Supportive Housing” Isn’t Working — Stop Ramming It Through

 💔“Supportive Housing” Isn’t Working — Stop Ramming It Through

By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita

They say it’s about compassion. They say it’s about helping the vulnerable. But let’s not confuse band-aid politics with real care. In Abbotsford, a 42-unit “supportive housing” complex is being forced into Martens Park—right next to a school, homes, and small businesses—despite serious community concerns. City council says they’re pushing ahead. But they’re not listening. Again.

And it’s not just Abbotsford. The same thing is happening in Kitsilano and throughout Vancouver. All over BC, this same flawed model is being fast-tracked, while the rest of us—residents, unhoused people, and frontline workers—deal with the fallout.

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🧠 This isn’t real support. It’s reactive chaos.

Let’s remember: this whole push came from COVID—not compassion. Back in 2020, officials didn’t want sick, unhoused people on the street where they might spread the virus. So they rushed to move folks into hotels, trailers, and modular buildings.

They called it “supportive housing.” But what we got was containment, not care.

There’s no long-term strategy. No exit plan. No dignity.

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🚫 What we’re seeing isn’t support — it’s warehousing trauma

Residents in these units report:

• Drug use, fires, theft, violence
• Overdose deaths right inside their rooms
• No mental health staff, barely any security
• No privacy, no rights, no plan to move on

Meanwhile, neighbours see:

• Open drug scenes
• Needles in parks
• Businesses vandalized or closed
• Fear and frustration, not because they hate the unhoused—but because they can see the system is failing.

And in places like Granville Street, the situation has spiraled. Crime, disorder, and despair are on full display. Vancouverites are told to “be patient,” while the root causes are ignored.

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💰 Who benefits? Follow the money.

Many supportive housing sites are run by non-profit agencies receiving huge government contracts. But where does the money go?

Some of these groups pay executive salaries over $200K while residents live in unsafe, undignified conditions. Others are run by private developers making profit off of poverty. And still, there's no accountability, no transparency, and no results that match the price tag.

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💡 We need healing, not hiding.

This entire model needs to be reimagined. Here’s what we really need:

🛖 1. Healing Lodges & Wellness Centres

We need Indigenous-led, trauma-informed spaces that focus on recovery, ceremony, and spiritual health. These are desperately lacking. Healing should not cost thousands of dollars. Rehab and wellness support should be free and accessible to all, just like a hospital.

🏡 2. Tiny Houses by the People, for the People

I’ve been dreaming—and sharing—this idea for years:

• Elementary kids design tiny homes as a creative school project.
• High schoolers learn trades and build the homes.
• Unhoused people help finish them and live in them—with dignity and support.
  This teaches empathy, unity, and real-world skills. It brings community together rather than tearing it apart.

🏘️ 3. Local, small-scale housing with dignity

We need co-ops, community gardens, and low-rise housing where people feel safe—not packed into mega-shelters or forgotten in warehouse-style units. And they should be close to family, nature, jobs, and support, not shoved behind warehouses or beside schools with no input.

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❗ Don't ram through more failures.

It’s not heartless to say this model isn’t working. What’s heartless is pretending it is.
We all want people housed — but this system is harming the very people it claims to protect.

Stop fast-tracking projects that ignore:

• Residents’ voices
• Neighbours’ concerns
• The lived experience of people who’ve been through it

BC needs true care, not crisis management. Real community, not isolation.
Let’s build something better — together.

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Why the Housing Crisis in BC Is So Obvious — And Yet So Overlooked

 The ongoing housing crisis in British Columbia is a well-known issue, but the fact that the solutions seem so elusive raises a crucial question: Why isn't this obvious?

The simple truth is that most people can't afford the average condo in Vancouver. Let's break it down:

To afford a typical $810,000 condo in the Greater Vancouver area, you would need to be making about $187,000 per year. This assumes you have a 20% down payment and qualify for a mortgage. For context, that’s about $90 per hour for a full-time job.

Who Can Afford $90 an Hour?

Only a small fraction of the population makes this kind of money. In fact, the average hourly wage in BC is closer to $34.60, which translates to an annual income of about $72,000. Even for a two-income household making $45 per hour each, you'd be just approaching the level of affordability for these condos. But even that is out of reach for many people.

In short: Most people in BC cannot afford the housing market as it currently stands. So why isn't this obvious to those who claim to be trying to solve the crisis?

The Disconnect: Who's Really Buying?

The reality is that much of the housing market in Vancouver and surrounding areas is not built for locals who are trying to find affordable homes. It’s built for people from outside the region, often with significant wealth, or for investment purposes rather than as homes.

These buyers are typically not the average BC resident making $34.60 an hour or even $45. This is why the situation feels so out of touch — the people creating the policies or selling the condos aren’t necessarily selling to the people who need affordable housing. They are focused on markets that don’t consider the financial reality of most British Columbians.

The Housing Shortage

It’s not just about price. If the market continues to be driven by external investors, we will keep facing a housing shortage for locals. The focus will remain on luxury properties and second homes, leaving working-class families scrambling for a place to live. And until we recognize that the issue isn’t just the price, but who is buying and selling, we’re likely to see continued stagnation and frustration.

