Vernon’s attempts to tackle homelessness have caught the attention of a former B.C. premier.

While speaking at the Partners In Action conference Monday, Mike Harcourt praised local housing initiatives, including opening of a shelter, creation of a land trust and the city donating land for housing projects.

“You have identified areas for support,” he said.

“You are getting on with not just wringing your hands and saying, ‘Someone else can take care of it.’”

It’s believed there are about 80 to 100 homeless people in Vernon, and another 100 who don’t have a permanent home.

“We’re trying hard all over B.C. to house our homeless and the couch surfers and to get affordable housing built,” said Harcourt.

Harcourt, who is the honourary chairman of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, believes there are a number of reasons for homelessness, including deinstitutionalizing people with mental health issues.

“Schizophrenics and people who are bipolar need support. It’s cruel to put them out on the street without housing and support services,” he said.

He also blames the federal government’s cancellation of a co-op housing program in 1993 and tighter rules regarding welfare.

But Harcourt says homelessness can be addressed and he says a number of communities across North America have made positive steps.

“Portland, in three years, has found the resources to house 70 per cent of its chronically homeless,” he said.

He also points to Vancouver, where the provincial government, the city and the Vancouver Foundation have formed the Street to Home partnership. Businesses and residents are being urged to donate funds.

Among the plans is to tear down 1st United Church on Hastings Street and replace it with three floors of services and five to seven storeys for the chronically homeless and the working poor.

“I’d like the world when they come for a great Olympics to see that we get it — that we’re trying to transform the homeless,” said Harcourt.

While he is a former NDP premier, Harcourt is not critical of the current Liberal government’s record on the homeless.

“In B.C., we are doing not a bad job. The minister is trying hard with scarce resources. It’s a question of a $2.8 billion deficit,” he said.

Harcourt, though, believes construction of homes for lower and middle-class income levels could stimulate the economy during the recession.

“It’s the right thing to do. It’s where our tax dollars should go,” he said.

“By 2015, if we had the will, we could abolish homelessness in B.C.”

The Partners In Action conference wraps up today and it is organized by Community Futures of the North Okanagan.