A series of dialogue sessions are aimed at coming up to solutions for a number of problems, including homelessness, health, and community safety, in Langley City.
Dena Kae Beno, the City’s manager of strategic initiatives, said the first event, held on April 10, was a “resource and referral fair,” which was about connecting local agencies with people.
Groups like Stepping Stone and Encompass were present for the first phase of the event, offering information on their services and how they can help and connect people to a wider array of social supports.
The event also marked the test run of a citizens assembly-like group that Beno said was a sort of “solutions lab.”
Citizens assemblies are when groups of people from a wide variety of walks of life, including ordinary non-experts, put their heads together to come up with new policies or ideas.
The event heard from people with a wide array of needs and backgrounds about the ongoing housing crisis, as a shortage of homes has driven prices, especially rent, ever higher, and driven more people into homelessness.
“We heard perspectives about newcomers, refugees, international the students, [and] the intensifying needs for youth and seniors, both,” said Beno.
The next meeting on the housing issue is scheduled for Wednesday May 1, Beno said.
After that, the group will work with the City on recommendations for concepts, working out what’s feasible.
BC Housing and other partners will be part of the dialogue, she said.
Prageeth Bathwadanage was on hand for the Langley Encompass Youth Hub, to be an advocate for housing, he said. Bathwadanage is mostly concerned with housing for youths aged 12 to 24, a group that isn’t the focus of most organizations working on homelessness, he noted.
Outreach workers and case managers for Stepping Stone, Cheryl Doherty and Kate Lewin, said they fielded questions about the general services that were on offer.
Doherty noted, for example, that some people were unaware of how they could acquire a mobility scooter, and they were able to point the person who needed one in the right direction.
“That’s a pretty huge part of our job, connecting with services,” said Lewin.
Further meetings in the dialogue series are scheduled over the coming weeks.