First Nations Housing and Infrastructure Council
Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy Engagement Report
May 7, 2025
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This engagement report summarizes the findings from over 250 participants who contributed to the Urban, Rural, and Northern (URN) Indigenous Housing Strategy and Reaching Home initiatives across five regions of British Columbia: Interior, North, Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island North, and South Vancouver Island and Coastal First Nations. Led by the First Nations Housing & Infrastructure Council (FNHIC) and supported by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), these engagements were designed to inform the development of a culturally appropriate and community-driven housing strategy for Indigenous Peoples living off-reserve.
Between February and April 2025, FNHIC's Regional Service Delivery Coordinators and engagement teams facilitated in-person workshops, focus groups, interviews, and surveys to capture lived and professional experiences. More than 30 First Nations and a broad spectrum of Indigenous housing organizations, Elders, youth, and service providers participated.
The findings reflect a shared call for transformational change: Indigenous-led governance, sustained and flexible funding, integrated service delivery, and housing approaches honouring culture, identity, and wellness. Participants emphasized that housing is not just a shelter but a foundation for family, healing, safety, and sovereignty.
This report integrates strategic insights through a holistic, multi-dimensional analysis to produce actionable recommendations that support long-term, systemic change.
Among the key insights:
1.86% of survey respondents prioritized long-term impact in funding decisions, emphasizing the need for durable, community-owned housing solutions.
2.Every region desired flexible, multi-year funding agreements and capacitybuilding initiatives tailored to local governance and service delivery models.
3.Significant service gaps were identified in transitional housing for youth, housing support for Elders, and culturally safe housing rooted in ceremony, language, and peer-based support models.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The Urban, Rural, and Northern (URN) Indigenous Housing Strategy was developed in response to persistent and worsening housing and homelessness challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples living off-reserve in British Columbia. The strategy, rooted in the principles of Indigenous selfdetermination and cultural safety, aims to advance community-led housing solutions that reflect the diverse realities of Indigenous Peoples in urban, rural, and northern regions. This work is supported by a $300 million commitment from Budget 2022, administered by Indigenous Services Canada (ISC), and informed by parallel efforts under the Reaching Home initiative, which Infrastructure Canada oversees. These federal investments underscore the importance of Indigenous-led engagement, policy development, and service delivery.
The purpose of the engagement process was to:
1.Identify urgent and long-term housing priorities from the perspectives of Indigenous communities, organizations, and people with lived experience.
2.Co-develop recommendations for future governance, funding, and program design under URN and Reaching Home.
3.Elevate regional voices to ensure solutions are grounded in local contexts and cultural knowledge.
4.Lay the groundwork for systems change that improves housing outcomes, supports wellness, and restores Indigenous jurisdiction over housing.
Between February and April 2025, FNHIC facilitated workshops, interviews, and focus groups in five regions. The findings from these engagements offer a comprehensive view of systemic barriers and culturally driven opportunities for reform. This report outlines those findings and presents a clear path forward based on what communities have identified as necessary for transformative change.
ENGAGEMENT METHODOLOGY
This section provides an overview of the in-person engagement sessions held across five regions of British Columbia as part of the Urban, Rural, and Northern (URN) Indigenous Housing Strategy and Reaching Home initiatives. Each event was designed to gather region-specific feedback through culturally safe, traumainformed, and participatory approaches. The sessions brought together community leaders, housing staff, service providers, and people with lived experience to inform funding priorities, strategic planning, and long-term housing solutions.
Interior Region (February–March 2025)
This region, led by Ryan Oliverius and Martha Manuel, focused on local housing priorities, lived experience, governance, and funding readiness. Engagements included:
1.In-person workshops and focus groups in Cranbrook, Merritt, Tkemlúps te Secwépemc, and Vernon.
2.Storytelling sessions, strategic development discussions, and funding readiness reviews.
3.43 unique participants from 10 Nations, representation from municipalities and housing organizations.
Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland (February 2025)
This region, led by Christine Loewen and Martha Manuel, held two full-day workshops (Coquitlam and Chilliwack) and three follow-up interviews. Activities included:
1.Breakout discussions on affordable housing, wraparound supports, and governance.
2.Roundtable story-sharing, grant planning, and equity-focused dialogue.
3 34 total participants representing 15 Nations and three municipalities.
North Vancouver Island (April 2025)
Led by Kelly Bird and Ruby Morgan, with engagements in Port Hardy and Campbell River. Key features:
1.Workshops included breakout sessions, Elder interviews, and youth engagement.
2.Strong partnerships with municipalities and service providers.
3.Forty-three participants from ten nations were involved, along with the engagement of twenty-two community organizations.
Northern Region (February–March 2025)
Led by Naiomi McKinnon and Ruby Morgan. Included:
1.Three regional workshops (Terrace, Fort St. John, Prince George).
2.Focus groups with PGNEATA students and participants with lived experience of homelessness.
3.Surveys conducted at the All-Native Basketball Tournament.
4.Ninety-nine individuals were engaged, representing 30+ nations and diverse perspectives.
South Vancouver Island and Coastal First Nations (February–March 2025)
Led by Doug Harris and Ruby Morgan. Activities included:
1.In-person workshops in Nanaimo (Snuneymuxw) and Victoria (Songhees Nation), with interviews in Lake Cowichan and Qualicum.
2 Breakouts on data, governance, funding access, mental health, and youth.
3.32 total participants across 10 Nations and multiple government and service reps.
Standard Engagement Methods Across All Regions:
1.Delivery of pre-engagement packages (consent forms, strategic overviews)
2.Plenary presentations, thematic breakout sessions, and codevelopment exercises
3.Use of visual reporting tools and culturally guided facilitation
4.Story-based data collection, quote tracking, and real-time synthesis
Each region's process reflected its specific geography, population, and relationships. These approaches ensured Indigenous Peoples had a clear, safe, and authentic space to share their insights, visions, and strategies for future housing investments.
WHAT WE HEARD –THEMATIC SUMMARY
This section captures the voices and recurring themes of the five regional engagement sessions. Participants from every region emphasized that Indigenous Peoples living off-reserve continue to face systemic housing barriers rooted in colonial systems, racism, inadequate infrastructure, and chronic underfunding. The testimonies and insights presented here reflect personal lived experience and professional knowledge from service providers and leadership.
1. Affordable Housing Shortages
1.Overcrowding, long waitlists, and a lack of rental housing continue to affect families and Elders across BC.
2 "I started with four people in my home three months ago; now I have 11."
3.Communities cited deteriorating units, lack of repair funding, and unaffordable rents, even for working individuals.
2. Youth Aging Out of Care
1.Youth transitioning out of care reported falling through systemic cracks.
2."Some end up in abusive relationships just to have a place to sleep."
3 There is a lack of safe transitional housing and mentorship programs for Indigenous youth at high risk of homelessness.
4."I've talked to youth who have nowhere to go. They wander the streets at night because they don't feel safe at home."
3. Systemic Discrimination & Policy Gaps
1.Indigenous renters face racism and barriers even with jobs and income.
2."Even if you have a job, even if you can afford rent, they won't rent to you because of who you are. They assume you'll cause problems."
3.Off-reserve members in smaller or coastal Nations are often excluded from funding eligibility.
4 Participants expressed frustration with complex, colonial funding systems: "We spend so much time trying to navigate the system instead of actually building homes."
4. Fragmented Service Delivery
1 Communities noted a lack of coordination between housing, health, justice, and employment services.
2."How can I support someone finding a home when I'm facing eviction myself?" – Housing worker in Prince Rupert.
3.Limited access to wraparound services leaves vulnerable people unsupported.
5. Governance and Funding Challenges
1.Small Nations and off-reserve organizations lack resources to write grants or maintain housing programs.
2."We don't need another colonial system telling us how to build homes for our people."
