WeB次元官网网址檙e on the brink of winter. Some of our most vulnerable residents, with the most complex needs are still out on our streets, even as the winds howl and the winter rains and snow will soon start to fall.

These residents arenB次元官网网址檛 able to live successfully in the existing supportive housing options. Their needs are too high. They require more support than what is currently available, making their housing retention rates low. In some cases, their behaviour can be so disruptive that it impacts other residents and puts housing staff in dangerous situations. Ultimately, this can end in eviction and creates a cycle where they end up back on our streets.

Our inboxes have been filling up for well over a year with angry mail from our residents and business owners. WeB次元官网网址檝e each been told that weB次元官网网址檙e B次元官网网址渢he worst mayor everB次元官网网址� and that weB次元官网网址檙e ruining Victoria, or Kelowna, or B次元官网网址� fill in the blank. We also hear from family members who know their loved ones are dying in our streets.

The fact that people with concurrent mental health, substance use, trauma and acquired brain injuries are left out on our streets isnB次元官网网址檛 a Prince George, or a Nanaimo, or a Kamloops problem; itB次元官网网址檚 an urban problem, itB次元官网网址檚 a health problem, and itB次元官网网址檚 an urgent problem.

This critical health issue is compounded by the fact that even when people with obvious needs commit a crime B次元官网网址� sometimes as a plea for help B次元官网网址� they are released back into the community without any supports. This needs to change.

We believe there should be a B次元官网网址渘o wrong off-rampB次元官网网址� approach to breaking the cycle that keeps people stuck in the criminal justice system. By this we mean that if someone is arrested for a crime, but obviously presents with a mental health or substance use challenge, trauma or an acquired brain injury, they should be given the health supports they need.

What services and supports are they currently offered when they are released on bail, given that these cannot be mandated prior to conviction? What are the options for treatment, counselling or other services that form part of the sentencing process rather than just cycling people back through prison and the court system? The situation on our streets tells us that these questions have likely not been asked, and if they have, theyB次元官网网址檙e not being adequately answered.

Too often we see that the truly vulnerable and those that prey upon them B次元官网网址� the repeat criminal offenders B次元官网网址� treated in the same manner. We need the support of the justice system to help ensure that the appropriate level of accountability is applied to those that offend, so that those who are in need of other forms of support can access the right services.

We know that ministers Eby, Malcolmson, Dix and others are working to set up complex care programs in the province. WeB次元官网网址檝e been working closely with them. We canB次元官网网址檛 wait much longer.

Our residents and business owners are frustrated, our police are overworked. The families of the vulnerable are frightened for their loved ones. And, as we put together our 2022 budgets, each of our cities is spending millions of dollars on band-aid solutions like more bylaw officers, more policing, and more money for parks cleanup and street cleaning.

ItB次元官网网址檚 not all doom and gloom. Many of our downtowns are experiencing significant building booms with new rental buildings, condos, and offices under construction. ThereB次元官网网址檚 investor confidence in the future of downtown British Columbia.

But we worry that unless our most vulnerable residents with the most complex needs have somewhere better to call home than a tent on a boulevard or a sleeping bag in a doorway, our economic recoveries from the pandemic will be stalled. We also worry that the frustration our residents and businesses feel will lead to further division and unnecessary stigma against people who need more help than is currently available.

While complex care housing may not be a silver bullet, we need a new approach. And we need it now.

Colin Basran, Kelowna; Malcolm Brodie, Richmond; Ken Christian, Kamloops; Jonathan Cote, New Westminster; Lyn Hall, Prince George; Fred Haynes, Saanich; Lisa Helps, Victoria; Leonard Krog, Nanaimo; Richard Stewart, Coquitlam; Kennedy Stewart, Vancouver

BC Urban MayorsB次元官网网址� Caucus