No Vacancy : Affordability & Homelessness in Vancouver

Recent point-in-time homeless counts in Metro Vancouver and City of Vancouver indicate a growing number of people experiencing homelessness in our community. Despite government investments in social housing and rent supplements, more people are homeless in Metro Vancouver than ever before. Homelessness is the result of the interplay between structural factors (e.g. cost of housing and income), systemic failures where people “fall through the cracks” (e.g. discharge from hospitals without housing), and life circumstances (e.g. job loss, illness, or family violence)1. While all three elements are important, this report examines the structural factors which lead to homelessness. It complements the point in time count by reporting on factors such as vacancy at low-end-ofmarket, costs of average rent, available income, cost of living, and social housing built and rent supplements provided.