Reports of temporary shelters double in three years as committee seeks permanent solution

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The city’s homelessness committee is seeking a solution to an increasing number of reports of temporary shelters within the City of Fort St. John. 

During the November 10th regular meeting of the City of Fort St. John council, councillors Trevor Bolin, Gord Klassen and Sarah MacDougall presented an update to council on the Committee on Housing and Emergency Shelter (CRCHES).

The committee was founded in August 2024, and seeks to find a solution to homelessness in the region. CRCHES meets regularly, and submits reports to council on investigations, plans and findings. 

In the November 10th presentation, the trio explained it had made “meaningful gains” towards its mandated objective.

The committee has been monitoring unhoused temporary shelter bylaw reports made to the city, and has recorded a significant increase in the past three years. In 2023, 32 reports of temporary shelters within the city were made, in 2024 this rose to 53 and so far in 2025 there have been 64. 

Klassen explained the committee has been able to address “some of the core issues” experienced by the city. 

“There’s been a real change…in just how we view [the temporarily unhoused] in our community, that they are part of our community, and that we can do more than just move them around, but we can actually help them move forward,” Klassen said. 

While it continues to explore options for a solution tailored to Fort St. John, the committee is also exploring options to provide support for the community through existing entities, such as the Salvation Army. 

MacDougall explained the committee met with the Fort St. John Salvation Army to reallocate beds that were previously going unused, to ensure it was “serving the population” in need. 

She explained the only way to find a solution that was not “creating more issues” for the community would be to find something that is “not just a cookie cutter from the Lower Mainland.” 

To read the complete report from CRCHES to the City of Fort St. John council, see below.