Hygiene centre to close because society cares little for the unhoused

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Editor’s note: The online version of this article has been updated to reflect the centre’s new closing date. 

It was a bright day for Surrey’s unhoused population in and around Whalley on Nov. 24, 2022. 

Operated by the Surrey Urban Mission Society, funded by the federal Pandemic Response Package, administered by Union of British Columbia Municipalities, and operating out of a trailer on 106 Avenue and 135A Street – the Healthy Living Complex of Care serves as a facility for the unhoused to live with a sliver of dignity. 

Outfitted with washrooms, shower stalls, internet and telephone access, and laundry machines, the complex allows those who may not feel comfortable in, or lack access to, homeless shelters — a place for temporary relief from life on the streets. They can go in, wash up, clean their clothes, have a snack, and then be on their way as they please. 

This space serves as a little bit of autonomy for a group of people who go through many hardships such as hostile architecture, disappearing third spaces, and the woeful situations of existing shelters having to turn away vulnerable people of all stripes. 

In 2022, the Surrey Now-Leader reported that Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke said providing those experiencing homelessness and other life challenges with access to washrooms, showers, and laundry services are critical. 

Fast forward to 2024 and the tune has certainly changed. Funding from the Union of B.C. Municipalities has expired and the complex is projected to close its doors by Sept. 2  if a new source for the necessary $75,000 per month is not secured. 

About one-and-a-half years after lauding the complex’s importance to the unhoused community, Locke now says that “this is something that is absolutely the responsibility of the provincial government” and “this kind of project is not something that is [the city’s] responsibility. It isn’t part of our budget for this year,” Global News reported.  

Meanwhile, the B.C. housing ministry has stated that local governments and non-profits should coordinate on such projects. In 2023, about 4,821 Metro Vancouverites reported being homeless. Human lives and dignities are on the line, and the mayor and housing ministry would rather try to pass the $75,000 per month on the other — likely a spillover from Locke’s dispute with the province over the Surrey Police Department issue — but I digress.

Homelessness exists and is perpetuated by fear. It is a fear working people have that they are just one big crisis away — whether it be through getting laid off, reduced hours, or a pay cut — from becoming unhoused themselves. 

The homeless are not real people under capitalism, they are an example to the working masses to keep their heads down, mouths shut, and do nothing but their work and whatever other menial tasks their bosses decide to arbitrarily assign. Those who cannot “play by the rules” of society are left at the wayside, dehumanized, and made into the exemplars of abject “failure.” 

Governments — federal, provincial, and municipal — see it that way, too. If workers get agitated over something, such as a report showing that more than 60 per cent of Metro Vancouver residents’ monthly incomes go straight towards rent, then that means there would be a lot of agitated people on the streets causing a ruckus. So, to maintain peace and order, governments bow to business interests and allow inflation to run rampant at the literal expense of real wages.

Society is fundamentally unconcerned with the plight and hardships of the unhoused, not because individuals are too focussed on themselves to pity the poor — that is just a symptom. The true origin of this cruel inhumanity, of this expressed denial of humanity and dignity, is the current “Mode of Production’s” driven obsession with keeping its machine cogs pliant, quiet, and scared of living in poverty themselves.