Every week, seven to eight volunteers cook a hearty meal for 70 to 75 people living on Richmond’s streets.
Church on Five volunteers pack them up and they’re delivered by an outreach worker to the street-entrenched homeless, living in tents and bushes through Richmond.
“This is what it means to be a person of faith,” said Church on Five pastor Rachel Wilson.
In 2015, when Church on Five started making the meals, about 25 were delivered to the unhoused. But with the increase in those without stable homes in Richmond, this has grown in number.
Not only does Church on Five make meals once a week, three other churches in Richmond and one restaurant makes sure Richmond’s homeless population gets good meals every day.
This includes St. Albans, Gilmore Park United, St. Joseph the Worker and Richmond Presbyterian as well as Riverside Catering.
Together, along with the Kehila Society, they make up the Richmond Food Aid Coalition, delivering food, care packages and other essentials to homeless people, filling in a gap that has been left empty by government agencies.
The issue of increasing homelessness came to the forefront two weeks ago when the latest homeless count numbers were released.
Richmond had one of the highest percentage increases in homelessness in the Lower Mainland, with 162 people counted over two days in March.
Those who help to feed the homeless say there’s a desperate need for more after-hours outreach workers in Richmond.
Council tackles emergency
Richmond city council chambers were full to the brim Monday afternoon as council considered whether they should more aggressively tackle the homelessness issue in the city, a motion coming from Coun. Kash Heed.
In the end, the vote was unanimous to ask city staff to come back in 45 days with a plan of action to deal with the immediate crisis.
De Whalen, president of the Richmond Poverty Reduction Coalition (RPRC) noted the city's 2019-2029 strategy to deal with unhoused people has the goal of making homelessness in Richmond “rare, brief and non-recurring” by 2029.
“You have less than six years, and this motion… may be bold enough to achieve the goals that you’ve set for yourself,” she told city council.
Coun. Laura Gillanders noted that without a detox facility and a continuum of care for stabilization and housing after treatment, the chronically homeless won’t get better. She added people can call a number, get a detox bed in Vancouver after a month, and then five days later they’re back on the street.
“I know from personal experience helping people there are huge gaps in the system that aren’t being addressed,” Gillanders said.
Other councillors commented on the motion saying there’s a need for an outreach worker and to have someone with “lived experience” on the city’s homelessness table.
Coun. Michael Wolfe noted the strategic plan calls for someone with lived experience to be at the table, “when appropriate.”
“I think it’s appropriate,” he added.
Currently, the homelessness table includes government agencies and service providers.
Mayor Malcolm Brodie added to the motion that city council request consulting with the ministers of mental health/addictions, housing and poverty reduction to tackle the issue.
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