Members of New Westminster city council are blasting Fraser Health's plan to cut Lookout Society's budget, as they fear it could unravel improvements made to get homeless people off city streets.
New Westminster city council is appealing to Fraser Health to reconsider an $80,000 cut to Lookout Emergency Aid Society for outreach support services based out of the Cliff Block supportive housing centre.
Mayor Wayne Wright said there's "panic" about the funding cuts because of the fear the city could lose some of the strides it made in recent years to get homeless people off the street and into housing.
"Why take the risk for that amount of money?" he said. "It's not an $80,000 risk. It's bigger than that. It's the system that's in place. It's the people who have given their heart and souls to make it work. It seems pecuniary. It almost seems mean spirited. It's not recognizing we have been working our butts off."
Fraser Health and B.C. Housing representatives appeared before council June 10 to discuss the possible impact on non-clinical homeless outreach services that may arise out of recent contract negotiations with the Lookout Emergency Aid Society. As part of these negotiations, Fraser Health does not intend to renegotiate a
contract for non-clinical homeless outreach because it isn't considered to be part of the health region's core mandate.
John Stark, the city's senior social planner, said Lookout estimates it will be able to serve 400 to 444 fewer people annually because of the funding cut. He said city staff are concerned about funding cuts to non-clinical outreach as they fear it could erode services and place additional demands on city resources, such as bylaw officers and police officers, and limit the referrals that staff can make for people dealing with issues like homelessness and addiction.
Wright said the city has worked hard for more than 10 years to address the issue of homelessness.
"We don't want to lose that impetus now, " he said. "We don't want to go back. Quite frankly it's still on the edge - that is why we are concerned."
Denise Houde, director of clinical programs, mental health and substance use for Fraser Health, said Fraser Health offers many services that include a component of outreach.
"We are not abandoning New Westminster," she said. "We are extremely present in New West and have several partners with whom we serve this population of New Westminster."
Allison Luke, manager, development disabilities and New Westminster mental health and substance use, said Fraser Health provides a full range of mental health services, including outreach. She said the Assertive Community Treatment Team will work with the homeless population and people at risk of homelessness.
Fraser Health officials also cited a new partnership with the New Westminster Police Department, which has designated an officer as a mental health officer to identify and support frequent users of a variety of services, including police, health and community services.
Councillor Chuck Puchmayr said the city hired a police officer with mental health capabilities because it had been let down by senior levels of government. He said it's not uncommon for police officers to go to the hospital with a patient suffering from mental illness in need of immediate attention and have to spend their entire shift waiting for the patient to be treated. Houde said Fraser Health is very appreciative of the mental health liaison, noting it's a model that's been in place in Surrey for many years and is now offered in many municipalities in the Fraser Health region.
For an extended version of this story, go to www.royalcityrecord.co