So, what can be done? It’s time for a fundamental shift. We need to rethink the entire housing model, focusing on affordability and accessibility for BC residents, not just outside investors or high-income earners.

We can start by addressing housing policy, making it easier for locals to buy homes and harder for speculative buyers to dominate the market. Whether it’s through new zoning laws, rent controls, or affordable housing projects, the focus must be on people who are already living here, not on those buying homes to profit from them.

Conclusion: The Solution Lies in Local Focus

The housing crisis isn’t a mystery. The problem lies in the disconnect between the people selling properties and the people who actually need them. The sooner we address this issue head-on, the sooner we can work toward meaningful solutions.

It’s about time we ask: If you aren’t selling to the people who actually live in BC, then how can you possibly solve the housing shortage?

No Recourse

 No Recourse: How Systemic Racism in BC Has Left Indigenous and Homeless Communities Defenseless

Vancouver’s latest attempt to remove Indigenous people from the Downtown Eastside (DTES) is not an isolated incident—it is part of a long, racist pattern enabled by government policies that provide no recourse for those affected. This is not just about Mayor Ken Sim’s leaked memo; it’s about how governments at every level have ensured that marginalized people—especially Indigenous communities—have no way to fight back.

The Dismantling of the BC Human Rights Commission

One of the biggest blows to justice in BC happened in 2002, when Premier Gordon Campbell dismantled the BC Human Rights Commission. Before this, the Commission had the power to investigate systemic discrimination and hold governments accountable for policies that disproportionately harmed marginalized groups.

• Without a Human Rights Commission, Indigenous and homeless people had no independent body to challenge discriminatory policies like forced removals, housing barriers, and racist policing.
• BC was the only province in Canada without a Human Rights Commission for nearly 15 years, until it was finally reinstated in 2019—but by then, the damage was done.
• In the meantime, governments, corporations, and police forces acted with impunity, pushing policies that disproportionately harmed Indigenous people.

COVID-19: Displacement and Death in a “Health Crisis”

When COVID-19 hit, the government had an opportunity to finally address homelessness and housing insecurity. Instead, they did the opposite.

• Encampment Evictions: Homeless encampments in Vancouver and Victoria were forcefully dismantled under the guise of “public health” while offering no real alternatives for housing.
• Selective Support: The government rushed to house middle-class people returning from vacations but left homeless and Indigenous people to die in the streets.
• Overdose Crisis Ignored: While COVID-19 funding poured in, the opioid crisis—which kills mostly Indigenous and poor people—was treated as an afterthought.

COVID revealed what we already knew: homeless lives are disposable to the government.

Ukraine Refugees: Housing for Some, Nothing for Others

In 2022, Canada opened its doors to Ukrainian refugees—offering them expedited visas, financial support, and housing assistance that homeless Canadians had never received.

• Airbnbs and Hotels Opened Up: While BC’s homeless population was told there was “no available housing,” Airbnb hosts and hotels quickly found space for Ukrainian refugees.
• Government Assistance Flowed Freely: While people in the DTES died in tents, Ukrainians arriving in Canada received housing subsidies, job placement programs, and emergency benefits.
• BC Housing Remained Useless: The very agency meant to address housing—BC Housing—was completely absent in supporting local homeless populations.

Let’s be clear: refugees deserve support. But the way Canada selectively provides housing, based on race and nationality, exposes its deep-rooted racism. Indigenous people, whose land this is, are still homeless in their own country.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC): A System Built for White Soldiers, Not for Everyone

When Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) was created in 1946, it wasn’t meant for everyone.

• It was designed to help returning white soldiers find homes after WWII—not Indigenous people, not racialized communities, and certainly not the poor.
• Over the decades, CMHC policies have helped middle-class and wealthy homeowners while failing to support low-income renters or the homeless.
• The federal government gutted funding for social housing in the 1990s, leaving provinces like BC to pick up the slack—and they failed miserably.

BC Housing: A Bureaucratic Failure

BC Housing, the provincial agency responsible for affordable housing, is a disaster.

• Millions in funding go to administrative costs, not real housing solutions.
• The waitlist for social housing is years long, leaving people on the streets.
• It prioritizes "low-cost market housing" over actually helping the homeless.

Meanwhile, the government has no problem giving tax breaks to real estate developers and Airbnb owners—proving that they care more about profits than people.

Where Do We Go From Here?

1. Reinstate a powerful, independent BC Human Rights Commission that can investigate racist housing policies and hold governments accountable.
2. Ban Airbnb-style rentals that take away housing stock while people die on the streets.
3. Demand real funding for Indigenous-led housing initiatives, instead of giving money to bureaucratic agencies that do nothing.
4. Call out the hypocrisy—when the government says there’s “no housing,” yet thousands of refugees find homes overnight, we need to ask why.

Final Thought: The Cycle of Racism Must End

From Gordon Campbell’s dismantling of human rights protections, to COVID-19 neglect, to the selective housing of Ukrainian refugees, we see the same story repeated:

• The government finds housing when it wants to.
• It makes excuses when it doesn’t.
• Indigenous and homeless lives remain at the bottom of their priorities.

It’s time to break this cycle—because housing isn’t just about policy, it’s about who the government believes deserves to live.