Recap: Temporary Modular Housing presentation, 2019 AGM

Special Guest Speakers: Patrick Beattie and Duncan Higgon
(Portland Hotel Society)        
Topic: Temporary Modular Housing 
The guests took the floor at 11:30 am. Duncan Higgon and Patrick Beattie are leads with the Portland Hotel Society’s Temporary Modular Housing (TMH) initiative. They were pleased to announce that in Vancouver, 660 units of supportive housing have come on line in the past year. Attempts to reduce progress-slowing red tape and bureaucracy have meant that it now takes nine to ten months to build units and to house people who need a medicalized environment. The key is to get people off the streets so that they may begin their recovery under supervised conditions.
PHS and other supportive housing advocates insist that shelter is the first step to wellness and that it is fiscally responsible to create supportive housing because spending $11 on housing SAVES $20 in the system.

(full minutes below, see section 5 for Guest Speakers and Q&A):​

Full minutes below of the AGM:
GWAC AGM
Boardroom, Canucks Family Education Centre
Sunday, March 17, 2019
Special Guest Speakers: Patrick Beattie and Duncan Higgon
(Portland Hotel Society)        
Topic: Temporary Modular Housing
The AGM commenced at 11:07 am
1.0         Introductions and Welcome
D. Cromie welcomed the audience and gave a brief overview of today’s Agenda.
2.0          Approvals
2.1 Agenda
M. Dare moved and P. Street seconded to approve the agenda.
Approved.
2.2 Approval of Minutes of GWAC AGM, March 11, 2018
These minutes were not available for approval at this meeting.
3.0         Reports
3.1 President’s Report.
D. Cromie outlined the developing issues that are affecting the neighbourhood and explained GWAC’s role. He stated that GWAC’s influence is mainly at Vancouver City Hall, particularly with regard to housing and zoning issues. Cromie mentioned how important the input from our members is and encouraged people to continue to express their opinions on neighbourhood issues. 
3.2 Treasurer’s Report.
D. Cromie reported that GWAC has a healthy $343.78 balance in its account.
 
3.3 Secretary’s Report.
S. Briggs re-iterated GWAC’s important communication and education roles in our community and thanked people for coming forward with questions and information about issues.

1. GWAC Board Elections

D. Cromie thanked those who served on the GWAC Board but who, mostly for time and other commitment reasons, stepped down today (D. Carman, Thomas Ferguson, L. Light, L. Paul). GWAC especially appreciated the input and perspectives from three young members who are also leaving the Board: H. Roeser, E. Shaw, and T. Storozinski. At this point, D. Cromie encouraged others to stand for the Board. 
Call for Nominations from the floor – Penny Street was nominated and accepted.
 
Recognition of past members in the audience. Several past Board member were present at today’s meeting; they were thanked with a round of applause.
 
Self-nominated: D. Cromie, S. Briggs, S. Bohus, C. Ollenberger
 
Those standing for election were acclaimed to the GWAC Board.

1. Other Business.

Kathy Lau (Clinton Park Neighbours) took the floor to discuss the City’s plan to install synthetic fields at Clinton and Beaconsfield Parks. Ms. Lau stressed that these fields are antithetical to Vancouver’s accessibility and environmental aims.
 
Action: Clinton Park Neighbours will continue to lobby Vancouver Park Board members and city council. GWAC will help where it can. 
​
5.0         Guest Speakers
The guests took the floor at 11:30 am. Duncan Higgon and Patrick Beattie are leads with the Portland Hotel Society’s Temporary Modular Housing (TMH) initiative. They were pleased to announce that in Vancouver, 660 units of supportive housing have come on line in the past year. Attempts to reduce progress-slowing red tape and bureaucracy have meant that it now takes nine to ten months to build units and to house people who need a medicalized environment. The key is to get people off the streets so that they may begin their recovery under supervised conditions.

PHS and other supportive housing advocates insist that shelter is the first step to wellness and that it is fiscally responsible to create supportive housing because spending $11 on housing SAVES $20 in the system.
PHS focusses on PEOPLE NOT PATHOLOGY--reduce the stigmas and the exclusion to treat the medical concerns. Society needs to see the humans not just the drugs/addictions. PHS motto: “Walking beside the person without judgement to witness their journey.”

Purpose-Built SROs are transformative. The goal is to house the homeless, to help them find dignified, paid work, to improve people’s lives, health, and circumstances. 

Questions from the Floor        
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More information? Visit the PHS site for a link for information and TMH photos.

Life cycle of the building? Earthquake proof—80 years if not moved, but dismantling and moving wears on the houses, but they have a 40 to 50 year life span.
Temporary housing is leased under a 10-year zoning switch, with five-year operating licenses.
The Kettle Site? A couple of people from the No Tower Coalition recently met with four city councillors to urge them to advocate for the placement of temporary modular housing on the City-owned parking lot behind the Kettle Society, at Adanac and Commercial. City staff have said the site is too small for TMH, but No Tower people think it would work and will continue to promote this site as a location for TMH.
From Temporary Modular Housing to Brick and Mortar Sites—people need some place to transition to from TMH. It takes five months to build TMH and to house people. We need to identify possible City-owned sites. GWAC can take them forward to Council.
Neighbourhood biases against TMH must be a tackled through education and advocacy.
Bureaucracy works against housing. There are three levels of government and regulations to negotiate. We can’t solve homelessness if people’s lives are assessed as part of a cost-benefit analysis. Municipal and Provincial governments are working together, but the Federal government has offered a mere pittance ($1.5 million)
Who else is building MP/MH and where? Economics as Assessment Tool. In Vancouver, there is a 1% vacancy rate. Everyone is fighting for affordable liveable space (BC Teachers Fed wants modular housing for their members, for example; the service and tourist industries also want affordable housing for their workers. Who is going to advocate for housing for the homeless when they are faced with the economics of housing here in BC?). BC’s shelter allowance is $375 per month—where can one rent a room for that amount?
SUPPORT and ENGAGEMENT are keys to success. A room and a door does not solve the problem. Calling the homeless “hard to house” is wrong-headed. The homeless are “hard on housing” because they have never had to care for property. Violence, chaos, hunger, abuse are what they know. In supportive housing programmes, engagement is a pillar. Managers check on residents if they miss dinners or appointments at the modular housing. Someone monitors daily life; someone cares.
TRANSFORMATIVE SHIFTS to help homeless transfer from the street and unemployment to dignity and employment
AFTER TMH HOUSING? Where do residents go after temporary modular housing? BC Housing programme STEP is a rent subsidy programme to move into housing.
BC Housing and City of Vancouver lobbying for money for housing. Mayor Kennedy Stuart is pressing Ottawa for funding.
Can we identify city-owned sites?  Land must be found, and federal funding must happen. Political will and conversation are needed to change the over-saturation in certain neighbourhoods and subsequent ghettoization of homeless sites and facilities.
Action: GWAC to begin to compile an inventory of city-owned sites and other spaces suitable for TMH.
Increase PHS and Temporary Modular Housing Visibility. PHS could consider taking a table on high-volume festival days (Car-Free Days, for instance).
Action: The Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods (CVN) will invite Beattie and Higgon to present at one of its meetings.
The presenters received a round of applause from an appreciative audience. C. Ollenberger thanked them and the audience and closed the meeting.
The AGM adjourned at 12:50 pm.