Weapons and violence inside supportive housing buildings a concern for providers [Video]

A group of non-profit housing providers is raising the alarm about violence and weapons inside supportive housing buildings — and they say removing those buildings from the Residential Tenancy Act would help keep staff and residents safe. 

However, B.C.’s housing minister says that’s not going to happen. And one tenants’ rights group says more staff, not fewer rights for vulnerable residents, is the answer. 

The housing providers went public with their concerns Thursday, saying the breaking point was a suspected homicide at one supportive housing building in Victoria last month. 

“Situations like this make communities fear and oppose supportive housing, and it does not have to be this way,” said Carolina Ibarra, CEO of Victoria-based Pacifica Housing.

The non-profit housing agency was overseeing the Waterview supportive housing building where a 34-year-old man was found dead after a fire — a death being investigated by Victoria police as a suspected homicide. 

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