In keeping with Lookout’s goal of providing solutions to homelessness, transitional housing provides longer-term (up to 2 years) housing for individuals who have experienced repeated housing crises. This allows Lookout to provide support and assistance over a sustaining period to address the health and social needs of these individuals, and to bring a greater level of stability to their lives.

Research indicates that by providing resident-centered services in a non-judgmental environment, people with challenging problems such as mental illness, addictions, HIV or HEP C can be supported to make healthier decisions and to reduce their need of emergency health or social services.

Our experience demonstrates that people with multi barriers to housing need up to two years to build the skills they need to be successful in transitioning to more independent and permanent housing. (more)

APPLICATION FORMS FOR TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

Requests for Transitional Housing are through an application form.

Please note the criteria for our housing:

Housing is for individuals:
• living in the area that the housing is located – e.g., North Shore for North Shore residents, Downtown Eastside for Downtown Eastside residents or New Westminster for New Westminster housing
• who live on low fixed incomes
• who have few, if any housing options
• currently live in inadequate or substandard housing

The various locations may have other criteria – please see the application forms.

Sakura So Application Form

Cliff Block Application Form

North Shore Residence Application Form

Yukon Residence Application Form

A heritage building, the Sakura So is a roominghouse providing 38 units of housing in single, not self-contained units, (commonly called single resident occupancy or SRO rooms) in the Downtown Eastside. This building is uniquely suitable to the intended purpose: to provide supportive, transitional housing for people leaving emergency shelters.

The need is intense and urgent for this kind of housing. Many of Lookout’s clientele are people who have a significant history of homelessness, particularly absolute homelessness. It will take them time to stabilize their lifestyle and for us to work with them to teach needed lifeskills to break this cycle. (more)

CENTRAL VANCOUVER - YUKON TRANSITIONAL HOUSING

Yukon’s 37 transitional housing units are mandated to support high risk individuals who have few if any housing options.

Lookout recognizes that some men and women have repeated housing crises and need more time than a shelter can provide to truly assist people gain improved health and look towards addressing their issues.

To meet these people’s needs, Lookout has co-located 37 self contained suites of transitional housing above the Yukon Shelter, taking advantage of cost effectiveness of an integrated housing model.

These housing units accommodate individuals who can live independently yet who will benefit from support and assistance in developing basic lifeskills. These long term or secondary housing units were purpose built and opened in April 2002.

Housing is provided through:
• 30 studio units
• 4 one bedrooms
• 3 handicapped suites.

The length of a stay for these supportive apartments is limited as our goal is to support the tenant and ultimately their independence (more)

VANCOUVER – HAZELTON

The Hazelton Residence is a 39-bed housing resource located above the Downtown Shelter. The residents are adults and seniors who have few, if any housing options and a chronic history of homelessness.

Although this housing is transitional, the increased needs and reduced resources have meant significantly longer stays.

Staff are on duty throughout the days and evening, 7 days-a-week and shelter staff provide the emergency back up and support to residents when the Tenant Support Workers are not on duty.

Recognizing that some people need longer to develop stability, we have been able to co-locate longer-term transitional housing. This is to house chronically homeless men and women for approximately two years during which each resident will regain health, work towards goals and rebuild confidence. Through enhancing life skills, each resident will be able to move to more independent housing.

History
With Lookout having to turn way many men and women because the need outstripped the supply of beds, our Society worked towards establishing shelters in areas of demand. (more)

NEW WESTMINSTER – CLIFF BLOCK

The Cliff Block is a four storey heritage rooming house located in the heart of New Westminster, and near appropriate services.

The Cliff Block provides 23 units of minimal barrier, supportive housing in Downtown New Westminster for high risk homeless men and women having few, if any, housing alternatives, who are also unable to meet their own basic needs and not able to access communal living options.

The Cliff holds:
• 7 new units of permanent, second stage supportive housing
• 16 units of supported transitional housing comprising of:
• 10 units of double rooms with lengths of stay, two years
• 6 units of existing single rooms, lengths of stays is expected to be months vs. years reflecting the more transient nature within such units. (more)

NEW WESTMINSTER - THE RUSSELL

BC Housing purchased the venerable 3 storey College Place Hotel in downtown New Westminster and took possession on January 11, 2008. This purchase saves a significant heritage building and retains affordable housing in New Westminster.

Lookout has partnered with BC Housing by managing the housing which is located on the top two floors.

The College Place offers 40 long-stay housing units, a combination of long term and transition housing, with the residents signing tenancy agreements. (more)

See our Russell Place Before and After Pictures