We welcome the news this week that the province is putting up money for a 60-unit supportive housing project in Norgate for women and women-led families facing homelessness.
Since 2017, the province had made it clear there is money on the table for this kind of housing. It was only a question of where municipalities would be willing to put up the land. We are proud to see the District of North Van step up.
For us, it’s not a question of whether council should approve the project, but how quickly and smoothly they can make the process go until it gets a green light. Given that the district is the owner of the land and the proponent of the project, and council’s professed desire for supportive housing, it should not be a knock-down, drag out fight.
As always, the neighbours will have their concerns and we expect the district, the RainCity Housing and Support Society and the province to be front and centre to help address those concerns.
But when it comes to the public hearing, we want to hear voices of compassion, not fear or anger.
For at least 60 women facing homelessness, this project can be a welcome refuge of stability and warmth in a world that has offered them little of either. For those with children, it will put them on much more stable footing to escape the cycle of poverty. That is a legacy everyone on the North Shore can be proud of.
On Friday, the North Vancouver RCMP recovered the body of a person following a fire in a homeless camp near Phibbs Exchange. Until we have made every effort to bring our sons and daughters in from the cold, that will be part of our legacy too.
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