qathet Regional District (qRD) directors will consider appointing a director to a homelessness task force that has been proposed by Lift Community Services.
At the November 22 committee of the whole meeting, directors considered correspondence from Lift requesting that qRD, along with City of Powell River, convene a homelessness task force that would bring together nonprofit and government agencies with expertise and resources that can support a collective response to the community impacts of homelessness.
Electoral Area E director Andrew Fall made a motion to refer consideration of working with Lift to the December committee of the whole meeting.
Fall said it would be an opportunity to decide if the regional district wanted to appoint someone to the task force.
“The board should consider the request,” said Fall. “The agenda, ideally, would have something that we would be deciding on to the Lift homelessness task force.”
Electoral Area D director and committee chair Sandy McCormick said she missed the social planning aspect of what the regional district has been part of in the past. She said it had provided a lot of valuable information for elected officials to consider on items such as childcare, seniors housing and other issues.
“We tackled a lot of issues and I really miss having that service,” said McCormick. She asked if there was any information about the status of the service.
Chief administrative officer Al Radke said he hasn’t received any formal updates of the status. Currently, there is no social planner position shared by qRD, the city and Tla’amin Nation in place.
McCormick said she was making notice of motion for the next committee meeting that information be requested regarding the social planning service.
City director Cindy Elliott said it’s good to put the matter on a future agenda. The social action and planning advisory committee has not met in some time, which is concerning, she added.
“I know there has been a lot of thinking going on around the social planner position, but the social action and planning committee doesn’t require a social planner to meet,” said Elliott. “We are in crisis in some areas in social issues. I’m absolutely in favour of having a discussion on that matter.”
Electoral Area B director Mark Gisborne said regarding the talk about the social action planning committee and social planning service, he recalled that a motion had been passed asking for an informal review of the service. He said some of the information in that report would be helpful in figuring out what is going on with the social planning service. He asked if there was a timeline for the report.
Radke said staff had hoped to get a report to directors fairly quickly, but there have been some staff shuffles. One of the persons who would have been tagged with creating the report has moved on to a new position. Radke said staff have it on their calendars and it would be before directors as soon as possible.
McCormick said any decision to continue or discontinue the social planning service is something the regional district should be part of with the city and Tla’amin.
City director George Doubt said the service is a three-way partnership, including the paying of wages. He said with the former social planning staff, some good projects, such as the homelessness and housing needs studies, and one on income, had been conducted, with the social planner being the focus.
Doubt added that the social planner left the position. He said the city has not made a decision yet on whether to hire another social planner, but the three partners need to make a decision on what they want.
The committee carried Fall’s motion to defer discussion on the correspondence to the December committee of the whole meeting.
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