As Greater Victoria braces for another day of snow, with many people working from warm, furnished houses, the unhoused community does not have such luck.
Tents down Pandora Avenue were caked in snow and ice Thursday morning (Jan. 18). While sites like Our Place, the Salvation Army and the Victoria Native Friendship Society provide shelters for those in need, they cannot always help everyone in need.
“We have seen some people die, which is always highly distressing,” said Grant McKenzie, Our Place’s director of communications. “People are trying to stay warm. But they don’t want to come inside or access shelter because they think there is no place to store their belongings.”
There is a fear among the unhoused that their belonging will either be stolen by other members of the unhoused community or carted away by bylaw officers.
McKenzie said the last three or four weeks had been some of the worst conditions he’s seen in his 10 years at Our Place, dealing with the unhoused and with addiction reaching epidemic levels.
“With this severe addiction, and with the amount of mental health issues that we see on the street, a lot of times people don’t even know that they’re freezing to death.”
Our Place, on Pandora Avenue, is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and serves hot meals and shelter away from the frigid conditions. It has extra mats available for people who wish to sleep inside, but demand quickly outpaces supply.
Our Place has a waiting list of 20 people, and the street community does not always know when these beds are open.
“We do a seasonal shelter, which is open every night, and it’s easier to staff and it’s also easier for the family members to know, ‘Okay, Our Place is open with mats. I’ll put my name on a list, and hopefully, I’ll be okay.’”
Some shelters operate on a seasonal basis and are open throughout the winter and do not rely on an emergency call to open. Still, others will wait for a formal announcement, such as the Salvation Army.
Not-for-profits try to help as many people as possible, but these long wait lists mean that they have to work together to help the street community.
Some warming stations also require shelters to be at maximum capacity before they open, becoming dependent on the facilities before opening up.
When the cold weather started Jan. 11, McKenzie said only 26 of 30 beds were filled.
“So there was no call to open the warming station, even though it was frickin freezing. But then on Friday (Jan. 12), they realized, ‘Oh, yeah, we better.’”
According to a spokesperson from the Victoria Native Friendship Centre, there will be pick-ups for the unhoused on Jan. 18 and calls from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
“We are doing our best to stay open through the weather. They were open last night, and they will open tonight,” according to the spokesperson.
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