An Update on the Provincial Housing Strategy

•   An Update of the Provincial Housing Strategy (Click here to download as a PDF)
•   Fact sheets on the Provincial Housing Strategy
•   Provincial Housing Strategy highlights

• Homeless Outreach fact sheet  
• Rental Assistance Program fact sheet 
• SAFER fact sheet  

• Over 2,500 homeless assisted off the street and into stable housing in 47 communities. 

• People found new homes in 225 housing units at seven new supportive housing developments that completed construction in 2007. 

• Over 800 homeless individuals assisted through a rent supplement pilot program in communities with limited appropriate social housing. 

• More than 4,000 housing units have been committed through the Provincial Homelessness Initiative . 

• More than $50 million invested to create nearly 300 housing units under the Aboriginal Housing Initiative . 

• About 300 seasonal, cold/wet weather beds funded through the Emergency Shelter Program  were converted to year-round beds, raising the number of year-round beds to about 1,300 across the province. 

• Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia to expedite the municipal approvals on 1,200 units of new social and supportive housing to be developed on 12 city-owned sites.

• The City of Victoria signed a Memorandum of Understanding  with the Province of British Columbia to build over 170 units of new and upgraded social and supportive housing units on three sites.

• The City of Kelowna signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Province of British Columbia to build up to 140 units of new supportive housing units on three sites.

• The City of Surrey signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Province of British Columbia to build up to 106 units of new supportive housing units on two sites.
• On September 29, 2008, The Province of British Columbia and the City of Abbotsford announced a proposal to build up to 100 new supportive housing units on two city-owned sites.

• Announced on February 8, 2008, the Aboriginal Homeless Outreach Program  directly engages homeless Aboriginal people living on the streets and provides access to housing, income assistance, and community-based support services to help break the cycle of homelessness.

• Purchase of 17 Single Room Occupancy hotels in Vancouver, one in Victoria and one in New Westminster, to help preserve this important source of affordable housing. 

• Over 15,300 seniors are now receiving assistance through the Shelter Aid for Elderly Renters program (SAFER).   

• An additional 550 supported and assisted living units were allocated in 2007 through the Independent Living BC program, bringing the total to more than 4,000 units that will be created by 2008. 

• An additional 900 units of social housing will be converted to supportive living for seniors through the Seniors' Supportive Housing program, providing safe, stable and comfortable environments for our low-income seniors to age in place. In 2007, work began on 500 units in 11 developments across the province.

• More than 4,500 low-income families are receiving help with the monthly rent through the Rental Assistance Program .

• Aging provincially-owned subsidized housing is being renovated or redeveloped to better meet the needs of low-income households with special housing needs. The first site that began redevelopment is Little Mountain in Vancouver, a 224 unit public housing development that will be replaced with at least an equal number of subsidized units, plus market housing and community amenities. 

• $250 million invested in a Housing Endowment Fund will provide an estimated $10 million a year for innovative housing developments.