Dear editor,
I have heard in our community that some/many people who are unhoused in the Comox Valley come from other communities.
You might hear busloads of unhoused people are sent here from places on the mainland and beyond B.C., or that social workers in other communities give people bus tickets to come to the Comox Valley. The data we have from Point-in-Time (PIT) counts of unhoused people in the Comox Valley does not support this narrative.
In the 2023 Comox Valley PIT count, 92 per cent of the people counted had been in the Valley for more than a year; 66 per cent for more than 5 years and 16 per cent were born here. In 2023 fewer respondents had been in the community for less than six months compared to the 2020 count, suggesting many unhoused people in 2023 were in the Comox Valley the last time they had a home. In other words, they became unhoused in our community. Fifty-six per cent of them report they became unhoused because they did not have enough income to pay our rental rates.
Sorry folks, but the people we see on our streets are almost entirely our community members and have become unhoused here. We must do better to provide affordable and supportive housing here 鈥� the first step is accepting they are our neighbours and belong here.
Betty Tate,
Courtenay
