๐ Surrey Housing Crisis: Millions Invested, Thousands Turned Away ๐
Surrey's Homelessness and Housing Society (SHHS) has been in the community for 18 years, claiming to tackle homelessness and housing insecurity. ๐ฐ Over that time, they’ve invested more than $11 million to build housing, support shelters, and fund programs for vulnerable people—including single mothers and at-risk families.
Founded in 2007 with a $9 million grant from the City of Surrey's Affordable Housing Reserve Fund, the society operates at arm's length from city hall (though its board is chaired by a city councillor). Its stated goals are:
- Create housing: Build and maintain affordable housing stock. ๐ก
- Build capacity: Support organizations that help homeless citizens. ๐ค
- Be responsive: Address urgent community needs. ⚡
But here’s the disturbing reality…
Despite these investments and hundreds of housing units being planned, last year alone there were 3,500 shelter turn-aways—women and children who had nowhere safe to go. ❌ Many of these turn-aways are victims of domestic violence or living in extreme poverty. Since 2020, lockdowns and rising domestic violence rates have made this crisis even worse. ๐
So, the big question is: How can millions be invested and hundreds of units planned, yet so many people remain without shelter? Something isn’t adding up—and those responsible need to be held accountable. ⚠️
Stay tuned for Post 2 in this series, where we dig into the human cost of this crisis—women and children who are turned away and left in danger. ๐
๐ Sources: Peace Arch News
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