With an estimated 300 homeless people living either on or near Surrey’s so-called “Whalley Strip,” one community advocate said it’s not just up to politicians to help end homelessness, but the community as a whole.
The strip, a four-block area of 135A Street in the Whalley neighbourhood, sits less than a kilometre from city hall and has become home to an established tent city.
READ MORE: Facebook video of growing homeless camp in Surrey goes viral
Public attention centered on the neighbourhood earlier this week, after a viral video posted to Facebook introduced many to just how many tents have gone up on the strip.
Mike Musgrove runs the Surrey Urban Mission on King George Boulevard; he said homelessness will only grow as long as people say “not in my backyard” when it comes to affordable housing and addiction treatment services.
He said everyone in Surrey needs to step up and help.
READ MORE: Surrey mayor says Whalley strip ‘urgently’ needs supportive housing
“The apathy that is out there is, certainly, I think, part of the problem. It’s tough for people to understand,” Musgrove said.
“If you live in a situation where you’ve never come across — no one in your family is touched by addictions of any kind, you aren’t touched by mental health of any kind, maybe it’s tough for you to see this as something that is part of your community.”
Voices of the street
Neil Morgan started living on the street — often the Whalley Strip — after he became addicted to heroin three years ago.
“You don’t really close your eyes much out there unless you have a tent or something. But even still you’re always kind of keeping your ear open for any funny noises because your own neighbor could be trying to rip you off,” he said.
READ MORE: Drugs may be to blame for ‘Whalley Strip’ tent fire that hurt two
Morgan collects welfare, but he said that at current rates it’s not nearly enough to afford an apartment in the city.
“You know, it’s ‘dog eat dog’ down there. And we really need that better, low-income housing,” he said.
“Cathy” has two degrees — but now, she’s doing her best to stay off the street by living in a rodent-infested bachelor suite, she told CKNW.
She said she makes ends meet by eating meals at the mission.
“I’ve got a little place for the dogs and we’re warm and safe and that’s all you do everyday,” she said. “You just try and cope where you are.”
On Tuesday, Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner called on the province to speed up approval and construction of new modular housing for the homeless.
Surrey is slated to receive 150 units of the transitional housing by February, part of the province’s plan to build 2,000 units across the province.
Metro Vancouver’s latest homeless count found more than 3,600 people living on the region’s streets.
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