“Scapegoating: the act of blaming a person or group for something bad that has happened or that someone else has done. Example: the scapegoating of immigrants for the country’s economic problems.” – Cambridge Dictionary
While it is easy to blame the unhoused population for their predicament, all of the recent ‘Point In Time’ (PIT) suggest they are indications of a much larger problem.
Continue reading The #1 cause of homelessness
By Anna McKenzie, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter.
Every day for more than a month, Sonja Hathaway sat with her newborn baby Amella in the hospital, speaking to the infant in her Dene language.
Despite the feelings of being watched, Sonja and her husband Philip diligently spent time at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Victoria General Hospital to feed and care for their daughter.
Continue reading Indigenous couple fights for the return of their newborn daughter, taken by MCFD
By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Victoria, BC – In the wake of an unsuccessful legal challenge against the City of Victoria’s bylaw department – a case that a tribunal called “extraordinary” for municipal enforcement – members of the city’s unhoused community hosted a rally on March 10 to share the challenges they face.
Niki Ottosen is founder of the Backpack Project in Victoria, an organization that provides supplies like tents, sleeping bags, clothing, and food to Victoria’s homeless.
Continue reading Homeless allege harassment, while Victoria’s bylaw ensures the ‘safe passage of people’
By Alexandra Mehl, Ha-Shilth-Sa, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Vancouver Island, BC – This past holiday season saw what seemed like endless snow filling communities throughout Vancouver Island. As the snow fell, the social services sectors worked hard through the month tending to weather and holiday needs of vulnerable people.
Among some services that were needed was the Salvation Army’s emergency weather response program, which provides extra mats in shelters to meet the demands of unhoused folks.
Continue reading ‘Staggering’ number of first-time users during holidays, says Salvation Army
As Currents recently reported, homelessness is not just “an American thing,” or “a big-city thing,” or even “a Vancouver Island thing.” Homelessness is also here on Cortes, where a recent survey found that about 50 people rated their housing situation as “unstable,” and 11 were living rough (with no permanent shelter, in tents or other makeshift accommodation).
Although “housing” might sound like a single issue, it has has knock-on effects throughout our community.
Continue reading A New Approach to Homelessness: Housing First
