New shelter faced with language needs

Published: January 05, 2010 5:13 a.m.

Last modified: January 05, 2010 2:14 a.m.

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A third of residents at a newly opened emergency homeless shelter in Mount Pleasant are Francophone, prompting signs and regulations to be posted in both languages.

Tanniar Leba, executive director of La Boussole, a nearby Francophone community centre, said his organization offers French-speaking homeless people employment and social services, including referrals to shelters.

“We’re very happy about it,” Leba said. “But it’s a short-term initiative and addresses the issue in a short-term way.”

On opening day, the shelter was 60 per cent Francophone, he said.

The shelter, the first of four the city plans to open within the next couple weeks, was filled to its 40-person capacity by its second night after opening its doors on Dec. 22.

Sean Spear, director of support services for RainCity Housing, the non-profit organization that runs the shelter, said the organization has hired a couple of bilingual employees.

The 2008 homeless count found that Francophones accounted for about eight per cent of the more than 2,600 homeless in the Lower Mainland. By comparison, the French-speaking population in the region is only 1.2 per cent.

Most of those homeless come from Eastern Canada, Leba said, moving West for a variety of opportunities, including tree planting and fruit picking.

Leba said the economic reality in B.C. is tough for Francophones — many are on welfare, rents are high, jobs are scarce and language is a barrier.

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