Homeless people and those at risk of homelessness in New Westminster may have more trouble accessing outreach services through the Lookout Emergency Aid Society as of July 10.
That's the date the Fraser Health Authority is planning to cut funding for the non-profit society's outreach support services based out of the Cliff Block supportive housing centre.
"The Cliff Block is quite unique in New Westminster," said executive director Karen O'Shannacery. "It is specifically dedicated to homeless people who have few, if any, housing options, and of course, they're all New West residents."
The Lookout Emergency Aid Society is a non-profit, charitable organization started in 1971 to serve the homeless of the Lower Mainland. Services include shelter, long-term housing and community services.
Since 2003, the Fraser Health Authority has provided funding to the society for outreach support services in New Westminster.
The 23 formerly homeless men and women who live at the Cliff Block receive outreach support services such as assistance with medication, financial management and general life skills, according to O'Shannacery.
"If we lose the residential funding, what that means is that we'll be down to one staff person per day, if that, and most of that is going to be property management - meaning janitorial - and not really tenant support," she said. "That's the risk that we're facing."
Fraser Health has informed the Lookout Society that outreach services are the responsibility of B.C. Housing.
"Because their funding with us started a number of years ago, our mandate has changed over the years," said Tasleem Juma, spokesperson for Fraser Health. "Now that we're aligning all our service models so that we have consistency across the board, that portion of the outreach worker (funding) is now within the mandate of B.C. Housing. It's outside of Fraser Health's mandate."
Fraser Health has agreed to negotiate a new contract that will ensure the residential services at Cliff Block will remain in place to allow tenants to continue living there.
"We have made it very clear to them that we wanted to continue working with them and providing funding for that tenant support," said Juma.
But O'Shannacery argues the outreach work should also continue to be funded by Fraser Health because "homelessness is a key determinant of health."
"We've got probably close to 400 people that are going to be affected in the big picture," said Dave Brown, manager of the Cliff Block in New Westminster, who suggested the pressure could fall to police to handle social services issues.
"What else will people do if there's no one else to call to have an issue addressed?" he said.
Mayor Wayne Wright said New Westminster police are already inundated with work related to mental health issues. "Our officers are spending an inordinate amount of time trying to take care of people where there's a medical condition rather than a policing condition," he said. "You can't just leave it be."
As part of the its 2013 budget, the New Westminster Police Department added an additional constable to improve its ability to respond to mental health issues.
While the city is "very supportive of the Fraser Health Authority," Wright said it will have to determine whether the funding cutbacks to Lookout impact the number of people needing to be brought to the hospital or ending up on the street. Wright said the city's senior social planner, John Stark, will be reporting to council on the matter at a future council meeting.
When the contract between the Lookout Society and Fraser Health ends in July, four people will be laid off at the Cliff Block, O'Shannacery said.
Currently, the society receives about $285,000 annually from Fraser Health for both tenant support and outreach services in New Westminster. The Lookout Society is looking for alternative funding options to keep the outreach services going after the contract ends, according to a statement from the society.
