NSUN member Helen Smith spoke to council on April 11, 2024 about the human rights violations perpetrated by Bylaw Officers on the unhoused and the moral obligations of the municipal government and the public to do better. See Helen’s address beginning at about 32:00 minutes into this video. The text of her address is here. Resources that you might find helpful are shown in the list at the bottom of the page.
Memorandum of Understanding Between the City of Victoria and the Province
“This MOU has been developed to recognize the parties’ shared purpose of supporting people in encampments and the unsheltered through commitment to implement HEART and HEARTH, a coordinated approach to resolution of encampments that prevents entrenchment, improves health and safety, preserves dignity for homeless encampment residents, respects the need for culturally appropriate services for Indigenous peoples, and considers the needs of the surrounding community.”
Office of the Federal Housing Advocate – Final Encampment Report
“… the Federal Housing Advocate launched a systemic review of encampments in February 2023. This systemic review has been carried out pursuant to subsection 13.1(1) of the National Housing Strategy Act.
In October 2023, the Advocate published an interim report setting out the context of the crisis and documenting in detail what had been heard through the engagement process. The engagement process consulted directly with people living in encampments, local community advocates, Indigenous governments and representative organizations, and duty-bearers across all governments.
This final report includes the Advocate’s conclusions about the factors leading to the rise in
encampments and, most importantly, the concrete measures that must be taken by all governments to fulfill their human rights responsibilities in order to reduce or eliminate the need for encampments.” (page 5 of the report)
Who is Phil Ochs?
Helen mentioned Phil Ochs at the end of her address. Phil Ochs was a protest singer/songwriter or as he called himself a ‘topical singer’ – learn more about him in this Wikipedia entry.
Neighbourhood Solidarity with Unhoused Neighbours 