As the cost of living rises and the stock of affordable housing dwindles, SHINE BC spreads rays of hope to thousands of British Columbian seniors who are at risk of homelessness. Since its inception in 2019, the Seniors Housing Information and Navigation Ease (SHINE) program has proven to be an effective and essential solution, assisting over 16,590 seniors in communities across BC, providing them with the support and advocacy needed to secure and maintain safe and stable housing. On Vancouver Island, the program, which is funded by the Ministry of Health and led by the Seniors Services Society of BC (SSSBC), provides vital housing navigation and wraparound services to seniors in two communities: Nanaimo and Sidney.

Nanaimo Family Life Association is one of the founding SHINE members, along with SSSBC in New Westminster and Seniors Outreach & Resource Centre in Kelowna. Nanaimo’s homelessness numbers have been on the rise for the past 25 years and include many low-income seniors.

“We have one of Canada’s highest rates of homeless seniors per capita,” noted the association’s SHINE Program Coordinator AJ Vaidya. “The situation has worsened since the pandemic and there’s been no point of return since then. In our last fiscal year, we had 451 case-load clients and provided information and referral services to a further 400 people. Close to 20 per cent of the clients we work with closely are homeless, about 60 per cent are at risk, while the other 20 per cent need help working on applications.”

“A lot of these people planned and saved for retirement, but the cost of living is extraordinary,” added Director of Programs Cora Leschert. “Rents are increasing, grocery and medication costs are increasing, other costs are increasing, and there’s no way for someone on a fixed income to make up that difference. Another trend we’ve recently noticed is a four-fold increase in the number of people over 70 who are unhoused or facing housing insecurity for the first time.”

Jaz Sahota is a program assistant with Nanaimo’s SHINE program. She meets with clients and helps them with housing applications and accessing other resources to assist with home security.

“When you’re working with clients with limited incomes, finding affordable housing in Nanaimo and the surrounding communities is definitely a challenge,” she said. “Also, there are no non-profit, senior-specific supportive housing options here. There aren’t a lot of rent-geared-to-income or subsidized units for seniors either. When someone has an income of $1,800 a month and rent is $1.400, it can be next to impossible for them to make ends meet.”

Those fixed incomes used to go much further. Nanaimo Family Life Association staff meet many seniors who have lived in the same apartment for many years and spend about $800 a month on rent. Those buildings are being demolished and replaced with condos, forcing the older tenants to find new accommodation where market rents are easily doubled. Vancouver Island, with its warmer climate, has long been thought of as a retirement haven. The influx of older people adds to the pressure of an already overheated rental market. Association staff also note that many homeless people from the Lower Mainland migrate to Nanaimo.

“Every single day we turn people away who we can’t help,” said Cora. “SHINE creates a provincial voice that is needed to advocate for lasting change. We know our population is aging; we need infrastructure to keep up with it.”

Further south, Beacon Community Services’ Senior Housing Navigator Jessica Cochrane sees many of the same issues as her counterparts in Nanaimo.

“It is extremely challenging for seniors living on basic government pensions to find housing in the Saanich Peninsula,” she said. “More seniors are on the brink of homelessness or are experiencing it for the first time. Long-term renters often face imminent homelessness when given short notice to move, often due to no-fault evictions.”

Before Beacon Community Services joined the SHINE partnership in 2023, staff were trying to handle housing requests off the sides of their desks and, as Jessica describes it, seniors were falling through the cracks. With SHINE funding, the organization offers housing navigation services three days a week and Jessica has supported 160 seniors in the community since the program began there.

“Our partnership with SHINE has improved the lives of seniors in our community and housing navigation services have been indispensable to many,” added Jessica. “There are only two subsidized buildings and only two not-for-profit housing societies in our area; their units are all full and have long waiting lists. Otherwise, seniors rely on the private market where rents are high, which makes them nearly impossible to secure.”

While Jessica has noticed rental buildings being demolished, she points to the cost of living as a major factor causing housing insecurity in Sidney.

“Pension incomes have not kept pace with rising rents,” she emphasized. “In 2019 the median income for seniors in BC was $30, 750 and 25 per cent of seniors earned less than $20,000. With local private market rents here averaging around $2,000 a month that doesn’t leave nearly enough for food and other needs.”

The SHINE partnership, she notes, has led to better housing outcomes and improved mental health and wellness for vulnerable seniors. It has also strengthened community morale. She worries, however, that future generations will rely more heavily on rentals, thus increasing the need for more low-income and not-for-profit housing. She believes financial literacy and proactive housing planning will be essential for these younger generations to avoid repeating the housing insecurities faced by today’s seniors.

“We’re so grateful for the help our Vancouver Island partners provide to seniors in their communities,” said SSSBC CEO Alison Silgardo. “Without them, even more seniors would be homeless or living in precarious and sometimes dangerous situations. I am approached regularly by municipalities asking us to bring SHINE to their community, but that requires funding. We need to stand up for our seniors and provide them with safe, secure and affordable places to live.”