As Vancouver city council prepares to approve micro-loans for renters next week, advocates are gathering Friday in Langley to discuss the program’s success in other municipalities.
Rent banks have already been established in Victoria, Prince George and Surrey and provide small emergency loans to low-income individuals in temporary financial difficulty.
“It’s been totally worth the cost,” said Surrey councillor Judy Villeneuve of the city’s rent-bank program. “The expense of dealing with people who are homeless is far greater.”
The Surrey Rent Bank has issued 88 loans totalling $ 75,000 to help nearly 300 low-income renters stay in their homes during difficult circumstances. At the end of February, approximately $ 15,500 of loans had been repaid.
Judy Peterson, who leads the Surrey Rent Bank, said the forum will feature speakers from other jurisdictions where the program has been supported by other levels of government.
“The province of Ontario has rent banks that have been going for more than 10 years now,” Peterson said.
Villeneuve said she would like to see the B.C. government adopt a provincial program similar to Ontario’s.
The Vancouver program will annually issue $ 49,600 in city funds for three years and be administered through Streetohome, a non-profit housing organization.
Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver
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