Visions Journal

PDF | EPUB | Vol. 14, No. 4 (2019)

When it comes to housing, the status quo isn’t working. Housing unaffordability has created a crisis throughout BC communities. It intersects with many other issues. Wage stagnation, insufficient income assistance, and rising cost of living are obvious factors. NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) and other forms of discrimination, the social attitudes we hold around home ownership, policies that prevent new or innovative forms of housing, and a lack of options that address housing across a spectrum of needs also play a role in the crisis we see today. In this issue of Visions, we explore some of the issues around housing and look at approaches that help or have the potential to help British Columbians live with dignity no matter where they are, including supportive housing, co-op housing, RV living, co-housing and tiny homes, as well as policy approaches like changes to the Residential Tenancy Act.

Background

• Editor's Message
  (Sarah Hamid-Balma)

• How Did We Get Here? Housing policy and the affordable-housing crisis
  (Marika Albert)

Experiences and Perspectives

• The High Stakes of Housing Affordability: Housing policy and the affordability crisis
  (Nat Keeling)

• Child of the First Step: Finding safe, affordable housing while living with the challenge of mental illness
  (Bryn Genelle Ditmars)

• Surviving a Renoviction
  (Lorna Allen)

• Not Just Another Vehicle: How my home on wheels was stolen by the City of Vancouver
  (David Butler)

• Trusting the Unknown: From domestic abuse to a home of security, strength and a new beginning
  (Holly)

• Precipitating Factors: A case manager's perspective on homelessness and the importance of secure housing
  (Dale Wallace)

Alternatives and Approaches

• Everyone Has a Little Architect in Them: Co-founder talks about life in Vancouver’s first cohousing community
  (Ericka Stephens-Rennie)

• The Branch: Piloting innovative, safe, supported, temporary bridge-to-housing in Kamloops
  (Natika Bock)

• Closing Tent Cities During an Overdose Crisis Might be Dangerous
  (Marilou Gagnon)

• A Gateway to Intergenerational Connection: University students and seniors forge friendships and lifelong learning at Gateway Lodge in Prince George
  (Sonya Kruger)

• Visions Wants You to Know About Another Intergenerational Housing Project – For the Indigenous Community
  (Visions staff)

• Tiny Homes: A good option for the body, mind and spirit
  (Samantha Gambling and Shari Laliberte)

Resources