The provincial government announced Tuesday that it will spend $1.2 million on programs and services in an effort to improve the lives of troubled young people in the Downtown Eastside.
Stephanie Cadieux, Minister of Children and Family Development, said $800,000 will be spent to create an adolescent services unit at one of the ministry’s offices on Cambie Street and $400,000 will go to youth services organizations to expand outreach, extend hours and hire more staff.
“I won’t tell you it’s enough, I will tell you it’s what we’re doing today to address some of the gaps that we believe exist that need to be filled urgently,” Cadieux told reporters in a conference call. “There will always be more that we can and would like to do. And when we determine what those are, or how we can address those additional gaps, we will look to do so.”
The minister said two more positions will be added to a so-called “rapid response team” created in October 2015 to monitor and support young people in the Downtown Eastside facing significant challenges such as being homeless, abusing drugs and alcohol or victims of sexual exploitation. The government estimates up to 50 young people fall into one or more of the categories.
Separate from the $1.2 million in spending will be the creation of a shelter specifically for young people. Unlike other facilities geared to youth, tenants will not be expected to abstain from drugs or alcohol, or participate in a detox program.
“While there exists a range of safe houses and supportive housing units where young people can stay short term, the vast majority of those resources have rules,” said Cadieux, noting the aim is to get youth off the street before assessing their issues. “These requirements can push away many of the high-risk youth who might benefit from a more ‘no-questions-asked approach’ to first gain that stability and trust.”
The cost, location and number of beds have not been finalized but Cadieux suggested up to five spaces could be made available. The government is working with the City of Vancouver, the Provincial Rental Housing Corporation, Vancouver Coastal Health and B.C. Housing to set up the shelter, which is expected to open in 2017.
The announcement comes one year after the Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, released a report that documented the tragic story of Paige, a 19-year-old woman who died of a drug overdose in the Downtown Eastside after years of abuse, neglect and “persistent inaction from front-line professionals and an indifferent social care system.”
Turpel-Lafond told the Courier by telephone Tuesday the government’s initiatives were “woefully inadequate” and that much of what the minister announced will be delayed in its implementation, with the adolescent unit not open until sometime in the fall and the shelter not until sometime in 2017.
She disagreed with the ministry’s estimates on the population of high-risk, troubled young people in the Downtown Eastside at 50. She put it closer to 200.
Although the minister described the $1.2 million as “new money,” Turpel-Lafond said money for child safety was indicated in the government’s most recent budget.
She noted the minister’s announcement came the week after she reminded the government in the B.C. legislature that it had been one year since she released her report on Paige.
“They’ve had to be embarrassed into putting something forward,” Turpel-Lafond said of Tuesday’s announcement. “I’m never going to pooh-pooh something new. It’s good, we need it. It’s just when I look at what it is, and I look at the faces and the needs of the kids on the street and the crisis that they’re in -- and they’re careening literally out of control every day -- and I say, ‘Oh well, hang on guys, in 2017 there’s going to be five beds built for you somewhere in the Lower Mainland.’ This is the best we can do?”
Cadieux said Tuesday that Paige’s story had a “profound effect” on the ministry and caused staff to review cases of 124 youth in care or receiving services. From that, up to 50 were identified as “high-risk.”
Cadieux said she had yet to speak to Turpel-Lafond in detail about the government’s $1.2 million package announced Tuesday.
“I’m sure that she will welcome the changes and I’m sure that she will criticize that they are yet not enough,” the minister said. “That’s her role as the advocate to continue to push for more and better, and I respect that.”
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