93-year-old man living in Surrey shelter for 18 months

Ninety-three-year-old Clifford Labree has been living at the Surrey Urban Mission’s shelter for a year and a half.

He has no other options and fears being out on the street.

“Where am I going to go there’s nothing,” Labree told Global News. “Here I get help. Here I get an ambulance if I need it.”

Supportive housing would be more appropriate for the senior, but there aren’t any affordable openings available.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

Sign up for breaking National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“We are trying to get him into a higher level of care which is clearly what he needs,” Surrey Urban Mission spokesperson Janet Brown said.

“But in the meantime, he stays with us at the shelter because we’re not going to put him out, we’re not going to make him become homeless.”

Sadly, Clifford’s story is not unique.

British Columbia’s Seniors’ Advocate Dan Levitt said that in 2023 nearly 14,000 seniors applied for subsidized housing spaces, an increase of 59 per cent compared to five years ago.

Most were turned away.

“Approximately six percent of the people who applied, less than 900 people who applied of the 14,000 received a space,” Levitt said.
B.C.’s Ministry of Health says it was looking into Labree’s case and hoped to provide more information soon.
For Labree, the shelter at Surrey Urban Mission has become his home, somewhere he now hopes to stay until the end.

“When I die they can carry me out,” he said. “But not ’til then.”