25967 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

A large team of Victoria bylaw and police officers moved into Topaz Park Tuesday afternoon, taking down structures and telling people to pack up...

Meanwhile on Pandora...

 

And the generic response I received (again) from the CoV:

Thank you for contacting Victoria Bylaw Services. Your request has been received.

 

All requests related to outdoor sheltering are considered a public health and safety priority and are immediately assigned to a supervisor who is responsible for prioritization and assignment.
 

We acknowledge the impact that outdoor sheltering has on the community. A dedicated team of Bylaw Officers, Public Works and Parks staff and members of the Victoria Police Department conduct daily patrols of public spaces to enforce the Parks Regulation Bylaw and the Streets and Traffic Bylaw as they pertain to outdoor sheltering. Due to a high volume of these call types, we may not be able to attend to your call the same day. In these cases, you will be notified, and we will do our best to attend as soon as possible.
 

We expect everyone to follow the rules. However, on occasion, matters involving unlawful sheltering can take several days or weeks to resolve depending on individual circumstances. People who are living outside often have significant barriers that make compliance for even the most cooperative person very difficult. In these situations, our Bylaw Officers work with service providers, health and housing outreach services and others to find long term solutions.
 

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. We will do our best to attend to this complaint as quickly as possible

[Mike K.]

Don’t forget, Vic High is operating out of Topaz while the school gets upgraded. Recently the school district said drug dealers are walking the halls with impunity, as they voted to end the police liaison program.

[Victoria Watcher]

The kids should be fine, they are being directed to safe supply, and also urged not to use alone. The school nurse probably has crack smoking kits.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 07 June 2023 - 05:56 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Sheltering in parks is not a good solution for campers, neighbours or the people recreating in the park, she said. Allard plans to address Victoria city council Thursday to propose ways the city can address “this endless loop that isn’t working for anybody.”

She would like to see small communities created on land owned by the city or CRD that would house about six people with similar needs, such as people who struggle with hoarding, or prolific bike thieves who could put their skills toward legally working as bike mechanics.

“That would propel them into a legal lifestyle that builds on their skills. And so that’s the kind of programming that works. You have to look at what do people have going for them? What are they great at and you have to find a way to maximize that,” she said.

Police say enforcement will continue in Topaz Park on a daily basis “for a sustained period” to ensure those sheltering in the park are removing their structures by 7 a.m. each day. The city has established rules for sheltering in parks that allow camping between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.

VicPD said they found two open fires in the park Monday morning and responded to a disturbance in a tent.


https://www.timescol...ampment-7113858



While I believe there is a place for almost everybody in society, these people need “skills” that help them display more social behaviours. They have “nowhere to go” because they were kicked out of even the most permissive housing arrangements.

And no we don’t have to keep creating different kinds of housing, more “supports” and programs. They must be told this is what we have and you must use it or change your behaviour and possibly move beyond.

There is no indication anything she says about what works actually does work. It’s poppycock. The prolific bike thieves part was a good laugh.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 08 June 2023 - 05:40 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

As enhanced enforcement clears out people sheltering in Topaz Park this week, those who support Victoria’s vulnerable say it won’t lead to better outcomes for the homeless or the results wanted by concerned residents.

 

Victoria police announced Monday (June 5) their officers and bylaw officials would be stepping up enforcement on those sheltering at the park that’s recently been revitalized with a new skate park and turf field. VicPD later said it responded to two fires on Monday and it arrested one person in relation to trespassing at a nearby backyard.

 

The local force said those sheltering had been given repeated notice of the enforcement and it was responding to an increase in calls to the park in the first half of 2023, along with concerns from residents and park users.

 

“It’s not really solving any of the actual issues, the biggest one being people don’t have anywhere to go and are just seeking shelter,” said Jordan Cooper, the director of services at Our Place Society.

 

The City of Victoria told Black Press Media the added enforcement was due to those in the park not packing up their structures at 7 a.m. each day as bylaws dictate, noting overnight sheltering is lawful at Topaz Park.

 

But with waitlists at local shelters, individuals being wary of those spaces due to negative experiences and shelter guidelines presenting barriers for others, Cooper said people’s only option is to go to another spot in the city or even the park.

