Lift Community Services recently announced the creation of a task force on homelessness. In January, it asked City of Powell River Council to appoint a member. Councillor George Doubt was appointed with councillor Rob Southcott as alternate.
Lift convened this task force. They chose who should be invited to be initial members. Westview Ratepayers Society (WRS) asked Lift on three separate occasions to be a member.
The homelessness task force met on January 30 and decided not to invite WRS to be a member at this time. It wishes to create the terms and then decide if and when groups like WRS can participate on its terms.
WRS has serious concerns about this. Two years ago, WRS and the former executive director of Lift asked city council to create a task force. They did not respond. On November 5, 2024, WRS asked council for a third time, and council voted against the creation of a city-led task force.
WRS has asked Lift on several occasions who is on the task force. They have declined to provide that information. WRS has asked for minutes of the first meeting and has received nothing.
WRS has serious concerns about a task force created by the organization that benefits the most financially regarding work with this vulnerable group. The task force creates the perception it has been cherry-picked by Lift and is operating in secret. Regrettably, they have chosen to deny initial membership to WRS.
WRS believes the task force is needed but it must be created properly. To be credible, the task force must be transparent, inclusive and seek to build community consensus.
The current homelessness task force is secretive, exclusive and will create suspicion and community division if it continues on its present path. No group has the right to decide on its own how this important community need is addressed.
This is a community problem and requires input from all sectors of our community, working together to build consensus from the outset.
On February 18, we will be asking city council to pass a motion that WRS be invited to be a member of the homelessness task force. There is still time to change the course of the task force so the needs of homeless people living in our community can be addressed with broad community support. This issue should not be politicized and we need to avoid polarization.
Council is elected to represent all the residents of Powell River. WRS currently has 339 members. We have been addressing community concerns regarding supportive housing for the last three years and have a lot to contribute on this issue.
We can play a positive role in this process if allowed. To do so, we need council to request that WRS be invited to join now. It is essential that we all work together to address the needs of those who are most at risk in our community. This is too important an issue to do otherwise.
Rick Craig is president of Westview Ratepayers Society.
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