Dave, a resident of The Willows, inside his unit (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

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People at risk or experiencing homelessness have a new place they can call their own in Vernon.

Turning Points Collaborative Society has opened its new supportive housing building, The Willows.

The Willows, Vernon’s new supportive housing facility (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters Staff)

Located on 43rd Street, The Willows has a capacity of 55 residents and has already seen some people move in, including Dave, who grew up in Vernon but has been unhoused or struggling to stay sheltered for the past 10 years.

“The rooms are great, they just fit perfect,” Dave told media during a tour of his bachelor-style suite at The Willows.

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“I’ve got my little workout area, and at my table over here I do a lot of writing and reading. Other than that I just try to keep my place clean. It’s my little sanctuary.”

Dave, a resident of The Willows, inside his unit (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Dave working out inside his unit at The Willows (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Dave called the new place a “second base” and now plans to try to find some work or pursue some education, which he was unable to do in the past.

“[Having this place] gives me something to do rather than worry about your stuff getting stolen, people not bothering you, people not harming you,” Dave explained.

“The shelter was good, it was a good base, but it definitely held me back in ways and peace of mind. Your not safe and you have to worry about everything, but when you go home it’s how I left it and it’s a really good feeling, for sure.”

Without the new supportive housing facility, Dave said he would either have to try to find a friend who would put him up on a couch, go to the overnight shelter, or even have to sleep outside. He also said he hoped the new site would help other people like himself be safe and turn their lives around.

The Willows has 49 bachelor-style suites and three one-bedroom suites for couples, for a maximum capacity of 55 residents.

Through the housing, the residents have more than just a roof over their head, as well as health and wellness services.

“We have a medical room here so we have doctors that come here that are going to be working with our clients, we have pharmacy that comes every single day, multiple ones,” Randene Wejr, CEO Turning Points Collaborative Society (TPCS), the agency in charge of The Willow, explained.

“We have health and wellness in our food services that are very rich with nutrients. Really the diet of people is a huge part of health, we know that. But there’s other things like games nights, being able to spend time and belong somewhere, that’s part of wellness. If you’re living in a shelter or on the street, you’re in survival mode. So here we’re looking at where people find a space where they feel safe, then they can look at belonging to a community, giving back to the community, feeling like they’re productive, which is amazing.”

Other services offered through the supportive housing include life skill training, alcohol and drug recovery programs, and help finding work.

A shared common room at The Willows (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

The shared dining area at The Willows (photo by Liam Verster)

The kitchen where meals for residents of The Willows are prepared (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

A harm reduction station at The Willows (photo by Liam Verster / Vernon Matters)

Though the building was operational and helping people, Wejr said it wasn’t a long-term solution to the unhoused and housing crises.

“One of the things is this is just part of the continuum, because most of the population that comes in here will move on,” Wejr stated.

“Some will stay forever because they’re going to need supports forever, this is going to be the last place that they live, but this is only a part of the continuum because we need somewhere to move people to. Where’s that next step? Where’s that affordable housing? There’s a total glut of affordable housing, throughout the whole province really. It’s not a Vernon issue solely, but it is part of the issue here.”

TPCS and B.C. Housing do assessments of potential residents and if the applicants show they fit the needs of the supportive housing, then they may be accepted and be able to move in. Wejr said new residents were being moved in to The Willows at a staggered rate, but expected all the rooms to be full by the mid- or late-February.

While it is helping get people off the street, Wejr said more could be done to address the number of unhoused people locally.

“It’s tricky because with the rising inflation, rents keep going up, mortgages keep going up, wages are not following suit, so our fastest growing population of homeless folks are families and seniors,” the TPCS CEO said.

“I don’t see that this is going to solve homelessness by any means, it’s going to put a dent in it, but we’re going to continue to see our homeless numbers grow, which we have seen, and so we’re just going to have to continue to not only build supportive housing but making sure we have the affordable housing and market housing, particularly for seniors and families, as we move forward.”

The new facility was partially supported by the City of Vernon.

“The city’s role is we make sure the property is zoned correctly, and that sometimes is a multiple step process, and then we pay all the Development Cost Charges (DCCs),” Mayor Victor Cumming explained.

The city covered $281,137.99 in DCCs for the project.

This is the third supportive housing facility in Vernon, which the mayor said does help bridge a gap in the local housing needs.

“Supportive housing is at the bottom [of the needs], and in general most communities consider 1.5 per cent [of all housing being supportive] would be helpful, that would sort of meet the needs,” Cumming said.

“Vernon has more than 20,000 units [total], so that would put us in the 300 to 350 [supportive] units we need, and now we have around 200. So this really helps.”

The province, through B.C. Housing, supported the construction of The Willows, and will be providing ongoing funding to maintain the building and its services.