The Victoria Conservatory of Music is sounding the alarm over a housing complex due to open around the corner from its building next week.
Jane Butler McGregor, the conservatory’s CEO, congratulated B.C. Housing and the Portland Hotel Society on their work providing safe housing for homeless people, but said the 4,500 students who attend the conservatory and its staff also deserve safety.
“Homeless people with drug addictions and mental illness have rights, and so do we,” Butler McGregor told about 150 people gathered at community meeting about the project on Tuesday.
The former Central Care Home, at 844 Johnson St., was purchased by B.C. Housing to house people camping in the tent city on the Victoria courthouse lawn. The first residents in the 140-unit facility are scheduled to move in next week.
Kathy Springer said the conservatory’s board is concerned about the “amassing” of services for homeless people in close proximity to the conservatory. The music school is adjacent to Our Place, which provides services such as meals and a place to shower to poor and homeless people in the region.
“The neighbourhood is already under a tremendous amount of stress,” Springer said.
The conservatory spends close to $50,000 a year on security, Butler McGregor said, totalling several hundred thousand dollars over the last six or seven years.
Shelia Orr said that 1,800 students who attend music therapy classes at the conservatory have challenges that do not allow them to filter untoward behaviour around them. “My grandson is autistic,” she said. “If he sees someone shooting up, he’s likely to go over and ask if he can help.”
Dominic Flanagan, executive director of supportive housing for B.C. Housing, said activity on the sidewalks outside the Johnson Street site will be monitored.
“It’s not a drop-in — people will not be milling around outside.” Flanagan said, acknowledging the anxiety in the room. He said there will be security as the project starts up, and the situation will then be reviewed.
Dr. Christy Sutherland, medical director for the Portland Hotel Society, which will operate the project, said the building will have 24-hour staffing, offer food and employment and recreation programs, and have nurses on site. The front entrance will be secure and guests will have to sign in, she said.
“As a doctor, I feel very safe in all our buildings.”
Andy Bond, senior director of housing for the Portland Hotel Society, said there will be security at the site overnight, and Flanagan said day security could also be an option.
Victoria Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe, who represents the neighbourhood, said she knew of the conservatory’s concerns and that’s one of the reasons she called for the community meeting.
She said there needs to be as much clarity as possible about the housing project.
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps noted that similar security concerns were voiced by parents before a temporary shelter opened across the street from Central Middle School.
“The neighbourhood has gotten better, not worse,” she said.
