Regional Homeless Count there are an estimated 117 homeless individuals living on the street or in shelters on any given night in the City of Abbotsford.
Abbotsford also has a critical number of residents ‘at-risk’ of homelessness. According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 over 40% of all renters in Abbotsford spent more than 30% of their income on shelter and are considered ‘at-risk’ of homelessness.
The City through the Social Planning department and the Abbotsford Social Development Advisory Committee has identified the following priorities in addressing homelessness:
- Develop and implement an Affordable Housing Strategy that will include strategies for additional emergency shelter beds for adults and youth and transitional and supportive housing.
- Partner with the Mennonite Central Committee and Fraser Valley Regional District to update the housing inventory and identify housing gaps and needs.
- Find interim solutions for storage of belongings and responses to camping on public lands.
Extreme Weather Program
The Abbotsford Extreme Weather Response Plan is a community-based plan to provide temporary emergency shelter beds for people who are homeless during periods of cold winter weather. The Plan involves a network of local churches, non-profit agencies and the City of Abbotsford which open their facilities to take in homeless persons whenever the temperature drops below freezing.
The Plan is then activated by an Extreme Weather Alert issued by the Coordinator, Dave Murray from the Abbotsford Food Bank who notifies the network of participating agencies and churches. Outreach workers from the Salvation Army and the Cyrus Centre (for youth) are mobilized to inform homeless persons that the Extreme Weather Alert has been issued. Transportation of homeless persons to the temporary shelter locations is offered by vans provided by the Salvation Army and the City of Abbotsford.
Homelessness Resources:
For more infomation about research on homelessness in the Fraser Valley, visit MCC Employment & Community Development.
For more information about Homelessness in Abbotsford, please contact Reuben Koole at 604-557-1468.