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HARVEST HUB OPENS
LOCAL GROUPS CELEBRATED
A first for Squamish
Squamish Community Foundation grants night
THURSDAY, JULY 2 , 2026
S Q U A M I S H C H I E F. C O M
BC HOUSING BRINGS HOMELESSNESS PLAN TO COUNCIL WITH SITE STILL UNKNOWN
The two-hour presentation covered staffing, funding and site selection for transitional housing and encampment outreach, as the province searches for a new location after withdrawing its initial proposed site LIZ MCDONALD
emcdonald@lodestarmedia.ca
B
C Housing representatives appeared before Squamish council this week on June 23 to provide an update on the HEART and HEARTH program. The two-hour presentation and question period at the committee of the whole covered details about the program, including staffing, funding models and site selection. It comes after the initial proposed site at X _wún’ek_w Park was recently withdrawn. The presentation was led by BC Housing staff Letizia Romei, acting director of regional development for the Lower Mainland, Cluny MacPherson, director of supportive housing delivery and Gillian Child, coordinated access and assessment manager. According to the town’s most recent point-in-time homelessness count, at least 125 people are unhoused in Squamish. The District of Squamish applied to the HEART and HEARTH program in response to health and safety risks present in encampments, which span from the Squamish Valley to downtown and other areas with smaller footprints of people living outdoors. Alongside safety concerns for the unhoused population, parents and business owners have raised concerns about the presence of unhoused
PHOTO BY LIZ MCDONALD/THE SQUAMISH CHIEF
BC Housing staff present to the District of Squamish council about the province’s HEART and HEARTH program on June 23.
BC HOUSING: Continued on 2
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