Press Releases

Chilliwack, BC: Chilliwack City Council is calling on the Government of BC to take an equitable approach to shelter bed locations. In a recent memo from staff, Council learned that Chilliwack currently has the highest number of shelter beds per capita out of all cities in the Lower Mainland. Using the last census population numbers and shelter bed numbers from BC Housing’s website, staff calculated that Chilliwack has 2.69 shelter beds per 1,000 population. In comparison, most other Lower Mainland communities (with the exception of Vancouver) numbers range from 0 – 1.61 beds per 1,000 population (source: Metro Vancouver’s Housing Data Book, 2023, page 154). 

Based on these numbers, Chilliwack City Council would like to see BC Housing develop shelter beds in an equitable manner between all communities and are concerned that people are migrating to places like Vancouver and Chilliwack because there are a greater number of beds. 

“We have already learned of several instances where hospitals in the Fraser Health and Coastal Health regions have discharged individuals with complex care needs and sent them via taxi to shelters in Chilliwack, despite being told there are no beds available,” said Mayor Popove. “Chilliwack shelters are full, and we are focused on taking care of the vulnerable members of our community. We can’t continue to serve as a destination for people needing shelter space, especially when we know people have the best support in their home communities.” 

Chilliwack City Council will be reaching out to the Government of BC, BC Housing, Fraser Health, and the Ministry of Health to advocate for an equal distribution of shelter spaces throughout the province in order for people to have the opportunity to stay in their home communities. Additionally, Council will continue to advocate for expanded access to detox beds, sobering beds, and stabilizing beds in communities across BC.

“We are a small community that has done the best we can to support service providers and the needs of those within our community. The service providers have done an incredible job in Chilliwack and should be proud of everything they have accomplished, but we acknowledge that we have reached full capacity as a community. We need the province to step up and take care of housing and health care equitably to ensure shelters and services aren’t concentrated in just one or two communities,” said Mayor Popove.

A list of current shelter spaces available in Chilliwack can be found online at chilliwack.com/shelters.