Homeless Outreach Program working with Downtown Community Court
Three days a week RainCity Housing homeless outreach worker Jesse Grubb meets with clients who have gone through the Downtown Community Court system and who need housing. He meets with BC Housing’s community court liaison, Willie Tang, to review the current client list - to find out what the people’s stories are, what type of housing they are looking for, and what they are suitable for. The clients who Jesse meets with need support in finding places to live.
The court has an agreement with The Salvation Army Belkin House to take in a number of clients on a temporary basis. Typically, clients can stay for 30 days; however, this can be extended on an as-needed basis provided the client is actively looking for housing. This is where most of the people Jesse works with first stay and where he meets them initially.
"The people who I work with generally need help in finding permanent housing and in filling out application forms," said Jesse. "It’s difficult to find them a place to live - there are no extra resources for court clients and having a record is another obstacle especially if they have a history of violence. They often also have mental health issues."
The majority of Jesse’s clients are homeless, but most have been living in shelters rather than on the street. Finding permanent housing is not a condition of their probation, so Jesse finds that some are not motivated to continue working with him once they realize there is no quick or ideal solution. Jesse fills out Supportive Housing Registration applications for them, but the demand for supportive housing in the Downtown Eastside exceeds the supply and his clients often end up in private SROs while they wait for more suitable accommodation.
"The private SROs are not ideal and the clients are not especially happy if we find them a home in one. But, you take what you can get and hope that it’s a short-term solution."
Part of the Downtown Community Court’s mandate is to establish community connections for its clients. Each client has a case worker to help them, so Jesse’s role focuses mostly on housing as well as integrating the client with other services within their community. "This role is important because it helps people negotiate the processes they otherwise would not be capable of doing. Most of them wouldn’t know where to begin to look for supportive housing or how to fill out the applications."