BC Housing has funded Squamish Helping Hands Society with an Encampment Outreach Worker to provide outreach to encampment occupants located in Squamish’s downtown core. The position started in April this year.
“This position will do routine outreach to the encampments and will maintain statistics through a By-Name List, which is a real-time, person-specific list of individuals experiencing homelessness in a community, used to coordinate access to services and housing,” according to a report on encampments that was presented to the council in July.
The report notes that the Province plays a critical role in encampment management, as housing and healthcare service delivery fall within provincial jurisdiction.
Provincial funding for encampment management activities often stems from the Heart (Homeless Encampment Action Response Team) and Hearth (Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing) Program. That program is offered via BC Housing under the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs, which selects communities for the project.
The staff report notes that Squamish has not been designated as a Heart and Hearth community and therefore provincial supports are limited to address encampments in the community. Currently, the provincial support for encampments in Squamish is limited.
BC Housing encampment outreach staff toured encampments in Squamish with District Staff on March 17, 2025, and staff from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction conducted site visits to encampments located in downtown areas to provide services.
The district says the province offers limited insight into the Heart and Hearth designation process, as there is no formal intake and no predetermined criteria are shared with local governments.
“Unfortunately, until Squamish is designated as a Heart and Hearth community, provincial support will remain limited as they have scarce resources that are prioritized for designated communities,” the report notes.
According to the report, staff have worked with the Province to raise awareness on the ‘unique challenges’ posed by the encampments.
Although it has led to some additional supports, such as an Encampment Outreach Worker, designation as a Heart and Hearth community is the only true path to fulsome provincial support, the report notes.
Comments