Homeless and millennials fall through cracks of new housing plans, say advocates

New housing strategies were released by the federal government and the City of Vancouver lastweek, but some advocates say the plans don't do enough to address long-term homelessness.

• Vancouver unveils new housing strategy for the next decade

• Liberals detail $40B for 10-year national housing strategy, introduce Canada Housing Benefit

"There is a lot of really important progress signified in both the city's plan and the federal plan," said JulianSomers, an associate professor in the faculty of health sciences at Simon Fraser University.

"But the broad strokes, as they exist right now, don't speak to the needs of the chronically homeless."

Vancouver's plan calls for 72,000 new units of housing in the next decade, two-thirds of which would be rental.

The federal government has pledged $40 billion to build 100,000 new units, repair 300,000 and cut homelessness by 50 per cent over the next 10 years

Addressing homelessness goes beyondpledging money and building infrastructure, Somers said.

He wants to see more support to get people off the streetsnow, not in 10year's time, and address some of the underlying issues of homelessness, he told CBC host of The Early Edition Rick Cluff.

"We know exactly how to remove people from the streets and engage them in supportive housing today," he said.

"Those additional supports the mental health supports, the addiction supports, the landlord relations supports are nowhere mentioned in the federal plan in particular."

Young professionals

Raza Mirza, a Vancouver-based software engineer living in Vancouver and a member of Housing Action for Local Taxpayers, is worried that the changes will come too late to help people like him young professionals who are being pushed out of the citybecause it's so expensive.

"We are still asking the most vulnerable in the community to wait for up to another decade before any help will come in," said Mizra, 32.

"There is nothing for millennials, the middle-class people who are struggling in cities like Vancouver."

Mirzasaid it's a challenge to findsuitable housingfor hisyoung family. In the past, he said, he has left Vancouver because of the lack of options, but decided to return to advocate for change.

Helives in a two-bedroom condo with his retired parents, wife and young child. They are expecting a second baby soon.

"This time, I'm willing to give it a chance fight for it, talk to the city and engage with politicians, put that pressure," he said. "This is not normal."

With files from The Early Edition.