Sales rep and Past-President of the Victoria Real Estate Board Tony Joe of RE/MAX Camosun has been appointed Co-Chair of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness (www.solvehomelessness.ca).
High property values, low vacancy rate, lack of purpose built rental properties, termination of publicly funded programs and other factors have contributed to an estimated 1500 people either living in marginal conditions or being completely homeless, many with mental health issues. The goal of the Coalition is to eliminate homelessness completely by 2018.
With broad representation including senior staff from Provincial government agencies and Crown Corporations, Tony says “Ending homelessness in this beautiful City requires the commitment of the entire community and all levels of government need to play a role.” This will require an investment of $175M over the next 10 years, however this is far less than the estimated $250M not to end homelessness for costs such as hospitalization, policing, incarceration and other emergency services.
The Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness is a community-based partnership of service providers in the non-profit and public sectors, advocates, business representatives and elected municipal officials, formed in February 2008 to lead the region’s commitment to end homelessness. Its goals are to house and support those who are homeless; provide the necessary infrastructure to lead, coordinate, monitor and ensure results on Victoria’s homelessness crisis; and to prevent homelessness from occurring in the future.
