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Crises Response Pilot Project

About the Project

Like many municipalities in Metro Vancouver, the City of New Westminster is trying to find compassionate, innovative, and goal-driven ways to address three particular crises:

  • Homelessness
  • Mental health
  • Substance use

The goal of this pilot is to advance proactive, resilient and strategic organizational approaches that can be used long-term. The project involves three inter-departmental staff teams.

  • CRT Outreach. This team addresses community requests and complaints. They also provide supports to those experiencing homelessness and/or navigating mental health and/or substance use. Its members can provide referrals to provincial teams, as well as to faith-based and not-for-profit partners in the community. 
  • Operations Support Team. This team is made up almost exclusively of existing City staff. Their goal is to provide assistance as needed with responses related to proactive and reactive outreach.
  • Policy Development and Engagement (Advocacy) Team. This team will lobby senior levels of government for additional funding, resources and supports, which are needed to sustainably address the needs and issues associated with the three crises. The bulk of this team is comprised of existing City staff.

The pilot project's approach is trauma-informed and culturally sensitive. It considers a variety of experiences: along with those directly impacted, it acknowledges the impacts to City staff, and the community as a whole.

The project will be guided by principles of preventing further harm, prioritizing safety and well-being, and being proactive and responsive.

 

Goals & Advocacy Actions

  • An extreme weather response shelter with up to 30 beds.
  • A 24/7 shelter with 50 to 60 beds that also offers support services.
  • A health connect and resource centre with a health and wellness focus addressing the needs of the unsheltered.
  • A supportive housing development with 50 to 60 units, including 10 complex care beds to support people with significant mental health and substance use issues.
  • Expanded outreach related to homelessness, mental health and overdose prevention.
  • Extended hours for the Health Contact Centre, which incorporates an overdose prevention site. We also support the addition of a naloxone inhalation component.
  • Restoration of medical services, including medical services related to addiction, at the Health Contact Centre.
  • Provision of a 24/7 trailer that includes showers, sinks, and toilets (Note: this trailer was installed in August 2024 and can be found along Front St., near the nightly shelter).
  • Reimbursement of funding for portable toilet services and bio-hazardous clean-up and disposal.

 

RESOURCES

  • FAQs

    Why is this pilot project needed?

    Like other Metro Vancouver municipalities, New Westminster is facing three crises of homelessness, mental health, and substance use. These crises have become further complicated by other factors, including the costs of food and housing. 

    These are complex, inter-related situations challenging each level of government: they were further aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing opioid epidemic.

    While the City has been active in addressing these crises, a more comprehensive strategy is needed to make progress. One of the highlights of this project includes a dedicated and trained team of staff working with local faith-based, not-for-profit, and provincial organizations and teams. Our work is informed, in part, by the Homelessness Action Strategy.

    How do I get in touch with CRT Outreach?

    The team is available Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm. They can be reached via email or by phone. The team does not operate during statutory holidays.

    Email: outreach@newwestcity.ca
    Phone: 604-636-4343

    When should I reach out to CRT Outreach?

    Do connect with the team for the following:

    • If someone in the community is in need of resources related to food or shelter
    • If you see a tent or similar structure in the community
       

    If we are unable to assist, we will do our best to provide contact information for those who may be able to better respond.

    I am a business. How am I able to keep up with what's happening with the pilot project?

    The City will share the most up-to-date information through this page, and anyone interested specifically in this project should sign up for our email updates.

    We are also working with a number of partners in the community to let business owners know we are available to assist them in the context of this pilot. 

    You can also watch for updates through the City's social media channels. 


    I am a resident. How am I able to keep track of what's happening with the pilot project?

    Along with signing up for email updates, you can find the most up-to-date information on the pilot via this web page, or through our social media channels.


    Are large homeless encampments an issue in New Westminster?

    New Westminster has not experienced large homeless encampments. In New West, overnight sheltering of one or two people in parks and public spaces tends to be more of an issue. Those sheltering outside are asked to dismantle each morning, and then provided with information and referral services.

    Outreach workers will provide additional assistance and support. Over time, they will build relationships and trust, which can help with voluntary cooperation.

    If you develop more housing, shelter and supports to address the three crises, will it just attract more people who are unhoused?

    Most of those who are unhoused have long-term ties to New Westminster. 

    Approximately 19% lived in New Westminster for one to five years and 44% lived in New Westminster for six or more years. Combined, this accounts for 63% of those who are unhoused. As such, and within the time periods in question, 37% of those who were unhoused relocated to New Westminster.

    By comparison, between 2016 and 2021 and based on the 2021 Census, 36% of all residents had relocated to New Westminster. This indicates those who are unhoused are not as transient as some believe, and that connections to a variety of support networks are important.


    What are the plans to address the needs of the daytime unhoused population?

    Given the lack of 24/7 shelter and supportive housing capacity, the daytime unhoused population numbers at least 120 people in New Westminster. Of note, the daytime is when businesses are typically operating and residents are circulating.

    The City is exploring the possibility of creating a Health Connect and Resource Centre, which could address a variety of needs including:

    • Access to laundry facilities, showers and toilets
    • Providing meal programming and nutritional advice
    • Accommodating provincial health outreach teams
    • Offering primary care and substance use services
    • Providing resource information, referral services, navigation assistance and outreach support
       

    The City and the Lower Mainland Purpose Society are also in discussions with the Fraser Health Authority in the hopes of extending hours for the Health Contact Centre.

    If these two objectives are realized, many of those who make up the daytime unhoused population will be brought inside. The spaces would also provide opportunities to meet their diverse needs and address the underlying issues which could be contributing to their experiencing homelessness.

    Why does the Crises Response Pilot Project place an emphasis on ensuring culturally-appropriate and trauma-informed responses, particularly related to Indigenous peoples?

    There is a significant over-representation of enumerated, self-identified Indigenous people among the unhoused in New Westminster. While Indigenous people represent 3.1% of the population in New Westminster, they represent 43% of the enumerated, unsheltered homeless and 12% of the enumerated, sheltered homeless.

    This discrepancy may indicate shelter services and supports are not culturally sensitive or responsive to the needs of those who self-identify as Indigenous. Of note, of the enumerated, self-identified, unhoused Indigenous persons, 58% self-reported that they or a family member had experienced residential schools. This may indicate a mistrust of government-funded services and institutional-like settings. 

    Where can I look at the previous updates/work that has been done in relation to this pilot?