I recall my time at City Council, while I was the lone opposition member in a 10 to 1 council and there werem any policy decisions where we had disagreement, when it came to approvals for both social and supportive housing in the City, we always acted in unison in support of those developments in our community. Indeed, “Vancouver has long taken a leadership role in providing supportive housing”, and it has done this regardless of whether or not other municipalities have fallen short in also providing social and supportive housing.
While I also agree that the City cannot be a lone actor in bringing about sufficient dignified social and supportive housing, health care supports, including the full spectrum of mental health, harm reduction, addictions supports and recovery care needed to serve residents living in the Downtown Eastside and beyond, instead of advancing collaboration and partnerships, this motion does the opposite.
Worse still, this short-sighted vision peddles the "Not In My Back Yard" sentiment as a solution to challenges in the community. It is sending the wrong message that the development of supportive housing is bad for neighbourhoods.
At a time where there is so much discord, fear and uncertainty in our community, elected officials across all municipalities and levels of government need to come together, not to sow division but to unite in collaborating and delivering real solutions that are evidence-based.
