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The Vancouver Community Housing Initiative is a non-profit, community driven, grass roots organization operating in Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. We're dedicated to tackling the challenges of poverty, homelessness and the housing crisis by leveraging innovative, holistic and data driven solutions to guarantee permanent affordable high quality housing for everyone.
SUCCESS STORIES
Check out some of our recent initiatives and how they've helped our community. [Scrolling Content]
RESEARCH AND POLICIES
Take a look at the latest work done by our experts in housing policy and data. [Scrolling Content]
GET INVOLVED
Here are some of our current initiatives and how you can help! [Scrolling Content]
DONATE
Make a one time or recurring tax-deductible donation. [Link to Donation Page]
ABOUT VCHI
Since our founding, we've assisted in the creation of over one hundred new affordable housing units, helped over 1,000 applicants find suitable housing, and saved an estimated 1,200 tenants from unjust evictions.
OUR MISSION
The Vancouver Community Housing Initiative was founded in 2006 in response to the rising cost of housing and homelessness in our community. We are committed to facing the challenges of our housing crisis head on with holistic, evidence based and effective solutions to guarantee high quality and affordable housing for all. We leverage the latest in social science and evidence based policy in conjunction with relationships with experts, governments, local business, and community organizations to effect lasting change.
DATA DRIVEN
Our team of policy experts collaborates with housing, social and urban development experts from across the world to analyze the latest trends in housing. In collaboration with our partners we look at policies and approaches -- both successes and failures -- from Detroit to London, Vienna to Singapore, to identify the most effective private and public approaches to tackling housing affordability.
HOLISTIC
The housing crisis is not only a problem for the homeless or the impoverished. Evictions, gentrification, and rising costs have a corrosive effect on the entire community. Rising crime rates, rising healthcare costs, and increased demands on traffic and transit, as workers must commute greater and greater distances. In tackling the housing crisis we look at the entire community and work directly with tenants, non-profits, city governments and grassroots organizations to develop policies that work for everyone.
EFFECTIVE
We seek to not only treat the symptoms, but the root causes of homelessness and our housing crisis. With our policy papers we have and continue to influence lawmakers to enact progressive housing policy, and give them a roadmap on how to do so effectively. We've also worked with credit unions and governments to provide grants and low interest loans to non-profit housing projects and co-operatives, and worked with the city to identify optimal sites for new social housing. We also are active in tenants rights movements, supporting, organizing and lobbying on behalf of anti-gentrification movements, community grass roots organizations and tenants unions.
Since our founding in 2006 we've successfully lobbied municipal and provincial governments for stronger tenant protections, assisted in the creation of over 200 new affordable private and public housing units, helped more than 800 tenants fight unjust renovictions, and supported the creation of a dozen tenants unions in the Lower Mainland. And we're just getting started! If you support us and our mission, please click [here ] to see how you can get involved and [here ] to support us with a one time or recurring tax-deductible donation.
VOLUNTEER
Join the fight for affordable housing! We need your help to confront the housing crisis and end homelessness! VCHI is always looking for volunteers to help with our campaigns, ranging from donation calls, door knocking, to housing assistance applications and tenants rights education campaigns and more. Fill out the form [here ] with your experience, credentials and availability and we'll get back to you within the week.
INTERNSHIPS
VCHI maintains relationships with UBC, SFU and Douglas College for credited internships for related programs. Click [here ] for details.
CAREERS
VCHI retains a small but dedicated staff of permanent full time employees, including administrators, coordinators, and housing and social policy experts. Please click [here] to review our current career opportunities and join us in the fight against housing injustice!
Support the fight to end homelessness! VCHI offers one time and recurring tax-deductible donations through all major payment systems, including Interac eTransfer and Paypal.
[Make a Donation Today! ]