Angus Stanfield, who works at a supportive home for veterans on Vancouver Island, says more funding is needed

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The number of homeless veterans in Vancouver is being called a shameful situation and prompting calls for the federal and provincial governments to step up.

Numbers recently made public show 108 veterans accounted for in Vancouver’s annual homeless count. Of those without permanent homes, 52 were in shelters, while another 56 are considered ‘unsheltered.’

Rachel Blaney, the federal NDP’s critic for seniors and veterans’ affairs, says the government needs to step up to prevent this from happening.

“I know that in Canada there’s actually several thousand veterans that are homeless in the country, and you think of the service that they provided to our communities and to our country, and in fact, in some cases, to other countries, it’s shameful that this is the situation that they’re in,” she says.

“I don’t want to see anyone homeless in Canada, actually. I think it’s appalling in this country, with the amount of wealth that we have, that there are so many people that are homeless. [….] But especially when you look how veterans have served our country, we owe them our respect and we need to help them.”

Please share: Due to cold weather, the City is opening warming centres tonight and tomorrow night (Nov 28 and 29). We appreciate your help sharing this information with those who may need it. EWR shelters are also open. For details, see tables below: pic.twitter.com/Wj9C6hKClV — City of Vancouver (@CityofVancouver) November 28, 2019

Blaney says more tools are needed to help veterans transition to civilian life.

“So where is the federal government standing up and making sure that resources are put to those communities where veterans are falling through the cracks?” she says.

“The process of moving from the military side over to the veteran side seems to be wrought with problems. And we also know that there is a huge waiting list, largely for veterans with disabilities.”

The number of people who had military service numbered in Vancouver Homeless Count 2019. (Screenshot, City of Vancouver)

Angus Stanfield works at Cockrell House, a supportive home for veterans on Vancouver Island. He says the numbers are too high, and not enough is being done to support those who have served.

“There’s a real strong case to say that between eight and 10 per cent of whatever the real number of homeless people is, are veterans. And it isn’t just men either,” he says.

“I think the whole issue, it can be dealt with if the will was there.”

Stanfield says both the federal and provincial governments need to contribute financially to projects like Cockrell House.

Right now, it relies primarily on donations which mainly come from Legions across B.C.

“It’s kind of a catch 22. The provincial people will say well, this is veterans, that’s a federal issue. And the federal people say that’s housing and housing is a provincial issue,” he says.

The 2019 count in Vancouver found 2,223 were homeless. Seven per cent of people surveyed had served in the Canadian Forces, and a higher number were classified as unsheltered than sheltered.

Vancouver Homeless Count Final Report 2019