Tenants in low-income housing at the Harbourside Inn in Campbell River lacked adequate support systems for the seniors and individuals living there, a situation worsened by the presence of bed bugs and other pests.
That's according to an update on the Reimagine the Row project provided to Campbell River city council on June 5 by city staff.
Lynsey Daur, property services manager at the city, said about 40 hotel rooms were used as monthly rental units for low-income seniors and individuals with complex care needs.
"The setup did not have the supports on-site for these folks, which did result in poor living conditions," she said.
After the city announced the purchase of the 1300 block of Shoppers Row last fall, the city assessed the Harbourside Inn residents to identify appropriate housing for them, collaborating closely with BC Housing and Island Health, said Daur. Currently, there are five remaining tenants, and most of them are likely to be placed in other appropriate housing.
Last November, the city issued eviction notices to two social services for the city's vulnerable population located in the Harbourside Inn – Həm'ʔaelas Community Kitchen and Kwesa Place. The vital social services were given a deadline of seven months, until June 30, to secure a new location.
The process has posed a challenge that has not yielded results for Shawn Decaire, the manager of Həm'ʔaelas. He told the Mirror in May he was concerned the services might have to shut down due to restrictions on where they could relocate. He added property owners in the Commercial One (C1) zone, located west of Dogwood, were reluctant to lease them a space.
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A petition also circulated online requesting the city hold off on evicting the community kitchen and drop-in centre until a new location was found. It received 688 verified signatures.
Dinners, showers, laundry stipends will be offered until Aug. 31: City
In response to the anticipated shortage in social services, Andy Gaylor, the city's director of community planning, said the city will offer free dinners, showers and laundry stipends for those in need. The pre-packaged dinners will be provided on weekdays at the Salvation Army, with free showers – availability for 30 showers per day – at the Campbell River Community Centre. A voucher program for local laundromats will also be created. The dinners and showers will be provided from June 30 to Aug. 31, Gaylor said.
Coun. Sean Smyth said he is proud of council for making the bold decision to embark on this project to revitalize Shoppers Row, as well as the substantial effort put forward by the city staff.
"Seeing the conditions that those tenants were in," Smyth said, "it's pretty obvious that this is the most care and attention that those tenants have had in years."
Mayor Kermit Dahl said the council would likely vote to help city staff lobby the province to increase the food stipend for the city's vulnerable population.
"I know that the living conditions in (Harbourside Inn) were deplorable," Dahl added. "I'm very proud of all the work that has been done to try to move people into far better and more appropriate conditions than what they were in."
But a social media post by Crash Harm Reduction, a group that helps those impacted by the housing and opioid crises in Campbell River, criticized the temporary services, saying they "don’t come close to replacing the community space and direct support people relied on every day."
"What’s most concerning is that the city seems to be offloading this responsibility onto already overwhelmed service providers who were given little warning and little support," it reads. "These organizations now face the impossible task of filling a gap the city created, while trying to maintain existing services that are already stretched thin."
