In the wake of a viral video depicting a growing tent city on Whalley’s so-called “strip,” Surrey’s mayor says she wants a bigger piece of the pie when it comes to modular housing units for the homeless.
The video, shot by Joe McNeely, was posted to Facebook this weekend, where it has now racked up nearly 250,000 views.
It shows dozens of tents lining 135A Street, which has become a de facto homeless camp in recent years.
Upon viewing the video, Mayor Linda Hepner said she shares McNeely’s concerns.
“I absolutely share the sentiment, there is no place for the kind of tent city we’ve seen expanding.”
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The province has announced 150 units of modular housing for Surrey’s homeless, which are slated to be ready by February.
But Hepner said that’s not enough.
“I need those 150 now,” she said. “They don’t want to be in shelters because some of them are couples and they want a place where they can go together, some of them have pets. We don’t want to take them way from their pets.”
Hepner added that she is frustrated with the pace of new housing, particularly with Vancouver set to get 600 of the new modular units.
Last winter, the B.C. Coroners Service issued a warning after three homeless people’s deaths were linked to the cold weather.
On Monday, the City of Vancouver approved its second modular housing complex, and two additional locations are already on the drawing board.
In September, the NDP government pledged to build 2,000 of the temporary units in communities across the province.
Metro Vancouver’s latest homeless count found more than 3,600 people living on the region’s streets.