Without government policy in place for short-term relief housing, Merritt shifting focus

“The City of Merritt does not have the reserves to front load these projects. We really need a partnership with the Provincial and Federal Government to move forward,” said Merritt CAO Sean Smith.

It’s been 94 days since the City of Merritt was forced to evacuate as the Coldwater River breached it’s banks. While most have been able to return home, it’s estimated that close to 900 Merritt residents have not been able to return.

The City had proposed bringing in temporary camp-style housing to allow the displaced residents to return to town while working on their damaged homes, but emergency funding for that venture was never approved.

“The projects that we put forward didn’t have the support to proceed. So the idea is the interim support would continue through hotels and we would look to longer-term solutions. We do have some irons in the fire,” said Smith.

During a information session last week, Emergency Management BC said there simply isn’t policy in place from government for temporary housing for evacuees from catastrophic events.

“The reason that government has not been able to provide ATCO trailers or something like that to communities that have been impacted is because we don’t have policy for that,” said Ray Crampton, Executive Lead for Community Recovery, Emergency Management BC.

“The Province does not have a support system for providing housing short to medium to long-term for evacuees from catastrophic events such as this,” added Crampton.

“Funding timelines, I don’t think have met the needs of Merrittonians or others that have been impacted by emergencies. We are very impressed with a lot of the people we’ve worked with on this. I just think it’s a scenario where a lack of systems or provincial policy has gotten in the way. I will unequivocally say its frustrating, it’s really frustrating to see people hurting because we cant find the proper way to mobilize money,” stated Smith. “The desire is there to support. I recognize there is a lot of intelligent people looking for solutions, but it hasn’t materialized yet.”

Without support or policy, the City is pivoting to more permanent housing options, extending the potential time frame for those still out of town.

“What ever solution gets put forward, it wasn’t needed today, it was needed a while ago. We are still engaging in regular advocacy, there is people suffering right now. There are people who can’t return to jobs, who’s kids can’t return to school, maybe they need to take care of an elderly parent and they’re not even back in our community in hotels, let alone out of hotels all together,” said Smith.

The word permanent may scare some residents still out of their homes but Smith spoke to multiple permanent housing options that could be built quickly.

“Ranging from tiny home opportunities, to immediate infill using mobile homes, to 3-D printing houses. There are other options that would lead to a quicker lead time, that are very much being explored,” added Smith. “We are eager to see some of these advance pending funding opportunities.”

The funding remains the biggest question for City Officials as they complete the leg work for potential recovery projects.

“We have a number of projects with locations identified, the leg work for most of these projects has already been done. We need funding confirmation and it will be all systems go at that point, said Smith.