The B.C. government stepped up on Friday to help solve Victoria’s homelessness crisis. It’s a promising sign that the province is ready to take on more of the burden that has been carried for too long by municipalities and non-profit groups.
While positive, the decision has to be part of a long-term, comprehensive plan. Too often, the word “temporary” is attached to the solutions to this complex problem, as it was again on Friday.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman announced that his department would purchase the Mount Edwards Court Care Home on Vancouver Street for $3.65 million for transitional housing for 38 people. Another 50 units of shelter accommodation will be created at the former Victoria Youth Custody Centre building in View Royal.
Rent supplements will be offered to another 40 people who are camping in the tent city on the courthouse lawn. Mount Edwards will be open for 12 months and the View Royal site for six months.
Friday’s announcement is similar to the creation of the My Place shelter on Yates Street, which was also funded by the province. My Place, which is run by Our Place Society, is a temporary shelter where staff help 40 residents make the transition to permanent housing.
Altogether, that means 128 transitional and shelter spaces have been created in two months.
These carrots come with a stick.
“Provincial representatives are delivering a notice to each of the campers this morning to advise them that they must vacate the courthouse property by Feb. 25 due to safety concerns and to advise them of the additional housing options,” the government’s news release said.
The province must brace for some pushback. While some of the tenters have said they are willing to move, others say they will refuse and could launch legal action against the eviction.
The View Royal site seems particularly problematic, as it is so far from the city centre, where the tent-city residents prefer to be, for a variety of reasons.
No single solution will help every one of the homeless. Their life stories, needs and desires vary widely. Many won’t set foot in a shelter like My Place because they don’t feel safe there.
One common thread is a desire for a place to call their own. A microhouse instead of a tent. A roof. A door that locks. Without those things, a tent or a house built of pallet wood seems preferable to the insecurity of a shelter.
These issues are familiar to Cool Aid, Our Place, Pacifica Housing and Island Health, which will run the shelters or provide services. Their expertise will be invaluable.
The difficulty this latest initiative faces was underlined after people started moving into My Place in January. In short order, those who left the tent city had been replaced by others, so there are still about 120 people camping on the courthouse lawn.
Given that situation, the frustration of the neighbours and the province has been building, and the threat of eviction is no surprise.
There is a limit to how far society can bend to accommodate the needs of a small group of people. The province, the city and the non-profits are working hard to give those in the tent city a chance to move into temporary and transitional housing, and then help them find permanent homes.
Permanent homes are the goal, and will require a major investment. On that road to that goal, some of the tenters will have to accept less help than they hope for. Governments, neighbours and non-profits will have to show compassion.
Ideal solutions are an illusion, but goodwill and creativity can find solutions that work.
