How VCH-Vancouver is taking action on homelessness
Having a warm, dry roof over our heads is something most of us take for granted. But for too many Vancouver residents, especially those living in the Downtown Eastside (DTES), a roof is a luxury they do without. Being homeless or at risk of homelessness can greatly affect health, from complex care needs to mental health and substance use issues.
This week is Homelessness Action Week (HAW) and a great time to draw attention to the plight of our homeless residents, as well as highlight the initiatives underway to assist them.
“VCH-Vancouver helps make a difference in the lives of those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness from a health perspective,” says Bonnie Wilson, Vancouver Community’s Director for Mental Health and Addiction Housing. She explains we make a difference through a wide variety of programs, some of which are highlighted below.
Community Transition Team (CTT)
The CTT works with clients who are homeless and in an acute psychiatry bed. The team assesses the housing and support needs of the client and, when ready to be discharged from hospital, they are either placed into housing or moved to a step down bed to be further assessed or to wait for a long-term housing placement.
“Not only do we help the client find permanent housing but we also ensure they receive the appropriate health supports they need through a six-to-eight month follow-up program,” says Anna Richley, manager for MH&A Housing Services and lead of CTT. “We’ve had great success with this program, with roughly 120 new clients being helped through the program each year.”
Housing First Replacement Team
This team works with chronically homeless individuals frequently in hospital with complex mental, physical or substance use issues, who haven’t previously been connected to health services, to place them in low-barrier, supported housing.
“These clients have often had multiple evictions and haven’t managed in traditional housing that is typically not as tolerant as our low barrier settings,” says Richley. “Once they have a roof over their head, we can then work toward linking them to the health services they need, and then ultimately helping them to graduate to other types of more permanent housing.”
Homeless Prevention Program (HPP)
HPP is a program funded by BC Housing that provides timely housing options for people facing homelessness when discharged from hospital and who are capable of living independently in market housing.
VCH identifies the patients eligible for HPP. If they are, the team will then link them up with MPA Society for tenancy support, and then link the client to an appropriate clinical support team like ACT.
DTES 2nd Generation Strategy Shelter Pilot Project
VCH’s DTES 2nd Generation Shelter Pilot Project supports transitions from acute care to community for people experiencing homelessness.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, some clients are discharged from hospital to shelters. This pilot offers a more streamlined and coordinated response working together with our partners at RainCity and Lookout to provide access to 10 shelter beds. VCH’s Housing First placement team work closely with hospital teams and the shelter providers to identify clients who need a supported transition to a shelter, ensure clinical services for that client are in place, and then work with BC Housing and other community partners to find permanent housing solutions.
“While it is still early days for the project, it is already proving to be very positive in terms of meeting the immediate shelter needs of people who otherwise don’t have anywhere else to go,” says Wilson. “This is a grassroots effort that involves both VA, VC and our community partners working together to keep clients well and ultimately connect them to more permanent housing solutions.”
Making a difference
While housing issues are complex in Vancouver and there is much more work required to address homelessness in our community, VCH Vancouver Community of Care is making a difference and helping people find a roof where they can rest, recover and be supported.
For more information on Homelessness Action Week events, please visit the City of Vancouver’s HAW website.