27819 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

First responders to distribute 'stay warm, stay dry' kits to the unhoused

 

Victoria Fire Department has created kits with items to help people stay warm and dry, such as waterproof sleeping bags, ponchos, hand warmers, socks

 

https://www.timescol...housed-11342076

 

 

 

Niki Ottosen, who runs the Backpack Project Victoria B.C., said the kits may provide some immediate help, but it’s a short-term band-aid.

 

Ottosen hands out aid to people sheltering outside, and she said as quickly as her donations go out, they’re confiscated by bylaw officers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lame.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 October 2025 - 12:12 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said it’s “frankly sad” that other municipalities aren’t doing their part to help homeless people in their own communities.

 

“When someone’s freezing to death in a park in Oak Bay, a Tim Hortons gift card isn’t going to save their life,” he said, referencing part of Oak Bay’s emergency weather response plan this year, which includes handing out gift cards during wellness checks.

 

Coun. Krista Loughton said there was a high number of unhoused people coming in from other municipalities in 2023, as seen in the amount of taxi chit reimbursements made by the City of Victoria that year for people taking rides to emergency shelters.

 

Loughton said the solution to ­homelessness has to be a regional response, and if every municipality in the capital region took up equal ­responsibility to provide services, the issue would be largely solved.

 

“We cannot continue to be the default provider. Homelessness is not a Victoria problem, it’s a regional and provincial issue … it demands a regional and provincial solution.”

Atkinson said there are no plans to reimburse taxi rides this winter.

 

 

[...]

 

 

Coun. Matt Dell noted that there are no emergency shelter services in ­Sidney, Oak Bay or Esquimalt.

 

Atkinson said he has been in touch with fire chiefs and emergency ­planners in the region, who told him that Oak Bay and Esquimalt’s position is that they “don’t have the required need.”

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol..._eid=cf094f0ded

[Beacon]

 

 

“We cannot continue to be the default provider. Homelessness is not a Victoria problem, it’s a regional and provincial issue … it demands a regional and provincial solution.”

 

It's really a big Federal issue (cross Province migration) and as all the other municipalities have seen, if you build it, they will come.  Victoria made its own bed by electing activist council members, growing these services all while purposefully denying and obfuscating migration was happening (they had ensure an entire page was spent gaslighting telling us they were all from Victoria in the PiT Homelessness Count Report) and now wants others to share the load it brought upon itself.

 

Funny how the story is now shifting to they are coming from elsewhere...

Edited by Beacon, 17 October 2025 - 06:21 AM.

[Mike K.]

We must remember it started immediately after Lisa Helps became mayor. The first order of business was trying to create a tent city at Topaz Park, to then create an untenable situation, to pressure the province to provide housing under the housing first paradigm.

[Victoria Watcher]

It's really a big Federal issue (cross Province migration) and as all the other municipalities have seen, if you build it, they will come.  Victoria made its own bed by electing activist council members, growing these services all while purposefully denying and obfuscating migration was happening (they had ensure an entire page was spent gaslighting telling us they were all from Victoria in the PiT Homelessness Count Report) and now wants others to share the load it brought upon itself.

 

Funny how the story is now shifting to they are coming from elsewhere...

 

Exactly.

[Victoria Watcher]

‘Please do something’: Victoria mayor renews calls for municipalities initiate emergency weather response plans

 

https://cheknews.ca/...-plans-1284133/

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 October 2025 - 08:48 AM.

[aastra]

The political narratives have ping-ponged back and forth between "homelessness is entirely a local issue" and "homeless is entirely an imported issue". These narratives re: homelessness, drugs, panhandling, hippies, certain types of crime, and street issues in general have toggled back and forth since the 1960s.

[Victoria Watcher]

New liaison with Victoria Police outlines safety plan for Pandora Avenue and surrounding area

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...g-area-1284228/

 

 

And with so much street disorder, the City of Victoria has launched a $10-million plan, called, The Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, to clean up Pandora and other parts of the city.

 

 

 

 

[...]

 

 

 

 

According to Victoria Police Chief Fiona Wilson, Tran will provide the department with monthly reports. A final report will be compiled in March 2026.

 

His contract is for six months and he’ll be making nearly $100,000 without benefits.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 October 2025 - 05:25 AM.

[Love the rock]

 

Coun. Jeremy Caradonna said it’s “frankly sad” that other municipalities aren’t doing their part to help homeless people in their own communities.

 

“When someone’s freezing to death in a park in Oak Bay, a Tim Hortons gift card isn’t going to save their life,” he said, referencing part of Oak Bay’s emergency weather response plan this year, which includes handing out gift cards during wellness checks.

 

Coun. Krista Loughton said there was a high number of unhoused people coming in from other municipalities in 2023, as seen in the amount of taxi chit reimbursements made by the City of Victoria that year for people taking rides to emergency shelters.

 

Loughton said the solution to ­homelessness has to be a regional response, and if every municipality in the capital region took up equal ­responsibility to provide services, the issue would be largely solved.

 

“We cannot continue to be the default provider. Homelessness is not a Victoria problem, it’s a regional and provincial issue … it demands a regional and provincial solution.”

Atkinson said there are no plans to reimburse taxi rides this winter.

 

 

[...]

 

 

Coun. Matt Dell noted that there are no emergency shelter services in ­Sidney, Oak Bay or Esquimalt.

