FAQs

BC Housing is funding the capital and operating expenses through the Province’s Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing (HEARTH) program. 

The City of Campbell River is providing the land for the project, as well as funding the civil works and site preparation costs.

No. The site has been granted Crown Immunity allowing the temporary housing to proceed on the property. [Crown Immunity, or S.14(2) of the Interpretation Act, allows land to be used by the Province regardless of any enactment through local government, including zoning bylaws.]

The units will be in place for at least three years as an interim solution while the City works with BC Housing to increase supply and availability of permanent supportive housing.

The City remains committed to a long-term solution and is working with BC Housing to plan and implement more permanent affordable housing with support services in Campbell River.

The City and BC Housing selected 1299 Homewood Road as the location for Homewood temporary housing with supports because it is immediately available, already in use for overnight sheltering, and is close to community services. It is anticipated that Homewood will help take pressure off existing services downtown and reduce the challenges being experienced by businesses in the area.

Temporary housing like Homewood is being set up to meet the needs of the local population, and these sites prioritize residents of Campbell River. 

In Campbell River’s Point in Time Counts, we can see that the majority of those experiencing or at risk of homelessness in Campbell River are local to the area. Sixty-five per cent have been in the community for five years or more, and 22 per cent have always been in the community.

The temporary homes with supports is a collection of smaller structures. Each unit within the modular structures is for one individual, providing private, secure space for each occupant, with individual climate control and a locking door.

Each unit is for one person. If there is a couple, each person will receive their own unit.

Yes. Homewood will have:

• Amenity space for dining/gathering

• Shared washrooms

• Staff room

• Communal laundry room

• Two offices

• Medical room

• Reception

• Bike storage 

• Garbage facilities 

• Outdoor space, including planter boxes and picnic table

Lookout Housing and Health Society will operate Homewood. 

Lookout has been providing housing and a range of support services to adults with low or no income for over 50 years. The Society has a long history of successfully meeting the needs of people living in extreme poverty through a variety of programs (shelter, housing, outreach, health, community resource centres).

Lookout has also been operating The Village in Duncan since 2022. This temporary housing with supports offers 34 sleeping units with shared amenity space. The Village in Duncan was opened as part of ongoing efforts to stop the cycle of homelessness while preventing encampments. 

Learn more about Lookout at: lookoutsociety.ca.

Support services will include 24/7 staffing and daily meals.

Staff will provide services and supports including referrals to health care and other community services as well as access to skills training and employment assistance, harm reduction services, medical treatment and support navigating the housing system.

Staff will be trained in non-violent crisis intervention, overdose, and incident response; provide peer support; connect residents with local resources; and provide trauma-informed communication. 

On-site service providers will have spaces for counselling or medical treatments.

BC Housing will be using the Coordinated Access & Assessment (CAA) table to take referrals for these spaces. People who have been staying long-term in overnight shelters will be prioritized.

A CAA working group is made up of BC Housing representatives, Island Health, housing operators and community service providers and partners. The working group meets regularly to review supportive housing applications and evaluate resident support needs and barriers to housing such as physical and mental health issues, or addiction and the history of homelessness over the past several years. The CAA group helps determine people who would be a good fit for a particular housing type or building.

The CAA process will seek a balanced mix of residents for the site who are matched with support services, which is critical to ensuring residents will be set up for success in the new housing and more likely to remain indoors. 

Most residents are expected to come from community shelters where they have already been assessed for their support needs. As people move into the new units, this will free up shelter spaces to be offered to people sheltering outdoors. People who have been camping at the designated camping site at 1200 Homewood Road will also be considered, through the CAA process.

Yes. Unlike shelters where different people may stay each night, this temporary housing provide a stable place for people to stay night after night.

Once assigned to a unit, residents will be able to stay at Homewood as long as they wish, provided that they follow the requirements laid out in their Program Agreement.

Residents will have a mailing address, a locking door and a place to securely store their belongings

Unlike shelters which are free, Homewood is considered a mode of supportive housing. As with other supportive housing, residents pay the shelter rate set by the Province (subject to periodic adjustments). This rate includes two meals a day and laundry services. 

The provincial shelter rate is $500 for a single person. The amount would come directly off their assistance check. 

Lookout will support prospective residents in applying for and obtaining income assistance, if they are not already in receipt of it.

As this is transitional housing, the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) does not apply, however, residents will sign and be expected to abide by a program agreement. This agreement addresses expectations about appropriate and respectful behaviour, especially as it relates to the health and safety of themselves and others.

Yes, pets will be allowed.

