The City of Nanaimo has approved a three-year lease for a new temporary housing building in the south end of Nanaimo.
The lease for the yet-to-be Nanaimo Navigation Centre will be run by the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society. The building is located at 1030 Old Victoria Rd. and will feature 24-hour support for 60 units.
Back in January of this year, the Ministry of Housing and the City of Nanaimo signed a HEART & HEARTH memorandum of understanding that outlines the shared responsibilities for creating more housing and shelter opinions to reduce homelessness in the city.
At the council meeting on July 8 council discussed the importance of getting people off the street and into proper housing.
Coun. Paul Manly says there is a large need for more housing in Nanaimo as a point-in-time count from 2023 found 78 per cent of homeless people in the city do not have access to shelter at night.
