2023-25 Homelessness Action Priorities for Langley

Recently, the Langley Housing & Homelessness Table, which includes representation from people in the community, non-profits, businesses, faith-based organizations, and government, completed a plan called “2023-2025 Homelessness Action Priorities for Langley.”

This plan addresses the needs of people in all of Langley, as homelessness doesn’t end at our municipal borders. Langley City or Township cannot act in isolation. We must work in a coordinated fashion.

The top action from this plan include:

• Building a Community Service Hub to provide a central access point for community services and a safe place for individuals to go during the day. A community service hub would also provide toilets, showers, and laundry access.
• Building more supportive housing with on-site services for people who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness and complex care housing for people with overlapping mental health and substance use issues who need a level of support beyond existing housing options in Langley
• Providing better support to help people transitioning out of youth government care, leaving health care and correctional facilities, and aging seniors on fixed incomes, including hiring workers to help people access appropriate community supports and services to prevent people from slipping through the cracks.
• Building a second extreme weather response shelter in Langley.
• Creating second-stage housing for women and children fleeing abusive relationships.
• Strengthening partnerships with organizations developing housing to connect builders with government programs to accelerate the construction of affordable housing.
• Creating public awareness programs to help people understand the experiences people in our community include around the impacts of stigma, challenges newcomers face, colonization and intergenerational trauma, traumatic brain injuries, adverse childhood experiences, and gender-based violence.
• Advocate for increased staff to help support housing and homelessness services in Langley.

The plan includes case studies and other additional actions, and I recommend that you review the action plan.

Like any plan, the key will be in implementation. I know that the new Langley City Council will be reviewing this and other plans as we work to reduce homelessness in our community.

The 2023-2025 Homelessness Action Priorities for Langley was informed by previous work completed, such as:

• Homeless-serving Stakeholder Questionnaire (August-September 2022)
• Environmental Scan, Langley City’s Priority Needs for Vulnerable Populations (2022)
• Peer Survey – Langley Community Action Team Peer Group (2021)
• Our Thriving Community Social Sustainability Strategy — Township (2021)
• Housing Action Plan — Township (2021)
• Housing Needs Report — City (2021)
• Housing Needs Report — Township (2020)
• Homelessness Strategy Plan — City (2016)