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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FORSETH: Are the homeless less deserving than a single mom, or any low-income individual? No, or course not.


A story by Levi Landry, just the other day in InfoNews, stated:
A former Kamloops RV dealership on the North Shore is poised to spend the next two years as a homeless shelter ... 

... BC Housing plans to open the 44-bed shelter in late-December. With a total $6.1 million budget, that's $138,636 per bed for 20 months.

Okay, at first glance ensuring the homeless have somewhere safe, and providing for their needs, seems like a good idea.  NOT, however, when you start crunching the numbers!

To start with, the proposal is for 20 months, not 2 years, although there is an option to extend it. Let’s stick with the 20 months though because that is what’s been agreed to.

Averaging the total $6.1 million budget over that 20-month time frame works out to $305,000/month. That’s a monthly cost of $6,931.82 for each of the 44 people who will be housed and cared for.

Compare that to BC's average monthly mortgage payment -- for an entire house -- of $2,913.

Compare that to the rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Kamloops at $2,100 per month.

Let’s think about a single mom, with two children, on her own and trying to raise her children with income below the cost of living -- in fact likely living at (or below) the poverty level and depending on the food bank to make ends meet.

Are the homeless less deserving than a single mom, or any low-income individual? No, or course not.

I will also acknowledge that I am not comparing apples to apples however, no matter how you look at it, the cost of this ‘temporary’ project is way out of whack! 

With questionable spending like this (and it's just one example), it’s no wonder our provincial NDP government has sent British Columbia’s debt through the roof!

Those are my thoughts on this ... care to share yours?

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  1. AnonymousDecember 1, 2024 at 11:41 AM

    It seems like they keep setting up these temporary locations (curling club, old Greyhound station), maybe it's time to have a more permanent spot where they can spread the initial setup costs over a longer period of time.

    ReplyDelete

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