The total cost of putting together the town hall was $21,273.

Answer from BC Housing: BC Housing is working with our partners to develop a range of housing options, to address critical gaps across the housing ecosystem. This includes 50 new purpose-built supportive units already planned for 1st Avenue, as well as an additional 150 units of supportive housing in the works. We will continue to look for opportunities to develop more housing options to address the needs of the community.

Answer from BC Housing: The growing impacts of climate change and frequency of damaging weather events have impacts on all of us, but especially on those who face multiple barriers to stable housing. In recent years, forest fires, floods, atmospheric rivers, heat dome and cold snaps have led to displacement, as well as harm and even deaths of vulnerable people.

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Answer from BC Housing: Safety of the shelter guests, staff and the surrounding community is always our top priority. One of the most important safety features for any shelter or supportive housing project is 24/7 staffing by experienced professionals. During daytime hours, several staff are typically on hand, including an on-site supervisor, a program manger, support staff, a custodian, a food service worker, an outreach worker, a maintenance worker, and support workers from other organizations who provide specialized services. A minimum of two staff are onsite 24/7.

Staff work with shelter guests to encourage respectful behaviours. Shelter policies discourage people from congregating or loitering immediately outside the shelter site.

BC Housing and our partners are committed to being good neighbours. The shelter operator handles the shelter's upkeep and property maintenance with funding from BC Housing. Shelter staff perform regular checks of the property for cleanliness and safety. Shelter guests are offered secure storage for their belongings to help encourage organization and to keep the property tidy. There are also programs that help guests build life skills by assisting with the cleaning and maintenance of the shelter that have proven to be successful.

Answer from BC Housing: BC Housing and Connective (the operator of the supportive homes at the former North Star Inn) follow the evidence-based and internationally demonstrated Housing First model. Moving indoors is an important first step in a person’s transition out of homelessness and into stable housing. People without access to basic shelter must focus solely on survival. After a person can access a warm bed, washrooms and meals, they are in a much better position to improve their housing situation and well-being. This includes accessing health care, substance use recovery services, employment services and other supports.

Connective has a long history of providing innovative, person-centered services across BC and the Yukon. They offer a range of housing, life-skills, outreach and employment, and community-based services with the goal of assisting individuals to achieve greater independence.

Answer from BC Housing: BC Housing has been working with our partners to develop a range of housing options, to address critical gaps across the housing ecosystem, including affordable housing for seniors. That is why BC Housing worked with the Aboriginal Housing Society of Prince George to open 35 supportive homes at 1919 17th Avenue in Prince George for seniors at risk of homelessness. We will continue to look for opportunities to develop more housing options to address the needs of the community.

The City is currently working closely with BC Housing to collect data around the numbers of people requiring shelter spaces, the number of shelter spaces that are currently available, and the number of spaces that are due to become available in the coming months. The current efforts focus on building community capacity to provide suitable daytime facilities and low-barrier housing while managing health and safety issues at the LPBE and downtown. The next phase, which could happen as early as Q4 this year, is for the City to approach the Supreme Court to demonstrate that conditions are appropriate for transitioning the LPBE site to other forms of housing.

As of mid-June, the fire department have had 11 outbuilding responses, for a total of 13 structures burned, since January 1, 2024. The breakdown is: five in January, one in April, three in May, and two in June.

We are aware of the ongoing concerns from business owners. We have seen the statistics in the recent annual report from the Downtown Prince George Business Improvement Association in regard to the clean and safe programs they manage showing over 8,300 needles were collected in 2023. The City contributes financially towards Downtown PG and their clean and safe program. Bylaw work with business owners, workers, and residents downtown to ensure bylaws such as the property maintenance, clean air and smoking regulations are being followed, but they don’t have the capacity to cleanup private properties. To make a request for biohazard removal with the clean and safe program in the downtown area please call 311 or use the City of PG app.

The concerns from Millar Addition around the air quality have been noted and our fire department are in regular contact with residents in this area. Increased patrols through the LPBE have commenced, and Fire Rescue and bylaw staff are working with encampment residents on ongoing education. Regarding controlling the sprawl, this is being addressed by the encampment boundary delineation. Boundaries will be physically marked with fencing and signage to help bring clarity to the space and deter individuals from illegal dumping.