Compassionate Solutions for our Social Challenges

Continuing reading for updates on the following items:

• Downtown Vancouver Community Court
• New Housing Announcements
• Project Civil City Update
• Housing Construction Status Report

You can look forward to more announcements from us on our efforts to battle homelessness and reduce crime. In the meantime, I look forward to hearing your feedback and ideas.

Sincerely,

Downtown Vancouver Community Court

Earlier today, I joined Councillor Kim Capri, BC Attorney General Wally Oppal and Solicitor General John Les for a tour of the proposed Downtown Vancouver Community Court.

The site is currently under construction and is scheduled to open this Spring. The Community Court will bring together justice, health and social services to enhance our response to crime. It will:

• Improve justice system efficiencies through adoption of innovative case management practices
• Integrate justice, health and social services to hold offenders accountable while producing better outcomes for offenders by responding to their needs and circumstances
• Contribute to a liveable community and affording new opportunities for community participation in the criminal justice system

The Court will house staff from Vancouver Coastal Health, Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance, Vancouver Police Department, as well as Community Court Crown Counsel, Community Court Defence Counsel, and Community Corrections. There will be designated judges and court staff.

New Housing Announcements

Last Friday, I was honoured to attend another significant housing announcement in Vancouver with Premier Campbell and Housing Minister Rich Coleman at Vancouver's Lookout Emergency Aid Shelter.

The provincial government announced new and expanded measures to help break the cycle of homelessness with an added $41 million. The measures include:

• New funding for emergency shelters so they can be open 24 hours a day/seven days a week
• Expansion of homeless outreach services
• More rent supplement units
• Pre-funded development costs to ensure city-owned sites will be ready for the start of construction of new supporting housing within a year

On behalf of the City of Vancouver, I want to thank Premier Campbell, Minister Coleman and the entire provincial government for their commitment to social and supportive housing.

Project Civil City Update

Councillor Kim Capri and I introduced Project Civil City in November 2006 to identify specific steps and actions to respond to the issues of homelessness and street disorder in our community.

The plan establishes goals to eliminate homelessness, the open drug market and aggressive panhandling. Last Friday's housing announcement will help achieve these goals.

In the 11 months since Project Civil City was established, we have delivered on many initiatives that support the plan's objectives, including:

• Commitments for more than 1,500 new supportive housing units - in partnership with the province
• Plan to establishing dumpster free areas downtown
• New rules in partnership with Granville Street Merchants & Vancouver Police Department to reduce public disorder in Vancouver's entertainment district
• Petitioned federal government to maintain supervised injection site and supported the goals and objectives of innovative drug substitution treatment research trials
• Petitioned provincial government to reconsider its decision to downsize mental services at Riverview Intensive Care facility
• By-law and ticketing improvements to the Vancouver Charter
• Established Dobell /Fairbairn process to leverage more private investment in social housing
• Enhanced tenant support services in the Downtown Eastside
• Encouraged province to increase social assistance payments
• More buses and taxis to enhance late night transportation options in entertainment district
• Implementation of municipal ticketing information pilot project & improved collection procedures
• Reinstated Vancouver Police Department Beach Patrol

Housing Construction - Status Report

The following is a status report on social housing projects and initiatives underway in Vancouver. This report does not include the announcements made by Premier Campbell and Minister Coleman last week.

Status of Projects

Social Housing Projects Completed in 2007:

Project	Address	New Units	Converted Units
Grace Mansion	596 East Hastings		85 units
Helping Spirit Lodge	1475 Kingsway		36 units
Southview Heights	3131 East 58th	57 units
Triage on Fraser	5616 Fraser St.		30 units
Jackson Ave. Hsg. Co-op	230 Jackson Ave.		23 units
The Vivian	512 Powell St.		24 units
Total	6 projects/255 units	57 units	198 units

Social Housing Projects Under Construction:

Kindred Place	1321 Richards St.	87 units
Beulah Gardens II	3355 East 5th	89 units
St Vincents	4875 Heather	60 units
Triage on Hastings	65 East Hastings	92 units
Icelandic Residence	2020 Harrison Dr.	77 units
Woodwards Singles	131 W. Hastings	125 units
Woodwards Families	122 W. Hastings	75 units
Passlin Hotel	768 Richards St.	46 units
Pennsylvania Hotel	412 Carrall St.		44 units
Total	9 Projects/695 units	651 units	44 units

Social Housing Projects Funded and in Development:

Portland on Main	980 Main St.	80 units
Small Suite Demonstration	337 West Pender	120 units
Olympic Village, Parcel 2	151 West First Ave.	88 units
Olympic Village, Parcel 5	85 West First Ave.	99 units
Olympic Village, Parcel 9	1685 Ontario St.	69 units
Union Gospel Mission	601 East Hastings	133 beds, rooms and units
Carl Rooms	335 Princess Ave.		47 rooms
Marble Arch Hotel	518 Richards St.		145 rooms
Orange Hall	329/41 Gore Ave.		27 units
Orwell Hotel	456 East Hastings		55 rooms
Park Hotel	429/33 West Pender		56 rooms
Molson/Roosevelt Hotel	166 East Hastings		45 rooms
Savoy Hotel	258/60 East Hastings		28 rooms
St. Helens Hotel	1161 Granville St.		98 rooms
The Rice Block	404 Hawks Ave.		44 rooms
Walton Hotel	261/5 East Hastings		51 rooms
Lu'ma/Aboriginal Mothers	2019 Dundas St.	10 units
Trio	Downtown Eastside	30 units
Circle of Eagles	1470 East Broadway		17 rooms
Lu'ma/Aboriginal Families	Broadway/Nanaimo	20 units
Total	20 Projects/1262 beds, rooms, units	649 units	613 rooms
Grand Total	35 Projects/ 2212 beds, rooms, units	1357 units	855 rooms

Call for SRO Operators

In August BC Housing issued a call for Expressions of Interest from non-profit and/or private operators to take on the management of the 10 SRO hotels that the Province bought, the Drake Hotel that the City bought, and also for the development of the small suite demonstration project on the City-owned site at 343 West Pender. The responses were received in late September and are currently being reviewed.

The Province's acquisition of the 595 SRO rooms satisfies the recommendation of the Vancouver Homelessness Funding Model that Council approved in principle on March, 2007. Staff will be reporting to Council regarding the results of the call for Expressions of Interest and seeking Council approval to contribute $5,000,000 to the Province (BC Housing).