93-year-old man living in Surrey shelter for 18 months – BC [Video]

Ninety-three-year-old Clifford Labree has been living at the Surrey Urban Mission’s shelter for a year and a half.

He has no other options and fears being out on the street.

“Where am I going to go there’s nothing,” Labree told Global News. “Here I get help. Here I get an ambulance if I need it.”

Supportive housing would be more appropriate for the senior, but there aren’t any affordable openings available.

“We are trying to get him into a higher level of care which is clearly what he needs,” Surrey Urban Mission spokesperson Janet Brown said.

“But in the meantime, he stays with us at the shelter because we’re not going to put him out, we’re not going to make him become homeless.”

Sadly, Clifford’s story is not unique.

British Columbia’s Seniors’ Advocate Dan Levitt said that in 2023 nearly 14,000 seniors applied for subsidized housing spaces, an increase of 59 per cent compared to five …