THE District of West Vancouver needs to step up and make elder abuse and homelessness a priority, says an advocate for the elderly.
The issue "hasn't moved forward with West Vancouver," said Leya Eguchi, a social worker with Hollyburn Family Services Society. "They're still only saying, 'OK, this is a need; it would be nice if we could do something.' But that's it. Whereas the City (and District) of North Vancouver have stepped up a bit more with resources."
Eguchi, Amanda Brown of Vancouver Coastal Health and Jane Osborne of North Shore Adults Support Network went to Monday night's West Vancouver council meeting to urge the municipality to make the issue a priority.
Unlike women's or youth shelters, no transition housing exists on the North Shore for seniors who need to escape abusive situations. The need is there, said Eguchi, because just as many elderly men as women experience abuse, and because elderly women are often uncomfortable in women's shelters.
Hollyburn opened a single unit of such housing this month, available to seniors for three months at a time. The suite is funded through a combination of funds from a federal homelessness partnering strategy, B.C. Housing and the United Way.
The society would like to purchase a four-to six-bedroom house that would be open to both men and women, said Eguchi. The house would preferably have a separate area, like a basement suite, for women who are uncomfortable living with men. The facility would be staffed with a support worker 24 hours a day. The co-ed model for seniors is already used in a few other North American cities, said Eguchi.
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Eguchi expressed frustration that West Vancouver has been "less engaged."
"Everyone's interested in the topic, but the city and district (of North Vancouver) are really making an effort to find a place . . . they're actively searching," said Eguchi.
Census figures released this week show that of the three North Shore municipalities, West Vancouver has the highest number of seniors, with more than 25 per cent of West Vancouver residents aged 65 or older.
North Shore seniors are often asset rich but cash poor, said Brown during the presentation to council. "They don't want to leave their home, but they can't afford to keep their home."
They may have hoarding issues, said Brown, or cognitive problems that make them vulnerable. They may have signed their houses over to family members or a "new best friend" who turns out to be unscrupulous.
Brown told of one man who "used to live in a nice home in West Vancouver" until he was embezzled by his accountant. Left with nothing, the elderly man was facing homelessness.
Another woman was left financially strapped after a contentious divorce. Forced to work well into her 60s, she now had nowhere to live.
Coun. Bill Soprovich said he supported the idea of opening a transition house for seniors and was impatient that so far the initiative had been "just talk." But, he said, the federal and provincial governments should help to pay for it.
Outside the meeting, Eguchi and Osborne said municipalities could help by making land and property available. "They own property, they own housing. We're really looking for them to participate in that way," said Osborne. "It doesn't have to be a whole house. . . . It can be a unit or two."
Finding funding for a transition house can be a long process, involving several levels of government as well as charitable foundations. It took Atira Women's Resource Society three years of lobbying the provincial government to secure ongoing operational funding for Ama House in White Rock, a shelter for women aged 55 and over. The groups bought the house with the help of a CNHC capital grant.
