Supported Housing Now

"The Health challenges of homeless people are complex, only intergrated approaches deliver the necessary levels of support."
... this is one of the conclusions in The British Columbia Homelessness Survey (5Mb PDF) by Dr. Michael Krausz, University of British Columbia.

Help CMHA BC put supported housing on the agenda. BC needs a provincial homelessness plan and a greater range of affordable supported housing.

• 8 in 10 British Columbians agree that supported housing for people with mental illness or addictions should be an urgent priority for the provincial government.

• Nearly 12,000 people with mental illness and addictions in BC are absolutely homeless and another 19,000 are at imminent risk of homelessness.

• Providing street adults suffering from severe addictions or mental illness with adequate housing and supports could save the province $211 million a year.

Learn More

Learn more about the major issues around supported housing in BC:

• Issue: Supported housing for people with mental illness and/or addictions (159K PDF)

• Issue: Housing and support services for children and youth (185K PDF)

Related News

• May 5, 2010: Premier Gordon Campbell announces over 1,000 new supported housing units in Vancouver

• June 18, 2010: Affordable Housing Breaks Ground in Richmond

2009 Mustel Poll Results

"Yes, I agree that supported housing, such as for people with mental illness or addictions, should be an urgent priority for the provincial government following the election in May."
—Nearly 8 in 10 British Columbians agree with this statement.

May 2009—In a Mustel Group poll commissioned by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), nearly 8 in 10 British Columbian adults (79.2%) agreed strongly or somewhat with the statement that supported housing should be an urgent priority following the 2009 provincial election. More than half of British Columbians (50.5%) agreed strongly with this statement.

Supported housing was defined in the survey as affordable housing, such as for people with mental illness or addictions, that includes access to support services such as life skills training, medical care and substance use rehabilitation programs.

Women were more likely to agree with the statement (83%) than men (75%), as were those who were unemployed (84%) versus respondents who were employed (76%). No differences were found based on age, family composition, education, household income, or geographic location in BC.

About the Poll

The Mustel Group conducted the poll on behalf of the CMHA from February 26th to March 8th, 2009. Five hundred telephone interviews were conducted with adults 18 and over. The margin of error is ±4.4% at the 95% level of confidence.

Poll PDF (291 Kb)

We also surveyed all candidates for the Green, Liberal and NDP parties, asking a series of questions related to supported housing.

Find out where your candidate stands (994 Kb PDF)