Homeless

Joseph Sikora (far right) and his team of volunteers deliver food to the homeless population in Abbotsford. Ground Zero Ministries has now received CRA charitable organization status, meaning tax receipts will be given to those who donate. (Submitted photo)

Official charitable status approved for Abbotsford’s Ground Zero Ministries

Small support agency helps homeless into addiction treatment, find housing and employment

 

Police say a body has been found inside the remains of a burned tent at an encampment on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Woman found dead after firefighters douse blaze at Vancouver tent encampment

Woman appears to have died before the fire started

 

A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The cityÕs fire chief issued an order last month requiring the tents to be cleared because of an extreme fire safety hazard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Annual count of Metro Vancouver homeless underway after pandemic hiatus

11 municipalities across the Lower Mainland are taking part in the 24-hour, point-in-time count

 

A person pushes a stroller past the shelter of an unhoused person in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023. The federal housing advocate is launching a review of homeless encampments in Canada, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Federal housing advocate reviewing ‘human rights crisis’ of homeless encampments

Review takes place against the backdrop of a visible rise in homeless encampments since the start of COVID-19

A person pushes a stroller past the shelter of an unhoused person in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023. The federal housing advocate is launching a review of homeless encampments in Canada, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Khristina (last name withheld), seen here at Salish Park on Jan. 18, 2023, from Saskatchewan comes to Chilliwack twice a year to find her son who is living on the streets, and to hand out supplies to homeless people. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress)

Saskatchewan cattle rancher visits Chilliwack twice a year to find her homeless son

‘I spent time with him, and that has to be enough’

Khristina (last name withheld), seen here at Salish Park on Jan. 18, 2023, from Saskatchewan comes to Chilliwack twice a year to find her son who is living on the streets, and to hand out supplies to homeless people. (Paul Henderson/ Chilliwack Progress)
A person hails a taxi as heavy snow falls in downtown Vancouver, late Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver and the south coast of B.C. with 10 to 20 centimetres of snow expected. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. snowfall no winter wonderland for Vancouver’s poor and homeless, says advocate

Those living in tents face dangers ranging from hypothermia to risks of using candles or heaters

A person hails a taxi as heavy snow falls in downtown Vancouver, late Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver and the south coast of B.C. with 10 to 20 centimetres of snow expected. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
British Columbia’s new Housing Ministry says the province is partnering with the City of Vancouver to build 90 modular housing units in two locations with round-the-clock supports for people experiencing homelessness in the Downtown Eastside. A temporary modular housing suite is visited by the public while on display in Robson Square in downtown Vancouver on Oct. 3, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ben Nelms

B.C., Vancouver partner to build modular housing in strategy to disperse street camps

Temporary homes will serve as a ‘bridge’ for people, David Eby says

British Columbia’s new Housing Ministry says the province is partnering with the City of Vancouver to build 90 modular housing units in two locations with round-the-clock supports for people experiencing homelessness in the Downtown Eastside. A temporary modular housing suite is visited by the public while on display in Robson Square in downtown Vancouver on Oct. 3, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ben Nelms
White Rock’s extreme weather shelter had a busy night as they supported people in the community experiencing homelessness to have a safe and warm place to take shelter in. (Engaged Communities/Twitter video screenshot)

Extreme Weather shelter in Lower Mainland sees highest number of unhoused people during snow storm

Some unhoused people have jobs, but cost of living is too high for shelter, says organization

White Rock’s extreme weather shelter had a busy night as they supported people in the community experiencing homelessness to have a safe and warm place to take shelter in. (Engaged Communities/Twitter video screenshot)
Black Press Media file photo

Homelessness in Kelowna tripled in size in the last year: Bylaw

The cleaning of ‘Tent City’ required a backhoe, a dump truck, and about 20 RCMP and bylaw officers

Black Press Media file photo
FILE – Indigenous organizations, tent city residents and others hold a news conference outside the former single room occupancy Balmoral Hotel to protest the city’s ongoing removal of a homeless encampment on the sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

75% spike: 247 people experiencing homelessness died in 2021 in B.C.

