Provincial government, City of PG collaborating on social issues in the city

The provincial government and the City of Prince George have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), formalizing their commitment to support unhoused people in our city.

“Our government is committed to working with the City of Prince George to provide people with better supports and a safe place to in a way that will improve everyone’s quality of life,” said Premier David Eby.

“Today’s agreement formalizes this commitment to work together to help people sheltering outdoors to move inside, and ultimately into safe, stable, supportive homes.”

The MOU clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the province and the city to prioritize the health and safety of people sheltering outdoors and to bring them inside.

This includes implementing the new Homeless Encampment Action Response Teams and Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing programs or HEART and HEARTH.

The HEART program will bring together provincial and local governments, Indigenous and First Nations partners, Northern Health and non-profits to assess the needs of those living in encampments and provide rapid access to supports and services they need to exit homelessness.

The HEARTH program will provide emergency housing, shelter options, and immediate co-ordinated supports to assist those in encampments or sheltering in public spaces to access temporary or permanent housing options that fit their needs.

“This meeting is the beginning of this collaborative effort to put the City of Prince George on better footing to address all these very complex problems in a more coordinated way,” said Mayor Simon Yu.

“I feel confident we will put some structure around the problems and to make progress, so that all our citizens will feel better about our cities, including people in the encampment so they have a better place to go.”

City Councillor Kyle Sampson originally called for meetings with provincial ministries back in December.

“I feel like were underway to making headway on these issues our community is facing,” Sampson said.

“I think the opportunity to meet with the Premier and have him direct down to his team is really a best result for us, we’re meeting with the top-dog if you will in the province, having that opportunity I think is a promising thing, but the work needs to continue.”