Indigenous organizations push to alleviate housing crisis, as full-time workers use homeless shelter – CHEK News
Nov. 6, 2023
As the Aboriginal Housing Management Association (AHMA) calls for federal support for initiatives in British Columbia, the Victoria Native Friendship Center (VNFC) works to provide a full spectrum of services, including support for full-time workers and students amid the housing crisis.
“1/8 The 3/8 number one 1/8 challenge 3/8 is affordability,” said Ron Rice, executive director of VNFC. “It’s a crisis nationwide, it’s not exclusive to here, but it is probably one of the most extreme versions of the challenge across the country.”
“I think Victoria, Vancouver, 1/8 and 3/8 Toronto, are all sort of leading the way when it comes to the high cost of housing, and what percentage of incomes people are utilizing to even just maintain housing that they have,” he added.
Over the last 15 years the VNFC has become an active housing provider for individuals and families that “don’t fit squarely into other social housing models,” explained Rice.