3."We're just always dependent on somebody, and I hate that feeling. They throw us a bone—$100 million for 205 First Nations in BC—and we have to fight over it. Some won't even get a piece of that meat off the bone."
4 Participants called for core funding and Indigenous-led housing authorities.
6. Cultural Connection and Safety
1 There is a strong desire for housing models integrating ceremony, language, elders, and communitybased governance.
2."We're not just surviving—we're ready to heal, if we're met with respect and humanity."
3.Land-based healing, traditional food gardens, and communal gathering spaces were cited as priorities.
4.Survivors of the 60s Scoop and Elders expressed a need to reconnect with land and culture through housing.
These voices, themes, and perspectives underpin the recommendations in this report and signal an apparent demand for Indigenous-led, flexible, and longterm housing solutions that address the root causes of displacement, homelessness, and housing inequity.
REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Appendix D provides a side-by-side matrix of regional housing challenges and priorities, summarizing the engagement outcomes across all five regions.
Interior
1.Urgent demand for supportive and family housing.
2.Calls for Indigenous governance and predictable funding.
3.Discrimination against Indigenous renters and barriers in BC Housing access.
4.Significant interest in mixed-use housing tied to mental health and cultural spaces.
5.Communities emphasized the need for streamlined application and reporting processes.
North
Over 30 Nations engaged; strong focus on lived experience. Displacement, systemic racism, and the high cost of remote construction were noted.
Emphasis on wraparound mental health services and cultural reconnection.
Strong feedback on the need for localized transitional housing and peer support.
Youth, Elders, and LGBTQ2S+ voices highlighted challenges in navigating housing systems.
Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland
1 Focus on affordability, land constraints, and urban homelessness.
2.Governance gaps, systemic racism, and land access challenges.
3 Strong support for Indigenous leadership in housing solutions.
4.Need for a centralized Indigenous governance body for regional oversight.
5 Increased calls for culturally safe, low-barrier shelters and supportive housing.
South Vancouver Island
1 Need for infrastructure, mental health services, and off-reserve housing.
2.High engagement from Chiefs and Elders.
3 Emphasis on culturally safe solutions and local pilot projects.
4.Highlighted the disconnect between off-reserve members and governance structures.
5 Advocated for navigators and data collection systems tailored to smaller Nations.
North Vancouver Island
1 Smaller communities lack capacity and are often excluded.
2.Youth aging out of care and Elders at risk of homelessness.
3.Emphasis on partnerships, transitional housing, and training.
4.Community leaders stressed the need for culturally based service models.
5.Participants requested greater municipal collaboration and access to emergency support.
6.Youth aging out of care and Elders at risk of homelessness.
7.Emphasis on partnerships, transitional housing, and training.
KEY CHALLENGES
The following challenges were consistently identified across all five regions and validated against regional reports. These intersecting barriers highlight structural issues that require long-term, community-driven solutions.
1. Funding Inflexibility: Short-term, competitive, and project-based funding models restrict long-term planning and often exclude smaller communities with lower capacity.
2. Capacity Gaps: Chronic underfunding has left many Nations without proposal writers, housing coordinators, or technical staff. Frontline housing managers often juggle multiple roles, and training opportunities are rare.
3. Infrastructure Deficits: Poor access to clean water, sewer systems, power, and fire suppression services prevents construction in many rural and northern communities. Urban Indigenous organizations also lack access to land.
4. Service Fragmentation: Housing, mental health, employment, and justice services often operate in silos. A lack of coordination leads to duplication, inefficiency, and missed opportunities for wraparound support.
5. Systemic Racism and Discrimination: Racism in the rental market persists even for employed Indigenous individuals. Many are denied housing based on cultural bias or assumptions.
6. Youth and Elder Vulnerability: Youth aging out of care and Elders living off-reserve are especially vulnerable to housing insecurity. There are very few targeted supports for these groups in smaller communities.
7. Lack of Cultural Safety: Mainstream services often fail to reflect Indigenous values, leading to feelings of isolation, retraumatization, or abandonment among Indigenous tenants.
