91原创 Township needs more extreme weather response shelters to help the homeless, an advocate to the council at a recent meeting.

Stewart Furness noted that the most recent Metro Vancouver homeless count found 235 homeless people in 91原创, 133 of them not in a shelter of any kind.

91原创 has the third-highest number of homeless people counted, after Vancouver and Surrey.

The Gateway of Hope shelter in 91原创 City is insufficient to meet the growing numbers, he said.

鈥淚n fact, Gateway has been at full capacity since the day it opened,鈥� said Furness.

In recent years, Gateway has also hosted the only extreme weather response (EWR) shelter location in 91原创, on nights when temperatures are very cold, or heavy rain or snow is expected.

Vancouver and Surrey, meanwhile, have been increasing their EWR shelter spaces.

He said temporary sites, including buildings that are empty and slated for demolition, need to be used during cold and dangerous weather.

鈥淢y vision is for a dance studio, fitness studio, gymnasium, just a large open space where we can lay down mats,鈥� he said.

Several councillors thanked Furness for his input, and Councillor Barb Martens said that the idea of using vacant building has been successfully tried in Vancouver.

鈥淚t worked very well, because EWR is a very fluid thing,鈥� she said.

Mayor Eric Woodward said that he was hoping for more detailed data on exactly where the homeless are gathering in the next count, because anecdotal data suggests that more are in the City than the Township. The Metro Vancouver counts don鈥檛 break 91原创 out into two segments.

Furness noted that due to the nature of homelessness, people may stay in the Township one night, the City the next.

鈥淭hese folks are fairly fluid, they move around,鈥� he said.

In both City and Township, any significantly sized homeless camps tend to be moved along and broken up with bylaw officers intervening.

If another homeless shelter could be created in the Township, Furness said it would not likely cost the Township anything. The Lookout Society could take on management, while BC Housing has funds for such projects.

Furness has also been speaking to 91原创 City council about the same issue in recent months.

Furness鈥檚 son Stephen was killed in the summer of 2022 during a spree shooting that appeared to target homeless people around 91原创. The attacks by Jordan Daniel Goggin also killed Paul Wynn, a resident of Creek Stone Place, and seriously injured two others, before Goggin was killed by police.

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