Nanaimo City Council has pledged to develop a low-barrier housing unit on Uplands Drive in North Nanaimo.  The apartments will be fully-serviced and open to residents who do not qualify under the low income subsidized housing listed in the Housing Registry.  To be eligible for supportive housing, the applicant must be unable to live independently.  Some applicants may have been discharged from a hospital, treatment facility, program, institution or jail (Supportive Housing Registration advice document, December 2008).  The low barrier housing development proposed for Uplands Drive will be occupied by residents that have a drug or alcohol dependency.  The residentes will not be required to undergo any treatment or rehabilitation (Nanaimo City Council Frequently Asked Questions leaflet, 6025 Uplands Drive). 

Nanaimo City Council Downtown Team has conducted a survey of the homeless in the downtown core of the City.  These are the people that are eligible for low barrier housing and who will be offered placement in the proposed Uplands Drive development.  Of the homeless interviewed, 96% are actively using and abusing drugs and alcohol.  98% of those interviewed are abusing stimulants (57%), alcohol (21%), opiates (12%) and injection drugs (8%).

The issue here is that the City of Nanaimo are intending to relocate the homelss population of Downtown Nanaimo to other urban areas of the City, without conducting the proper feasibility studies (to find out the needs of the homeless and the impact on each proposed location) or going to public consultation with the commuities where the low barrier housing will be built.

The local community hasn't been given the chance to have their say or offer suggestions to help the homeless, and are having to fight their City Council to be heard.  The Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo coallition is a group of people who live in the community and simply want answers.  Moving a problem form one area of the City to another without consultation or the support services that are going to be required isn't helping the homeless - it's hurting them.

Show your support and hold the City of Nanaimo Council to account.  Join the Concerned Citizens of Nanaimo and register your support by signing the online petition.