NEELIN VIEWS: How affordability impacts homelessness

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This article was published 10/10/2023 (1090 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The estimated number of people experiencing homelessness in Brandon today is around 500 people, Coun. Kris Desjarlais (Ward 2) said during a recent interview with the Neelin Journalism Team. This is an increase of nearly 400 people since 2018.

Although there exist multiple causes of homelessness, the main reason Brandon is seeing such an increase is straightforward: there is simply not enough affordable housing.

Brandon has a deficiency of social housing and transitional units, which are, according to homelesshub.ca, temporary housing units that offer a “supportive type of accommodation that is meant to bridge the gap from homelessness and permanent housing by offering structure, supervision, support, life skills, and in some cases, education and training.” Partnered with the subtle population increase over the years that has not been accompanied by an increase in affordable housing options, Brandon faces a big problem: a lack of space.

Desjarlais suggests that some improvement could be gained through the use of tax strategy, stating that tax increment financing (freezing taxes for developers of non-profits) can be helpful in creating affordable housing without having taxes that go up year after year, making it more affordable to build more social housing, which will aid in prioritizing affordable housing over other forms of housing.

Desjarlais also stressed the importance of being compassionate toward those experiencing homelessness.

“When we see them or when we hear stories about them, the challenges they’re facing and the problems that are arising in our downtown, 99.9 per cent of the people I’ve met experiencing homelessness wished their lives were in a different place,” he said. Compassion and empathy are often the turning point for change, so remembering that homeless people want a better life is an important thing.

The last thing Desjarlais drew attention to was the Housing First program and the idea that overcoming certain challenges will be easier in a stable environment.

“Housing First recognizes that mental health challenges, addictions, trauma, whatever challenges [the homeless] might be facing” would be easier to address if they were housed,” Desjarlais said.

He emphasized that educating ourselves on Housing First can potentially grow the program into something that “really has a lasting impact on the homeless situation in Brandon.”

» Arden Hebert is a Grade 11 student at École secondaire Neelin High School.