MLA Paddon hopes new housing west of Young Rd. will address backcountry homeless camps

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However, the province also noted in its news release that it will support the environmental protection of sensitive environmental areas along the Chilliwack River for the removal of belongings left behind only on vacant, unattended land, referring to abandoned homeless encampments.

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Therefore, actively inhabited homeless camps won’t be touched. In essence, so long as homeless people continue to inhabit camps, no one can touch their belongings like motorhomes, RVs, generators, propane tanks, and other household effects, and homeless camps will remain.

Theoretically, new homeless encampments can crop up in the Chilliwack River Valley north or south of Chilliwack Lake Road unless the province institutes enforcement action.

Paddon did not address any specific enforcement action the province plans to undertake. Instead, she characterized it as a multifaceted issue.

“This is a human rights issue, an environmental issue, and a safety issue,” Paddon said.

Construction is now underway on the property at 45857 Trethewey Avenue, about one block west of Shandhar Hut on Young Road, to build 49 supportive housing units and 42 shelter beds in a four-storey building. The building will have a common outdoor amenity area featuring a landscaped area, a sweat lodge, and rooftop deck. Of the 49 supportive housing units, 22 will be dedicated to people requiring complex care housing.

Paddon believes the construction of 91 units and spaces for those experiencing homelessness, including those with complex care needs, will in some tangible way address the encampments.

“We currently have 49 new supportive homes and 42 new permanent shelter spaces on the way in Chilliwack for people at risk of and experiencing homelessness,” Paddon said in her statement. “These spaces will respond to the need to house people living in encampments in the Chilliwack area and provide enhanced complex care supports for people who need a higher level of care.”

Jamie Leggatt, director of communications for the City of Chilliwack, said on February 10 that B.C. Housing has advised city staff that the building will be completed and open in the fall 2023.

Chilliwack City Council approved the issuance of a development permit for four properties on Rowat Avenue and one property on Trethewey Avenue, one block west of Shandhar Hut, at its meeting on August 16, 2022.

The aim is to transfer over 90 homeless people into stable housing and alleviate the corresponding effects in the community.

B.C. Housing will provide funding to the Phoenix Drug and Alcohol Recovery and Education Society to operate and manage the building.

Meanwhile, Paddon says the province cannot do all the work on its own.

“A coordinated, multi-agency approach is required in order to develop solutions and prevent the issue being moved elsewhere,” Paddon said in describing the ongoing homeless encampment issue. “Our community is full of compassionate and dedicated people, and I appreciate all the hard work of all levels of government, volunteers, and local organizations as we continue to collaborate to address the underlying issues and resolve these encampments.”

Chilliwack resident Ross Aikenhead, a longtime cleanup volunteer who has been involved in cleanups for 15 years, estimates there are at least nine active homeless encampments east of the Tamihi Rapids bridge along Chilliwack Lake Road. He says he’s talked to individuals living in these encampments who have told him they’re not about to leave.

“I’ve talked to most of the people who are occupying Crown land and they say there’s no way they will move into a shelter,” Aikenhead said. “The actual outreach workers have said the same thing. The only thing that will solve the problems is enforcement, unfortunately. FLNR is refusing to do that because this isn’t a problem unique to the Chilliwack River Valley.”