The Project Connect Health Fair returns to Parksville on Monday, Oct. 7.
This is the 11th year for the annual event which seeks to connect those experiencing or at risk of homelessness with local health and wellness services and resources. Health services will include public health testing, harm reduction supplies, free haircuts and referrals for eye testing. There will also be many local service providers attending to provide information and basic necessities such as clothing and hygiene supplies.
With increasing costs of living, and a continuing affordable housing crisis, more community members are finding themselves in a state of homelessness. The province of British Columbia periodically provides funding for communities around the province to conduct Point in Time (PiT) homeless counts. The last count in the Parksville Qualicum Beach region was conducted in April 2023 and revealed 103 people who identified as experiencing homelessness in our region, up from 87 people in the 2021 PiT count. The PiT count is widely recognized as undercounting the true number – as it only represents the number of people who were found and chose to engage in the count process.
From the Canadian Definition of Homelessness, provided by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness: “Homelessness describes the situation of an individual, family or community without stable, safe, permanent, appropriate housing, or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it. Homelessness describes a range of housing and shelter circumstances, with people being without any shelter at one end, and being insecurely housed at the other.” In PQB, this includes many community members living in vehicles, couch surfing, or living in unsafe housing that does not meet public health and safety standards.
Of the 103 residents identified in the 2023 PiT count, 72 per cent were adults, 25 per cent were seniors and three per cent were youth. Thirty per cent of respondents identified as Indigenous, and of those, 52 per cent reported having lived, or had generational experience, with residential schools. Some of the reasons stated for housing loss were: not enough income (56 per cent) landlord/tenant conflict (31 per cent) conflict with spouse or partner (21 per cent) and substance use issue (21 per cent). Forty-one per cent reported having a brain injury and 82 per cent reported two or more health concerns. For the length of time experiencing homelessness, 94 per cent had been living in the community for more than one year, 78 per cent had been in the community for more than 5 years, and 25 per had always been in the community.
The event is hosted by the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness (OTFH). The OTFH was established in 2010 by the City of Parksville and those dedicated to eradicating local homelessness and the stigmas surrounding it. It currently includes Island Crisis Care Society, Society of Organized Services (SOS), Salvation Army, Forward House Community Society, Island Health, Canadian Mental Health Association, RCMP, Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, Oceanside Community Action Team (OCAT), Risebridge Society, and liaisons from Regional District of Nanaimo, the Town of Qualicum Beach, the City of Parksville, and our local MLA.
The Project Connect Health Fair will take place at the Parksville Community Centre at 223 Mills St., on Monday, Oct. 7 in the leadup to the provincial Homelessness Action Week (Oct. 13 to Oct. 19). If you are a local business or service provider that would like to participate or make a donation, please call 250-248-2093 ext. 248 or email oceansidehomelessness@gmail.com.