8. Navigation Barriers: Housing programs from CMHC, BC Housing, and municipalities are difficult to navigate. Indigenous housing navigators and legal advocates are needed.
9. Limited Legal and Financial Support: Indigenous renters or homeowners have minimal access to legal aid for tenancy issues and few financial literacy tools tailored to them.
10. Unrealistic Eligibility
Requirements: Strict income caps and ID requirements disqualify many who still face serious housing insecurity.
11. Inconsistent Homelessness
Tracking: Most communities lack systems to track Indigenous homelessness, making it hard to demonstrate the need or advocate for funding.
Housing Infrastructure
Invest in diverse builds: transitional, supportive, modular, tiny homes, and multi-generational housing. Expand co-housing, cooperative ownership, and land-based housing models.
Prioritize land acquisition and servicing to unlock new development in urban and rural areas. Support infrastructure development: water, sewer, fire suppression, and green/energy-efficient housing.
3. Wraparound & Holistic Supports
The following recommendations are rooted in the collective voices of engagement participants and align with priorities expressed across all five regions. These actions support longterm, Indigenous-led housing solutions grounded in culture, community, and self-determination.
1. Governance & Policy
1.Establish Indigenous-led governance bodies at regional and provincial levels.
2 Fund Elders' Councils and advisory groups of individuals with lived experience.
3.Develop Indigenous-specific housing policies that define leadership, tenant responsibilities, and cultural rights.
1.Fund housing projects linked to health care, employment, mental health, addiction, and cultural services.
2.To improve housing stability, provide tenant support roles (social workers, tenant relations staff).
3.Prioritize trauma-informed care and mobile outreach, especially for Elders and youth.
4.Address food insecurity, grief support, and culturally rooted wellness alongside housing.
4. Youth and Elder Housing
1.Develop housing and mentorship programs for youth aging out of care.
2.Provide independent and assisted living units tailored to Elders and persons with disabilities.
3.Pilot transitional family housing to prevent child apprehension and preserve family unity. RECOMMENDATIONS
4.Break colonial funding models by introducing flexible, multi-year agreements.
5 Recognize and fund urban Indigenous organizations as central service hubs.
5. Capacity Building & Workforce Development
1.Train and hire more Indigenous housing managers, maintenance staff, and skilled tradespeople.
2.Partner with FNHIC, BCFNHMA, BCIT, and local colleges to deliver region-specific training.
3 Nations require contractors working in their communities to deliver on-site training and mentorship.
4.Establish regional housing support hubs for proposal writing, compliance, and governance.
6. Financial Access & Housing Affordability
1.Provide rent subsidies, home repair grants, and culturally relevant homeownership support.
2.Promote financial literacy and partnerships with banks and credit unions for Indigenous clients.
3.Expand emergency rental assistance and eviction prevention funding.
7. Cultural Safety & Community Design
1.Design homes and community spaces that reflect Indigenous governance, traditions, and aesthetics.
2.Include gathering spaces, smudge rooms, gardens, Elder areas, and youth programs in builds.
3.Secure dedicated funding for cultural programming within housing environments.
8. Data, Innovation & Transparency
1.Improve culturally appropriate data collection and link health, housing, and education data.
2 Build Indigenous-led systems to track homelessness and housing outcomes.
3.Encourage innovation: community lockers, mobile units, and shared cultural infrastructure.
9. Collaboration & Systems Integration
1.Strengthen partnerships between Nations, municipalities, Indigenous organizations, and provincial/federal departments.
2.Coordinate housing, justice, child welfare, and mental health systems under Indigenous leadership.
3 Support regional planning tables and joint project implementation teams.
CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPS
This engagement process revealed both urgent crises and powerful solutions. Indigenous Peoples across British Columbia offered not only a detailed account of systemic barriers but also grounded, community-driven visions for the future of housing. Participants emphasized that housing is more than shelter — it is wellness infrastructure, a foundation for cultural revitalization, and a pathway to Indigenous selfdetermination.
