World Homeless Day is an annual day intended to spark conversations about the homeless populations around the world. Unfortunately, our community has suffered a significant rise in the unhoused over the past two years. When the pandemic hit, the ability to work from home made moving to the Comox Valley a desirable plan. Not only were houses cheaper, the population was a gentle number and the activities and views afforded by the valley encouraged many people from the mainland to move over in droves.
Unfortunately, this increase in demand caused an increase in prices. The ability for people who have jobs that averaged a higher salary than those who work in the valley made it easy for the rental and realty markets to explode. The Comox Valley was not prepared for this sharp increase in population. With the rental market becoming more saturated and with a sharp increase in the rental prices, we are losing a lot of people as they are displaced into other communities. Many businesses are hiring now because their workers have had to move away from the Comox Valley in order to have a home.
The median income of households in the Comox Valley for 2015 was $63,397, and the average single family home price was $332,900 in the same year. In 2021, the average benchmark price is $772,800. A significant increase in less than 6 years, which certainly doesn’t match up with the average income and its increases. With more people moving and not enough homes being built to meet this demand, the rate of homelessness among the working class as increased steadily. Many families have been displaced due to landlords moving back home, selling their homes, or being displaced for other reasons. Pair that with a sudden increase in people renting, the average rental listing receives thousands of applicants. The price of renting has increased significantly as well, meaning that although families and renters may be able to afford the rental for the first few months, the overall cost will soon cause evictions due to nonpayment.
The Word Homeless vs Unhoused
With many words in the English language, words begin to have certain words attached with them which can cause an increase in stigma due to these word associations. No doubt when you read homeless, you thought of some unkempt individual. Perhaps, you imagined someone who suffers from drug misuse disorders. Fact of the matter is that not everyone who suffers from homelessness actually suffers with substance misuse disorders. Some of these unhoused individuals are working class people with family, friends, and sometimes even children.
They could be a friend of yours who was evicted due to their landlord coming to live in their home. And perhaps this friend wasn’t able to find a new rental due to the severe demand. This friend might not find themselves living on the streets, but they might not have somewhere to call home.
There are dozens of families with children currently living in tents, RVs, hotel rooms… These are all people suffering from being unhoused. This is a crisis in our community.
