The provincial government is considering applying for a court injunction to remove homeless campers from the lawn of the Victoria provincial courthouse.
The province will assess the number of campers remaining at the site and consider its options on Monday, the Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services said in a statement.
On Feb. 5, B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced the creation of 88 shelter and transitional-housing units. Citing safety concerns, he gave the campers notice to leave by Feb. 25.
“We are aware that there are campers who have chosen not to leave the site and that is disappointing,” the statement said. “The province views Thursday’s eviction deadline as an important step towards returning the grounds as a public area.”
An injunction is one of several avenues the government is considering, the statement said.
Beyond the politics, the story of one man’s triumph over addiction came full circle at the tent city on Friday.
Rev. Al Tysick, an advocate for homeless people, saw the well-dressed man waiting for him and threw his arms around him.
It had been seven years since Tysick and Qualicum Beach businessman Tim Olsen had last met.
“I do remember you,” said Tysick. “Fantastic. I really appreciate you coming here.”
“You planted the seed,” Olsen told Tysick, with tears in his eyes. “Thank you so much for all the work you did. God bless what you’re doing.”
In 2009, Olsen lost his home, his job and his family to addiction. He’d been pushed to the edge by childhood abuse. He’d experienced trauma as a first responder to three fatal accidents in the forestry industry and turned to crack cocaine.
“I was alone in every sense — physically, mentally and emotionally,” Olsen said. “I started off at the Salvation Army, but things were getting a little bit aggressive with some people staying there, so I left and went to Streetlink. I relapsed there a couple of times and they asked me to leave. I had nowhere to go. I didn’t know what to do.”
Olsen went to see Tysick, then executive director of Our Place, who offered to pray for him. “I’ll never forget that,” Olsen said.
Olsen was accepted into the Miracle Valley Treatment Centre in Mission and enrolled in an art therapy program.
“You got canvas every day with black and red pastels that helped open the Pandora’s box. It brought out more of my soul, more of what happened to me.”
The day he graduated from the program, his wife came back to him.
On Thursday, Olsen drove to the tent city, to find Tysick. Looking at the tents, he remembered what it had been like, scrounging for a place to sleep.
“I was very overwhelmed with emotion . . . because I know how desperate that feeling is to not have anywhere else to go. That’s all there is. I was sad in my heart because I know what some of those people are going through,” Olsen said.
On Friday, he joined the morning circle, held the talking stick and spoke to the campers.
“I don’t know the politics of your tent city, but I do understand how you get to these places,” Olsen said.
“It’s very courageous to see what you are doing and how unified you are.”
Seeing people like Olsen makes it all worthwhile, Tysick said.
“It happens more than you’d expect. And every time it does, it gives a guy like me hope. And then I remember, there are others that have recovered from that spot, too.”
In the meantime, Tysick is looking for provincial land for another tent city.
“I’ve got an idea for another piece of property, but it’s not as good,” said Tysick. “That piece didn’t have any residents around it, this piece does.”
The government has installed no-camping signs at provincial land in Greater Victoria.
