A local homeless advocacy group is staging a mock award event to highlight the lengthy delays endured by many people on the B.C. Housing Registry.
The Victoria Committee to End Homelessness will present a trophy and a $50 food card to a man who says he’s waited five years for a subsidized housing space to open up. There are close to 1,500 people in the Capital Region currently awaiting approval for subsidized or affordable housing.
“Families get picked first, then if you have a disability, you get second,” said Alison Acker, committee spokeswoman. “Beyond that, I don’t really know how they pick (candidates), but whatever happens, there should not be that number of people looking for housing.”
Acker will present the “People’s Prize for Patience” trophy on Nov. 20 at 12:30 p.m. in front of the Service B.C. office (908 Pandora Ave.).
The Victoria Committee to End Homelessness is not associated with the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness. The committee includes Together Against Poverty, the Action Committee for People with Disabilities, Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group and the Radical Health Alliance.
Since 2008, about 750 subsidized and affordable housing units have been built in Greater Victoria, including 250 units of supportive housing. The Coalition estimates another 1,500 units of subsidized and low market housing are likely needed to end homelessness in the Capital Region.