Increase in lives lost fuelled by the ongoing toxic drug poisonings

FILE – Indigenous organizations, tent city residents and others hold a news conference outside the former single room occupancy Balmoral Hotel to protest the city’s ongoing removal of a homeless encampment on the sidewalks in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on August 16, 2022. The city has been clearing the street in accordance with a safety order by the city’s fire chief. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Judicial review sought of fire order to remove tents off Vancouver street

Petition argues fire chief made order without procedural fairness to those living on Hastings Street

A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on August 16, 2022. The city has been clearing the street in accordance with a safety order by the city’s fire chief. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A person living in a tent (not pictured) was run over and dragged by the driver of a Dodge Ram at the Rail Trail homeless encampment. The person was taken to hospital with significant injuries. (Facebook)

UPDATE: Charges laid after man dragged through encampment by truck

Driver arrested; Victim taken to hospital with serious injuries

A person living in a tent (not pictured) was run over and dragged by the driver of a Dodge Ram at the Rail Trail homeless encampment. The person was taken to hospital with significant injuries. (Facebook)
The Cabin has been a shelter from the storm for people needing support in Abbotsford. But it will close on Sept. 30. (Submitted)

City decision leads to closure of Abbotsford drop-in centre for unhoused people

The Cabin offered food, shelter and connection to the city’s most vulnerable for 10 months

The Cabin has been a shelter from the storm for people needing support in Abbotsford. But it will close on Sept. 30. (Submitted)
Photo taken with permission of a woman who had a seizure, due in part to the extreme heat in Kelowna (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)

Kelowna’s vulnerable want to shelter from heat wave, but bylaw requires they move

Bylaw requires residents of homeless encampment to pack-up and leave each morning

Photo taken with permission of a woman who had a seizure, due in part to the extreme heat in Kelowna (Jacqueline Gelineau/Capital News)
Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view at a homeless encampment in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 30, 2021. The City of Prince George, B.C., has apologized for the harm it caused to vulnerable people when it removed their structures from a homeless camp.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Prince George apologizes for taking down part of a homeless camp

Judge finds that Prince George ‘inflicted serious harm on vulnerable people’

Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view at a homeless encampment in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 30, 2021. The City of Prince George, B.C., has apologized for the harm it caused to vulnerable people when it removed their structures from a homeless camp.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view at a homeless encampment in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 30, 2021. The City of Prince George, B.C., has apologized for the harm it caused to vulnerable people when it removed their structures from a homeless camp.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Prince George apologizes for taking down part of a homeless camp

Judge finds that Prince George ‘inflicted serious harm on vulnerable people’

Tents and other structures are seen in an aerial view at a homeless encampment in Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, April 30, 2021. The City of Prince George, B.C., has apologized for the harm it caused to vulnerable people when it removed their structures from a homeless camp.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Plans are underway to move the current Cole Starnes Residence on Riverside Road to another location to make way for a permanent supportive-housing building. An artist’s rendering of the new building is not yet available.

Plans underway to replace temporary Abbotsford shelter with 40-50 permanent homes

Temporary shelter on Riverside Road would be moved to another location

Plans are underway to move the current Cole Starnes Residence on Riverside Road to another location to make way for a permanent supportive-housing building. An artist’s rendering of the new building is not yet available.
Manager of H.E.L.P. Team Boyle Street Community Services Doug Cooke, right, and outreach and support services manager Jared Tkachuk, left, check on a homeless person’s well-being in Edmonton on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

‘Peril or promise’: Long-term solution needed to help homeless in Alberta cities

Homeless shelters are near capacity but open their doors to all when temperatures become unbearable

Manager of H.E.L.P. Team Boyle Street Community Services Doug Cooke, right, and outreach and support services manager Jared Tkachuk, left, check on a homeless person’s well-being in Edmonton on Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Abbotsford teen Alexis Mulder donated fundraised items to local homeless last week. (Submitted)

Abbotsford teen distributes fundraised items to homeless

16-year-old Alexis Mulder hands out emergency tents, emergency blankets, hygiene kits and socks

Abbotsford teen Alexis Mulder donated fundraised items to local homeless last week. (Submitted)
Victory Church homeless shelter had the highest calls for police service above everywhere else, at 290 calls for service, in the first three months of the year. (Jesse Day Western News)

Penticton drops lawsuit against BC Housing; new shelter proposed

A new shelter will go beside Compass Court and Victory Church shelter will close spring 2022

Victory Church homeless shelter had the highest calls for police service above everywhere else, at 290 calls for service, in the first three months of the year. (Jesse Day Western News)