The City of Delta is looking at enhancing existing services for homeless people during the pandemic.
Council last week agreed to apply for $213,559 in funding through the UBCM Strengthening Communities' Services program for Delta to work in partnership with Options Community Services, and other community partners, to enhance services.
A staff report notes the most recent homeless count in 2020 showed a small decrease of homeless residents in Delta.
However, the point-in-time counts generally underestimate the number of homeless people, since they do not include the “hidden homeless” such as couch-surfing youth.
In other jurisdictions, observed numbers are doubled or tripled to indicate the true totals, the report notes, adding homelessness in North Delta is highly transient as it is difficult to differentiate between people experiencing homelessness in Surrey and Delta.
It is likely that the pandemic has made the situation worse and there are more homeless people due to the economic impact.
“The grant program is aimed at enhancing existing services for homeless people during the pandemic. Options Community Services (Options) has a Mobile Outreach Team that offers a range of services for unsheltered and vulnerable people in Delta, Surrey and Langley, including food and basic supplies, harm reduction supplies, bus tickets to access shelters, and information about available housing options. The service is currently provided on a reactive basis, responding to direct calls for assistance,” the report explains.
City of Delta is an eligible applicant for the grant but the project would be delivered primarily by Options, with Delta staff support.
The report notes that if the grant funding is received, several existing services during the pandemic and recovery phase, between August 2021 and August 2022, will be expanded.
They include the Options Mobile Outreach Team that will have a physical presence in Delta every day, offering support to unsheltered and vulnerable individuals in the community, while the range of Options programs will be expanded to include COVID-19 resources, access to vaccination clinics and personal protective equipment, as well as additional harm reduction supplies to address the recent overdose increases in Delta.
A research/project coordinator will also be retained to interview people with lived experience of being homeless to better understand their needs and improve community capacity to support them.
