That basically sums up the housing project in Victoria, B.C. Canada. There are some involved with this project who are totally devoted to the plan. I honestly believe that Mayor Lowe is one of them. I also believe that equal attention should be dedicated to promoting the project and show the citizens of Victoria what they have to gain.
It should also be laid out on the table what will happen if we neglect these problems. We have a great deal to lose if we choose to ignore mental illness, addiction and homelessness. Our city is already feeling the affects of this neglect from the past. It is now biting us in the backside.
The whole idea of housing and supporting the needy is a necessary step to our new future. This new concept has been tested and proven effective time and time again in other cities. Our adaptation of this plan seems to have the seal of approval from all three levels of government and service providers including the business community. Yet, the citizens are not on board.
The media has been reporting about these conditions for some time now and is not receiving much response from the public. It seems that the urgency of these issues are again being overlooked.
City Hall should be receiving thousands of e-mails to Mayor and Council. This is the largest project dedicated to the homeless issue in Victoria’s history. What we do with millions of dollars in taxpayer money should raise a few eyebrows, but it is not. $90 plus million was spent by the police force in a 40 month time period on repeat encounters involving drugs and alcohol as main concerns.
This kind of news should set the public on fire, but it doesn’t. The housing and support plan looks great on paper, but getting the task done seems to be a big problem. There has been very little follow up about the progress of the project. The slower the project moves forward, the faster they will lose their will and motivation to finish the plan.
There are three locations which are in the process removing the red tape so that new construction of a shelter on Ellice Street, renovations on Store Street and Humboldt can proceed. This will still take a long time before they can be occupied. We need housing now. Those locations are not designed for a large number of people, only a handful will benefit. There will be an expansion of the number of people at the new shelter site up to 80 people plus 20 odd beds available for cold weather conditions.
We are in desperate need of housing now. The problem will grow in numbers by the time these locations are available. If the city was serious, they would have obtained several sites for renovations since January of this year. Vancouver has bought several hotels destined for renovations in the East End since their announcement that they were going to do something for the homeless.
This attempt is too little, too late. We are slated for 170 units in the future. Exactly what they mean by units also includes beds at the shelter. If these are individual units, it will be a far cry from what is needed to house 1,550 homeless people by the end of five years. If those 170 units are slated for occupancy this year, that would be a considerable achievement. Commencement for the shelter will not go forward with construction until 2010 and renovations following at another location.
The city should provide the facts about their goals so that everyone is on the same page. Temporary beds at the new shelter is not acceptable. Permanent housing is the only solution with the appropriate support. Temporary relief such as a shelter is not efective for many refuse to use the service. Many have had their shoes stolen while they were sleeping. Many feel safer sleeping in the doorway of a business.
These new locations will have on site support. The shelter will also have provisions for those who are ready for employment. This is acceptable; however, how many more people have to die waiting?