Back in early 2025, I spoke out publicly to challenge the misinformation surrounding a proposed supportive housing project in Richmond (Misinformation being spread about Richmond housing project, supporter says | CBC.ca). I believed then—and still do—that facts matter, especially when they shape policy and lives. Despite those efforts, the project was cancelled. Five months have passed since that decision, and the question remains: has anything truly changed?

What’s Happening Now

Richmond has continued with alternative housing initiatives. The Pathways Clubhouse is under construction and will offer 80 affordable units by late 2025. The Steveston RHI Modular Housing project was completed and added 25 permanent homes designed for vulnerable populations, including support services and accessibility features.
In January, the city launched a Housing Priorities Grant Program to offset development costs—up to $40,000 per unit—with the goal of supporting 220 new affordable rental homes.

Affordability in Question

Yes, home prices have dipped slightly—but for many, it’s a meaningless number.
In May 2025:
Richmond’s benchmark price for a single-family home sat around $2.1 million, even after a modest decline.
Condos dropped 5.8% to about $720,400, and townhouses fell 3.9% to roughly $1.12 million.
These are still out of reach for working-class families, seniors, newcomers, and especially those facing homelessness. The vast majority of new builds remain privately owned condos—not purpose-built rentals or non-market housing. In this context, a price dip is not a sign of progress—it’s a distraction from what’s missing.

Homelessness: Still Waiting on Answers

The Metro Vancouver Homeless Count took place in March 2025, but Richmond’s updated numbers haven’t been released. Until then, we’re flying blind. The city’s Homelessness Strategy aims to make homelessness “rare, brief, and non-recurring” by 2029—but without current data, we can’t measure progress. And from what I see in our community, the need remains visible, urgent, and unmet.

From Promise to Proof

I said it then, and I’ll say it again: We do not need more promise, but execution and real change.

We need actions that turn headlines into homes. We need real accountability—not optimism, not rhetoric, but results.

If this is truly about “community housing,” then our community must show up—for the elderly tenant afraid of renoviction, for the teenager couch-surfing with nowhere to go, and for the parent choosing between groceries and rent. That’s who we serve. That’s who we fight for.

The work continues. And I’m not done speaking up—because real change isn’t abstract. It’s made one home, one life, and one act of courage at a time.