 

Atkinson said he has been in touch with fire chiefs and emergency ­planners in the region, who told him that Oak Bay and Esquimalt’s position is that they “don’t have the required need.”

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol..._eid=cf094f0ded

 

I get upset when Victoria says other municipalities should look after homeless in their communities. Number one homeless seldom have communities they move around to where the pickings are good. Number two where did they come from ?

Let’s ask Lisa Helps with all her I know better than you attitude  I will eliminate  this problem trust me . My solution would be warming busses nothing permanent. The quicker you start cutting funding for services the sooner migratory homelessness will stop coming to the island. 
There needs to be a distinction made between homeless, addicts, and homeless people . Homeless people need to be at top of the totem pole with minimum services for homeless addicts who do not seek help with addiction . WE do not have the resources to help everyone unfortunately . We do have the ability to offer 

to help everyone during cold spells.  A travelling bus .What do the colder parts of Canada do  for the homeless during winter . This  would be interesting to know .

[Beacon]

 

 

What do the colder parts of Canada do  for the homeless during winter . This  would be interesting to know .

 

They send them here, not overtly though, some people know how to game the system by saying they have friends or family here and get a free ticket, others just panhandle and make their way over.

 

Victoria is the Mecca for the homeless, known across the country.  

Edited by Beacon, 20 October 2025 - 12:29 PM.

[Love the rock]

Yeah it’s sad to say it’s probably true.People may not like my idea to cut services but other ideas haven’t worked time to take a different approach.

[Victoria Watcher]

Supportive-housing facility opens on Salt Spring

 

The building contains 32 units for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, who will have access to two meals a day, laundry services and health-and-wellness programs.

 

https://www.timescol...spring-11377831

 

 

 

 

The building at 161 Drake Rd. contains 32 supportive units that come with two meals a day, laundry access and health-and-wellness programs.

 

There are also four units of affordable housing for people with low to moderate incomes.

 

 

[...]

 

Also involved in the project were the Islands Trust, the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation, the Salt Spring and Southern Gulf Islands Community Services Society — operator of the Fulford-Ganges emergency shelter — and the federal government, which provided $1.6 million through the Affordable Housing Fund.

 

The province provided grants of close to $15 million and will give about $1.3 million annually for operating costs of the supportive units.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$16.6M cost - 36 units - $461,000 per unit

 

$40,000 per year per unit in operating grants, per unit.  $3385 per month per unit.

 

It's hard to know how you could build a more expensive operation.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 October 2025 - 05:19 AM.

[Matt R.]

All modular, stacked like boxes and covered over.

[Mike P.]

New liaison with Victoria Police outlines safety plan for Pandora Avenue and surrounding area

 

 

https://cheknews.ca/...g-area-1284228/

 

 

And with so much street disorder, the City of Victoria has launched a $10-million plan, called, The Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan, to clean up Pandora and other parts of the city.

 

 

 

 

[...]

 

 

 

 

According to Victoria Police Chief Fiona Wilson, Tran will provide the department with monthly reports. A final report will be compiled in March 2026.

 

His contract is for six months and he’ll be making nearly $100,000 without benefits.

 

Didn't he say he worked to solve the same issues in Vancouver for the past 30 years before coming here? How's it going out there? I would say it's worse than it's ever been.

[Victoria Watcher]

He's getting $16,666/mo. to bring his expertise here.      

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 22 October 2025 - 04:32 PM.

[Mike P.]

'bout the same as Lisa Helps solving the housing crisis for the Eby government.

 

On another hand, it says his final report is due in March, which means there should already be a monthly report available for the first $16,666 we paid.

[delacroixandora]

 

There needs to be a distinction made between homeless, addicts, and homeless people . Homeless people need to be at top of the totem pole with minimum services for homeless addicts who do not seek help with addiction . WE do not have the resources to help everyone unfortunately . We do have the ability to offer 

to help everyone during cold spells.  A travelling bus .What do the colder parts of Canada do  for the homeless during winter . This  would be interesting to know .

 

until someone has the balls to specifically do this nothing will change

 

you need to identify:

- homeless but ability to contribute to society - then help

- homeless - addicted to something - forced rehab then re-evaluate

- homeless - mentally unstable and dangerous - forced facility

 

 

until someone has the actual stones to say this and do it it runs in circles. it would also help if we didn't have 400 different entities touching stuff and condense into a handful of more dedicated types. 

[Blair M.]

until someone has the balls to specifically do this nothing will change

 

you need to identify:

- homeless but ability to contribute to society - then help

- homeless - addicted to something - forced rehab then re-evaluate

- homeless - mentally unstable and dangerous - forced facility

 

 

until someone has the actual stones to say this and do it it runs in circles. it would also help if we didn't have 400 different entities touching stuff and condense into a handful of more dedicated types. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...sible-9.6952257

 

Considering this guy stabbed 5 different people on multiple occasions - and they continued to let him out onto our streets, I certainly wouldn't hold my breath for things to improve any time soon.

 

It took stabbing 5 different people for the courts to finally say, "I dunno' - maybe we should keep this guy locked up"

Edited by Blair M., 24 October 2025 - 11:33 AM.

[Mike K.]

Including his daughter, who died of her injuries. The latter in 2006.

[delacroixandora]

well.. he has right