While the coming of winter may be a minor inconvenience for some, it poses significant challenges for those living on the streets.
In the spirit of assisting the homeless, Project Reconnect opened its doors for its one-stop annual fair, offering unhoused folks access to free services, food, resources, and referrals.
Downtown Service Providers and the Alliance to End Homelessness in the Capital Region (AEHCR) hosted this year's event Wednesday (Oct. 9) at Victoria’s Central Baptist Church.
Silvia Ceacero, CEO of AEHCR, explained that this year’s fair, typically held in August, was moved to a later date to better assess and address the street community’s needs before winter.
Upon entering, attendees received a bag containing winter garments and a hygiene kit. They also had the opportunity to connect with 42 organizations offering a variety of services, including medical care, ID replacement, housing needs assessments, massages, haircuts, and more.
Eric McCulloch, who spent part of his life on the streets of Victoria over a decade ago, sat beside a steaming portion of stew, expressing his gratitude for the event.
“Where the heck do you get food like that? I mean it's just amazing,” said McCulloch. “I got socks, a toque and all the things that I needed.”
Launched in 2008, the initiative was created to address the needs of both unhoused individuals and service providers, explained Ceacero.
“The event is not only for those experiencing homelessness to feel welcome, accepted, and connect with services but also for service providers to connect with one another,” she said. “The more we know about each other, the more we can better serve our clients.”
Winter is coming
Although most attendees left the event with smiles, many concerns remained heavy on Ceacero’s mind as winter months loom. She noted that the changing seasons highlight current flaws and gaps in the fight against homelessness.
According to Ceacero, some of the most pressing issues include a lack of shelter spaces, housing opportunities and a labour shortage.
“Last year, what we experienced was an insufficient number of beds and mats for people and overcrowding,” said Ceacero. “People who are working for [homeless] organizations are being asked to do more and more with less and less. The funding is very limited and asking people to work 18 hours a day is just not possible.”
At the event, Blazer, a young man who has spent the last decade on the streets, shared that he has felt this pressure first-hand while trying to find a bed for the night at Our Place.
“The shelter is kind of hit or miss because there's only 30 beds there so you have to get there a couple of hours early,” he said. “This week I got in there once in seven days.”
Ceacero also noted that increasing encampment sweeps by local authorities in recent months have only exacerbated the situation.
“Criminalizing poverty is not the solution for ending homelessness, unfortunately,” said Caecero. “The fact that we are pushing people out [from their] tent and force them to go to shelters when those spaces don't exist, we're not using a human rights-based approach to housing.
“There's no way nowhere for them to go.”
Living on the streets was increasingly difficult, at the mercy of the wintry elements, Blazer explains that every day represents a new challenge.
“We're always dealing with bylaws and you can't really camp anywhere,” said Blazer. “There's no places to shower and storage is also another big issue. You have to pack your stuff and carry it around every day.”
Seizing the opportunity to call for action, Ceacero urged all levels of government and community stakeholders to join forces and find a solution to end this lingering issue.
“Homelessness is an issue where everybody needs to get involved and where we cannot expect one group or another to end homelessness,” she said. “It takes a village to fix the system, and homelessness is a systemic issue.”
