91原创 City has asked the Township of 91原创 to reconsider joining a City-sponsored initiative to search for local solutions to homelessness.

The formal invitation, in the form of a letter, was issued by City council following the first meeting of the Homelessness Action Table (HAT) last month.

It comes after the Township in January, with a letter from mayor Jack Froese saying because a regional homelessness plan is being developed by a Metro Vancouver task force, the larger municipality 鈥渨ould like to wait for those results before proceeding with an additional plan.鈥�

Councillor Gayle Martin, the City rep on the newly-formed HAT, said it could be a long wait.

鈥淵ou shouldn鈥檛 hold your breath,鈥� Martin said.

鈥淲e have to act locally before we act regionally.鈥�

The decision to issue another invitation to the Township to join the table was approved at the last meeting of City Council, during which Mayor Ted Schaffer called HAT, 鈥渁 step in the right direction.鈥�

Getting the City and Township working together was one of several top priorities identified by the 91原创 Homelessness Strategic Plan approved in April 2016.

The plan was created by the City of 91原创 Homelessness Task Force chaired by Martin, which included two Township councillors as well as representatives from the 91原创 RCMP, BC Housing, Fraser Health Authority, community-based agencies and non-profit societies, and the 91原创 RCMP

At the first meeting of the 12-member HAT 鈥� described as an advisory coalition of various levels of government, social service agencies and faith-based organizations 鈥� creation of a 鈥減artnership agreement鈥� between the two 91原创s was once again listed as a top priority.

Other key concerns include forming a Homelessness Integration Team that works with the RCMP and municipal bylaw officers to respond to 鈥減olice/bylaw calls related to persons experiencing homelessness,鈥� creating a 鈥減ermanent supportive housing project,鈥� increasing the number of rent supplements in the City and Township, creation of a youth safe house and other measures designed to tackle issues of mental and physical health among the homeless.

The 91原创s have the third largest homeless population in the Lower Mainland, according to a recently-released study that found there were 206 homeless people counted in 91原创 in the 2017 Metro Vancouver count, which was conducted over two days in March.

Vancouver had the largest homeless population, with 2,138 people, with Surrey second largest at 602.

The 91原创s saw a 124 per cent increase in the number of homeless people since the last count in 2014, when 92 people were classified as homeless.

A separate report by the Metro Vancouver task force on homelessness showed the Township of 91原创 and City of 91原创 are among nine Metro municipalities reporting larger homeless camps 鈥� those with more than four people.

The Township reported 鈥渢wo to three鈥� larger camps, while the City reported one.

Officials at both municipalities said those figures were from last year, before a temporary expansion of the shelter at the Gateway of Hope in 91原创 City which reduced the number of people living in camps in the 91原创s and eliminated the larger camps.

Township manager of community and council initiatives, Bill Storie, told the Times the reported numbers fluctuated depending on when municipal staff closed down encampments, while City Chief Administrative Officer Francis Cheung, a member of the Metro task force, said the one large camp in the City was cleared out after the expansion at Gateway.