PUBLIC QUESTIONS to PUBLIC SERVANTS
This survey cost $100,000 and now the CRD plans to spend another $75,000 to set-up a committee to review and update Victoria Community Plan for Homelessness.
The Capital Regional District has established a secretariat of CRD staff, which is mandated to form the Regional Homeless Task Force, which will review and update the Victoria Community Plan for Homelessness. The first recommendation made was: That the Planning & Protective Services Committee recommends to the Capital Regional Hospital District Board: 1. That $75,000 from the 2007 Section 20(3) budget is set aside as a contribution, along with funding from other agencies, toward the cost of producing the Regional Homeless Action Plan."
This survey was the 2nd survey in the past two years. On January 15, 2005 more than 150 community volunteers participated in a “rough count†of the homeless. The estimates of the number of absolute homeless from the rough count and from the use of the shelters was about 700 people. It should be noted that 47 children were dependent on someone who was homeless.
Questions raised brought forward the same basic issues that the survey identified. All levels of government need to increase the funding to housing, health, and community services. Both the Federal and Provincial governments continue to cut-back essential services and have not raised contributions for years.