 

Scattering people from centralized locations also makes it harder for those at Our Place or other service providers to connect some of the most vulnerable citizens to vital support. That includes street outreach teams who have a mandate to find people and help them fill out BC Housing paperwork, get them to medical appointments or supply them with food.

 

“When we know they’re at a certain park, we can find and support them but when they get moved around and they get displaced, they often end up losing some of their belongings or the supplies they need to shelter each night,” Cooper said.

 

The city is behind on building enough supportive spaces – especially ones that can help those with complex needs – despite more housing coming online, Cooper said.

“There are people out there that have been housed, but none of the outlying reasons why that person became unhoused in the first place were supported adequately, and they end up unhoused again. Then it’s even more difficult for that person to get into housing because of that history,” he said.

 

 

https://www.vicnews....lter-dispersed/

 

 

Curb your dangerous or destructive behaviours in shelters.  If you can do that, you will have housing.  If you cannot do that you are mentally ill and should be institutionalized.

 

 

 

 

That includes street outreach teams who have a mandate to find people and help them fill out BC Housing paperwork, get them to medical appointments or supply them with food.

 

 

 

Food delivery should be curtailed, so that only the most disabled and non-ambulatory can have food delivered.  The rest should go to Our Place for meals. 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 09 June 2023 - 02:58 AM.

[Nparker]

Our Place can get people medical appointments? Where do I sign up, because I sure can't get any on my own.

[dasmo]

Maybe the Covenant of Mayors can spend some think tank dollars exploring why this is happening in their cities? What has changed in the last decade? If they can control the planet's temperature to within 1.5 degrees surely they can tackle something like this? 

[Victoria Watcher]

Can we line up the homeless to partially block the sun?

[todd]

Meanwhile on Pandora...

Looks like a BC Parks camping facility. My question has always been how many David Johnstons(Victoria mayor candidate) do we have in this town? who no matter how hard we try to “help” loves his lifestyle.

I look at people like David Johnston and can’t prevent myself from thinking why bother?


https://www.capitald...s-without-money

[dasmo]

I think the plan is to get us all on fentanyl and in tents. That way we don't live as long and our houses can be bulldozed to make way for the wave of luxury, smart city colonisation. 

[dasmo]

Looks like a BC Parks camping facility. My question has always been how many David Johnstons(Victoria mayor candidate) do we have in this town? who no matter how hard we try to “help” loves his lifestyle.

I look at people like David Johnston and can’t prevent myself from thinking why bother?


https://www.capitald...s-without-money

He is motivated, obviously patient, and not wallowing in his own filth and stealing from us to fuel an addiction. He is a net positive IMO. All he did was fight for a basic right to sleep without having to pay for it. The ruling was fair actually. If it was enforced we wouldn't even see any camps. 

[Victoria Watcher]

That’s the thing. The ruling was fair but we allow the rules to be broken nightly.

[dasmo]

That’s the thing. The ruling was fair but we allow the rules to be broken nightly.

Exactly. 

Our tax administrators act like rulers that are above the law. They are because what are we going to do about it? What can we do about it? 

[todd]

He is motivated, obviously patient, and not wallowing in his own filth and stealing from us to fuel an addiction.

The question is so we can get an accurate statistic. How many share the same ideology. Keeping in mind that David has been pushing this ideology in this town for sometime. My guess would be 100

[dasmo]

The question is so we can get an accurate statistic. How many share the same ideology. Keeping in mind that David has been pushing this ideology in this town for sometime. My guess would be 100

At least he isn't stealing stuff, yelling at people, stabbing them, hitting them with hammers, crapping and peeing in their doorways, and shooting up on their front steps. 

[dasmo]

But I do see the flaws in his philosophy. That;s why I don't follow it. I DO believe in free will. It is just a challenge to exert it. 

[Mike K.]

There is no recourse.

Who instructed the school board to vote out police liaisons? It wasn’t an election issue.

[Victoria Watcher]

Maybe the individual PACs should speak up.

[Nparker]

At least he isn't stealing stuff, yelling at people, stabbing them, hitting them with hammers, crapping and peeing in their doorways, and shooting up on their front steps.

No, but he is part of the "lifestyle" that does all of these things. Don't we live in an age of curtailing freedoms for the greater good?

[Mike K.]

Maybe the individual PACs should speak up.

Parents should send their kids to private school, where education is the primary concern, not politics.