One thing you have to say about B.C. and Vancouver these days is that there’s been a definite blooming of new efforts being made to help people who are homeless and have multiple other problems. From the sobering centre in Surrey to emergency no-barrier shelters here in Vancouver to the provincial government’s various new projects (reno’d Downtown Eastside rooms; new social housing with small rooms; new social housing with group kitchens), cities are breaking out of old patterns in providing housing and treatment.
A new one is in the planning here in Vancouver, part of a Mental Health Commission of Canada effort to find new approaches. My story in the Globe on it is here and you can read the commission’s plans here.