The City of Prince Rupert launched its Housing Needs questionnaire last week, as part of its Go Plan Survey.
The questionnaire will assess the housing needs of city residents who don’t have a permanent address. The information collected will help the city plan and make informed decisions related to accommodating and assisting those residents.
“It’s imperative to look after the needs of residents who require homes,” said Joy Thorkelson, Prince Rupert city councillor.
“There is a need to create accurate and reliable information for Prince Rupert to ensure proper planning,” said Zeno Krekic, Prince Rupert city planner.
The Housing Needs questionnaire was launched at a Block Party in front of the Fishermen’s Hall on June 25 in order to host a celebration with free food and access to services and resources for individuals without a set address.
Dozens of people attended the event last week, with a good number of residents starting to fill out the Housing Needs questionnaire.
“In terms of the city being able to take care of its residents effectively, it has to take care of all its residents, including those who don’t have houses or are vulnerable to losing their housing situation,” said city Go Plan and Housing Needs questionnaire organizer Mike Dewar.
“It’s important that we understand their needs so that we can plan for that and help accommodate all our residents and ensure that our residents are protected here and have access to a healthy lifestyle.”
As of last Friday afternoon, approximately 750 to 850 Go Plan surveys had been filled out — within the sample size that the City of Prince Rupert was looking for and more than 1,000 total.
To arrive at a look of how the results could be as accurate as possible within the limited timeframe of the project, the city’s simulations showed that the results can estimate the population’s wishes plus-or-minus five per cent, 19 times out of 20.
“You want about 800 samples to produce that level of position of estimability,” said Big River Analytics economist Johannes Edinger, who is working on the survey and questionnaire.
The city’s newest questionnaire can be filled out until July 2 at the Fishermen’s Hall, Prince Rupert Aboriginal Community Services Society office located at 151-309 Second Avenue West, the Go Plan Survey office at 290 Second Avenue West and other service offices.
The results of both surveys will be released in a final report at the end of July.
-With files from Kevin Campbell