Wall Erected to Address Homeless Issues near Fort St. John Church

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — A wall has been erected in the area of Fort St. John’s Alliance Church due to problems with the homeless in the area. 

Located on 99th Avenue, the church is adjacent to the Salvation Army’s Northern Centre of Hope.

The centre is majority-owned by the government department BC Housing, an organization dedicated to addressing a range of housing situations, with Fort St. John Salvation Army taking a minor stake in the property. 

According to Fort St. John Salvation Army Executive Director Jared Braun, the fence is related to a landscaping project and will address several issues within the area.

This includes the number of encampments for unhoused people.

“We have a contractor,” said Braun.  “There will be permanent fencing on the the properties’ east side.” 

“This is a good time to do the landscape repairs and combine this and the fencing project as well.  All of it is related to the safety and well-being of our building and to be able to ensure that we are taking care of the building.” 

“There have been problems with overdosing and we just want to make sure people are protected.”

The Northern Centre of Hope has temporary housing via its programs, such as a 30-bed emergency shelter and a 12-bed lower barrier “street stabilization” transitional program at the centre.

Occupants can stay for as little as an overnight stay, or up to two years, according to Braun. 

Braun says although there has been an increase in the number of people on the streets, occupancy isn’t necessarily a current issue at the Centre.

“From the daily reports, we usually have beds available,” said Braun. “It’s fairly common for people in the summer months to feel the need to stay at the shelter.”

“There were times through the winter and early spring, where we did have occasions where we maybe had one or two people on a waitlist. But availability at the shelter during summer isn’t necessarily a problem.” 

In 2023, BC Housing released its “Point in Time” homeless counts to illustrate the problem across towns in the province.

Fort St. John had a count of 102 individuals identifying as homeless. This number was up from 76 in 2020.

Councillor Trevor Bolin has been actively advocating for a bylaw that would ban public encampments since last year, but has been receiving resistance from the province and the Human Rights Commissioner.

City council instead elected to establish a Safe Community Situation Table, with $75,000 in funding by the province to help tackle complex social issues, including poverty and drug addiction.

Fort St. John Alliance Church was contacted by Energeticcity.ca for comment. The church didn’t respond by publication time.