Every region expressed readiness to lead. What is now needed is sustained investment, removing colonial barriers, and implementing a co-developed strategy rooted in Indigenous governance and priorities. The knowledge, leadership, and solutions exist—now, they must be matched by political will and institutional action.
Next Steps
1. Finalize this report and circulate it among Indigenous leadership, service organizations, and federal/provincial partners (e.g., ISC, CMHC, BC Housing).
2. Use this report to inform the codevelopment of a long-term Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.
3. Launch pilot programs that reflect regional priorities and governance models with flexible and direct funding mechanisms.
4. Establish an Indigenous-led working group to support the creation of implementation frameworks, outcome-tracking tools, and community engagement protocols.
5. Host ongoing regional roundtables to maintain community voice and ensure alignment across all levels of government.
6. Develop and share a public progress tracker to ensure transparency and accountability.
Appendices
1. Appendix A: Tools Used – Agendas, facilitation guides, surveys
2. Appendix B: Raw Notes – Transcripts, quote banks, session notes
a) Quote Bank (Selected Participant Quotes from Engagements):
b) "I started with four people in my home three months ago; now I have 11."
c) "Even if you have a job, even if you can afford rent, they won't rent to you because of who you are. They assume you'll cause problems."
d) "Some end up in abusive relationships just to have a place to sleep."
e) "I've talked to youth who have nowhere to go. They wander the streets at night because they don't feel safe at home."
f) "Housing is not just shelter—it's a foundation for healing and identity."
g) "We're not just surviving—we're ready to heal, if we're met with respect and humanity."
h) "We don't need another colonial system telling us how to build homes for our people. We need the resources and the power to make decisions that work for us."
i) "We're just always dependent on somebody, and I hate that feeling. They throw us a bone—$100 million for 205 First Nations in BC—and we have to fight over it. Some won't even get a piece of that meat off the bone."
j) "Breaking down colonial forms of funding is key to progress."
k) "Relationships are vital to creating and sustaining meaningful partnerships."
l) "Homelessness has multiple barriers and cannot be solved with one directive."
m) "Desire to incorporate cultural traditions, storytelling, and extended family roles into community care models."
3. Appendix C: Summary Tables – Attendance, regional findings matrix, including a side-by-side Regional Housing Comparison Matrix summarizing key challenges, opportunities, and themes across Interior, North, Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland, South Vancouver Island, and North Vancouver Island
4. Appendix D: Survey Templates & Feedback Forms
Affordable Housing Needs
Supportive/ Transitional Housing Needs
Barriers to Housing Access
Systemic Discriminatio n & Racism
Chronic overcrowding , poor infrastructur
e
Need for traumainformed and culturally grounded supports
Racism, high costs, lack of ID, low income
Systemic racism and profiling common
Culturally Safe Housing
Youth Aging Out of Care
Emphasis on land-based, cultural healing housing
High risk, need for mentorship and connection
Workforce & Capacity Issues
Severe shortages for families, Elders, youth
Strong need for wraparound and healingfocused models
Rental cost, stigma, lack of trades
Landlords discriminate, policy misalignment
Land-based healing and cooperative housing favored
Urgent support for aging out youth
Unaffordable market, deteriorating housing
Mental health, addiction, employment supports
Financial insecurity, high rent, poor credit
Discriminatio n in rental market
Models must reflect Indigenous family structures
High vulnerability, lack of support
Severe shortages, especially urban
Lack of services for transitional housing
Overwhelme d managers, proposal complexity
Lack of affordable on-reserve housing
Support through complex care housing needed
Navigation and access barriers persist
Racism limits housing access Discriminatio n and racism common
Need for long-term, culturally safe governance Culturally grounded models essential
Youth services missing in small communities
