Supportive housing move-in date pushed to month’s end

Residents could be moving into the supportive housing project on School Road in Gibsons by the end of February.

In an update at a Feb. 16 committee of the whole meeting, Town of Gibsons CAO Emanuel Machado said a move-in date of Feb. 23 has been established by BC Housing. “It’s a matter of days,” he said.

In January, BC Housing’s senior communications advisor Matthew Borghese told Coast Reporter their goal was to secure an occupancy permit for the supportive housing complex at 749 School Rd. by the end of January, with residents moving in early February.

The Town must issue an occupancy permit before anyone can move in. Regular inspections are underway, staff said at the Feb. 16 meeting, and the last inspection was held Feb. 9. 

“The big problem is it’s a moving target,” said Coun. David Croal of the timeline. “Every time they do an inspection and they find something that needs to be fixed, it causes a delay,” he said. “It was hoped that people were going to be in there last December.”

On-site staff training is underway at the site. RainCity will be managing the building, which will see 40 self-contained studio homes made available for people at risk of homelessness.

A survey conducted in Sechelt and Gibsons last March reported 84 people identified as experiencing homelessness, compared with 57 in 2018.

Croal, who recently attended a meeting with BC Housing, said residents for the location have been chosen and are safely housed, and that the agency will take a phased approach to the move-in.

Tenants were selected through a partnership between BC Housing and RainCity Housing, with criteria based on risk of homelessness and their connection to Gibsons. Priority was given to Indigenous women from shíshálh and Squamish Nations, according to Coun. Aleria Ladwig, who sits on a community advisory committee for the project, and who updated council on the group’s first meeting, held on Feb. 4.

She said RainCity staff are being trained on a COVID-19 response plan, which includes keeping communal rooms closed while public health orders are in place.

Meal services will be provided on site, a medication program is planned in partnership with local pharmacies and people who identify as Indigenous will have access to an “Indigenous cultural liaison,” said Ladwig.

Members of the committee include a School District No. 46 principal and school board trustee, a pastor from Christian Life Assembly, representatives of the Gibsons Senior Society as well as BC Housing and RainCity Housing, two nearby residents, and Ladwig.