CACs are not being developed for HEARTH projects. Experience has shown that while standard CAC format can be effective in some communities, the structured format is not always the best option in bringing neighbours and service providers together to help integrate supportive housing staff and residents. 

BC Housing recognizes that each community is different, and how to best integrate supportive housing will be different for each project. Community acceptance and good integration is vital to the success of supportive housing programs. 

BC Housing and our non-profit operators are always looking for better and more effective ways to integrate supportive housing programs and tenants into communities. We remain committed to working with communities in collaborative ways to achieve this, and we look forward to developing customized, community-centered approaches together.

 BC Housing will engage with partners to explore what this could look like for Campbell River.

The funding model under HEARTH is allowing for more staffing to help address and resolve neighbourhood concerns and ensure smooth integration into the community. 

To further support neighbours, BC Housing will develop a Who to Call / When to Call info sheet with a quick list of important contact details and in which situations they could be used.

It is important to note that people in supportive housing are unique and require unique supports. Just because a person is experiencing homelessness and in need of supportive housing, does not mean they are more likely to commit a crime than someone who is housed. These types of assumptions are stigmatizing and harmful.

Safety features of the Homewood, both for residents and the community, include: 

•  An experienced non-profit housing operator to manage the building 

•  The most important security feature, both for residents and the community, is staffing. The site is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide support for residents and manage the building. Staff will also be available to respond to any concerns from neighbours 

•  Regular sweeps of the property and the immediate area by staff and residents will help maintain cleanliness 

•  Residents will sign and be expected to abide by a Program Agreement that addresses expectations about appropriate and respectful behaviour

The City will also continue to work with neighbours to complete clean-ups, and will increase the RCMP and Bylaw presence where available – four new RCMP positions were recently approved alongside two Bylaw positions. The City’s Community Safety and Well-Being Plan will be informed by extensive engagement and support community safety when complete.

The HEARTH model represents learnings from other communities and follows the latest research and best practices for addressing homelessness: 

• In Nanaimo, Newcastle Place temporary housing has been successfully operated by Island Crisis Care Society over the last few years. They provide services and supports for residents such as a program to develop job skills and successfully secure employment to further help improve their transition to more stable forms of housing. Though the project originated under a different funding stream, operational funding is currently provided by HEARTH. 

• In Duncan, The Village at 610 Trunk Road has 34 individual sleeping units with locking doors. A non-profit operator, Lookout Society, provides meals and support services to residents. Operational funding is provided through HEARTH. 

• In Victoria, Caledonia Place at 940 Caledonia Avenue is a 30-unit tiny home village operated by Our Place Society. Operational funding is provided through HEARTH.

BC Housing, the City and Lookout Housing Society are all committed to being good neighbours, and working with the community to address any issues that may arise. 

Neighbours will receive a Who to Call / When to Call sheet with contact information for potential issues at the site once 1299 Homewood becomes operational. That information is also posted to BC Housing’s Let’s Talk webpage for the project.

Residents can email homewood@campbellriver.ca or communityrelations@bchousing.org.

Not at this time. BC Housing does not exclude people from moving indoors if they live with addictions issues. We take a harm reduction approach, which means staff are available to support any residents who are in various phases of substance use. This approach is critical to saving lives during the current toxic drug crisis. 

The sites may be set up with a safe consumption space for residents who are active substance users and minimize use outside of the designated safe space. 

Supporting people in all stages of recovery is part of the continuum of care: beginning with the intake process, connection with shelter support staff, outreach staff, and access to other community services. 

External supports also include connecting people to a Nurse Practitioner and a Licensed Practical Nurse, as well as access to substance use treatment programs.

 • February 2024: BC Housing and the City connected with immediate neighbours and businesses ahead of the public announcement. Letters also invited neighbours and interested parties to two neighbourhood dialogue sessions (virtual) and one open house (in person). Web pages on both the City and BC Housing websites were also published at this time: 

o letstalkhousingbc.ca/campbell-river-homewood-road 

o getinvolved.campbellriver.ca/homewood

• March 2024: The City and BC Housing hosted two Neighbourhood Dialogue Sessions via Zoom on March 6, and March 12, 2024. An in-person open house took place March 20, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Campbell River Community Centre. 

• August 2024: An operator announcement letter was sent to neighbours and promoted within the community with an invite to the September 11 open house, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Maritime Heritage Centre, in Campbell River. • September 2024: The City and BC Housing hosted an in-person open house on September 11, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Maritime Heritage Centre. 

• For more details on these engagements please view the engagement summary report.