High homelessnes s risk among youth
Shortage of trades, housing managers, and funding
Funding Access Challenges
Bureaucracy and lack of autonomy
Shortage of Indigenous trades and workers
Rigid government funding criteria
Housing staff underresourced
Underused land, misaligned funding
Lack of trained staff, training needed Capacity issues in small communities
Smaller nations lack proposal support
Hard to access funding for smaller bands
Governance & Indigenous Leadership
Call for Nation-toNation governance
Strategic Partnerships & Collaboration Housing hubs, spirit tables suggested
Mental Health & Addictions Support Need integration with housing
Wraparound Services
Traumainformed care, cultural safety
Policy & Systemic Change
Infrastructur e Needs
Data & Evaluation Needs
Indigenousled models critical Center Indigenous governance
Partnerships with municipalitie s supported
Tied to housing need
Embedded into housing services
Simplify funding, equity in funding allocation Policy reform, longterm agreements
Tiny homes, modular housing needed
Need for data linking housing, health, education
Slow builds due to labor shortages
Lack of capacity hinders reporting
Inter-agency coordination needed
Indigenousled policy reform needed Focus on selfgovernance and equity
Data sharing, service alignment key
Wraparound includes mental health Services lacking in rural areas
Wraparound, coordinated housing hub
Limited wraparound services
Eligibility reform needed
Reform of ISC and CMHC needed
Strategic partnerships essential
Centralized mental health services required
Wraparound for addiction and healing
Strategic planning for long-term funding
Water/sewer infrastructur e gaps
Need for centralized and updated data
Capital build prioritized
Need for data infrastructur e and tracking
Land scarcity, need for affordable units
Improve data for equitable planning
Workshop Feedback Form Urban, Rural, and Northern & Reaching Home: Engagement
Section 1: General Information
1. Please indicate your role (e.g., community leader, housing coordinator, elder, etc.):
2. Have you participated in FNHIC engagements before?
☐ Yes
☐ No
Section 2: Workshop Content
3. How would you rate the following aspects of the workshop? (1 = Poor, 5 = Excellent)
Comments:
Clarity of the workshop objectives
Relevance of the content
Usefulness of the materials provided
Engagement and interactivity
Cultural relevance of the discussion
Section 3: Facilitation
4. How effective was the facilitation in supporting discussion and engagement?
☐ Very Ineffective
☐ Ineffective
☐ Neutral
☐ Effective
☐ Very Effective
5. Did the facilitators ensure that all voices were heard and respected?
☐ Strongly Disagree
☐ Disagree
☐ Neutral
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly Agree
Section 4: Outcomes
6. To what extent did the workshop achieve its objectives?
☐ Not at all
☐ Slightly
☐ Moderately
☐ Very
☐ Completely
7. What key insights or takeaways did you gain from the workshop?
Section 5: Suggestions and Additional Comments
8 What could be improved in future workshops?
9 Additional comments or suggestions:
Section 6: Follow-Up (Optional)
10. Would you like to be involved in future engagements or receive updates about the project?
☐ Yes (Please provide your contact information below)
☐ No
Name (optional):
Email/Phone:
Thank you for your feedback! Your insights are invaluable to improving our engagement efforts
THANK YOU
We extend our deepest gratitude to all the participants who generously shared their time, knowledge, and lived experiences throughout the Urban, Rural, and Northern (URN) Indigenous Housing Strategy and Reaching Home engagement process. Your insights, stories, and recommendations have been invaluable in shaping a path forward that reflects the unique housing needs, priorities, and aspirations of Indigenous communities across British Columbia.
We would especially like to thank:
First Nations leadership and Council members
Indigenous Housing Societies and Housing Managers
Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and community members with lived experience
Youth representatives
Municipal partners and other key stakeholders
Your feedback has shaped this work, and we are dedicated to honouring and amplifying your voices as we enter the implementation phase.
Huytseep qa
Kwas hoy
kinanâskomitin Ham i yaa Klecko
Kukwstsétsemc
Sechanalyagh Mahsi
Háw’aa
HÍSWKE
Kukwstumckacw SNACHAILYA