BC Tightens Family Residence Program Rules

0:00The BC government is tightening rules on the family residence program, which helps families of sick kids cover hotel stays during medical trips to Vancouver. Run by the charity Variety, it now caps eligibility at household earning $80,000 or less a year, and cuts support from 30 days too. Just 21 days per visit. This comes after they dropped to bigger restrictions last summer, following public backlash. A year ago, they tried limiting it to 15 days for families under $85,000, but reverse that due to outcry over rising costs. Families like Victoria Mom, Bex Hoskins, are feeling the squeeze. Over seven years, she's taken her nine-year-old son, Simon, to Vancouver, 28 times for treatments on his rare metabolic disorder. Without the program, she'd be out over $15,000, forcing early fairies and skipping overnight that cost $500 a night. Critics from rural health groups say these tweaks hit the most vulnerable hardest. Kids from

1:00remote areas needing long specialized care in the lower, mainland. Funding stuck at $1.9 million annually, pushing variety to narrow access while local nonprofits like Yena and the Comox Valley. Brace for more families seeking help, they can't fully provide. Government officials insist is not a real cut, just smarter targeting to stretch dollars further amid hotel price spikes. Even with events like the World Cup looming, but rural voices are calling for more cash to keep families from missing vital care. Vancouver news today, powered by AI bringing you what matters. I'm Corey with The Story.