Counting up the homeless in Vancouver

With the provincial election in full swing and the ruling Liberal party having an easy time of things thus far, there finally is a bit of ammunition for the NDP leader Carole James. A count of the Vancouver homeless numbers was released today and those that wanted to be found, but have nowhere to go number over 2100 for the last year.

The homeless figures come out one day after a Stats Canada survey that says BC is leading the country in economic growth good news no doubt, especially for the 2100 listed above who surely might wish to join in on the provincial renaissance.

But while they wait for their ship to come in, they can wonder how many more will join their numbers in the near future. The frightening statistic on the homeless census is that the numbers have doubled in only three years. Another disturbing trend in the homeless question is the number of working poor who live on the streets, going to work by day and finding someplace warm and dry to rest in the evening.

The homeless crisis in Vancouver is partially attributed to the extremely high cost of housing in the superheated real estate market of the Lower Mainland. And suburbia is no panacea for those looking for a place to rest their head and store their stuff, in the last three years suburbs such as Port Coquitlam and Langley have seen homelessness increase by 200 per cent. Obviously not everyone is poised to share in the Golden Decade ahead!

This seems like an issue that the NDP should seize upon and offer up some creative solutions to a terrible problem and while they make the usual noises about the situation, the status of their campaign thus far is one of benign neglect. A few stumbles out of the gate seem to have sapped their energy for the fight in many ridings.

With the weeks til election day dwindling down, the NDP had best start making some headway, otherwise the Campbell Liberals are looking to seize a rather large majority government once again. With an unlimited money truck on the trail, maybe even the homeless problem will be properly addressed by the Campbell Liberals. If it is indeed going to be a Golden Decade, it would be nice if those that wanted to hang around for it had a place of their own to hang their hats!