Author Archives: nsunvictoria

Helen Smith Addresses Mayor and Council – April 11, 2024

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.Continue reading “Helen Smith Addresses Mayor and Council – April 11, 2024”

Webinar: Human Rights Solutions to Encampments

On March 26th, the Federal Housing Advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, moderated a panel of lived experts and grassroots organizers who spoke to how all levels of government can work together to address the urgent and life-threatening crisis of encampments, in collaboration with encampment residents. Houle recently released her comprehensive report and her urgent call for a humanContinue reading “Webinar: Human Rights Solutions to Encampments”

NSUN Member presents to Mayor and Council (Feb. 8, 2024)

On February 8, 2024 NSUN member Heather Murphy presented to City of Victoria Mayor and Council urging the City to implement the Municipal Guidance document, from the National Working Group on Homeless Encampments, that lays out simply and directly the recommended way for municipalities to engage with homeless encampments. You can see Heather’s presentation beginningContinue reading “NSUN Member presents to Mayor and Council (Feb. 8, 2024)”

NSUN Breakfast Program in 2024

From November 2022 to March 2023, NSUN members Helen, Susan and Heather ran a breakfast program that saw them taking hot coffee and breakfast sandwiches to Stadacona and Topaz Parks every Sunday – including Christmas and New Year’s Day which both fell on Sundays during this time. When NSUN resumed regular meetings after a summerContinue reading “NSUN Breakfast Program in 2024”

Unhoused Neighbour Makes Heartfelt Presentation to Mayor and Council

One of NSUN’s activities is pushing back against policies and regulations that are harmful to unhoused people. The change to bylaws regarding personal property introduced by the City of Victoria in early-December 2023 is one such action. This bylaw allows officers to impound the belongings of unhoused neighbours for several days, and the changes includeContinue reading “Unhoused Neighbour Makes Heartfelt Presentation to Mayor and Council”

NSUN’s 2023 Year in Review

History The Fairfield Gonzales Support for the Unhoused group (FGSU) was formed at the end of October 2020 by a small group of neighbourhood residents with a shared interest in supporting those without homes camping 24/7 in the parks located in Fairfield Gonzales; Meegan/Beacon Hill, Gonzales, and Hollywood. In June 2021, we renamed our group,Continue reading “NSUN’s 2023 Year in Review”

Open Letter: Homes for All

We are a coalition of people with lived expertise of homelessness, homeless outreach workers, community-based organizations, housing advocates, researchers, and academics. Today is National Housing Day and we join national leaders[1] in calling on the Government of Canada to act decisively on their legal obligation to demonstrate progress on realizing the human right to housingContinue reading “Open Letter: Homes for All”

Donate to NSUN through PECSF!

Are you a B.C. public service employee? Donate to NSUN through PECSF! Why PECSF? The Provincial Employees Community Services Fund (PECSF) is the Province of British Columbia’s workplace giving program. The PECSF campaign runs every fall – this year from September 27 to November 10 – and has raised over $50 million for registered charities.Continue reading “Donate to NSUN through PECSF!”

Ask City Council to act on Federal Housing Advocate’s Report and Recommendations for B.C.

NSUN and other local organizations were thrilled to meet with federal housing advocate, Marie-Josée Houle, she visited Victoria in 2022. Her fact-finding tour focused on the right to adequate housing for First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, encampments, and the financialization of housing. The resulting report draws on the knowledge and insights of those withContinue reading “Ask City Council to act on Federal Housing Advocate’s Report and Recommendations for B.C.”

NSUN Summer Closure

NSUN is taking a break from regular meetings for the summer. We held our last formal meeting on May 31 and will return in September. Stay tuned to learn when meetings will restart and drop us a line through our contact form or by emailing neighbourhoodsun@gmail.com if you’d like to be notified when we restart.Continue reading “NSUN Summer Closure”