NSUN on a summer break – but still lots of action around homelessness!

Just a heads up that NSUN is on a summer break from formal meetings for June, July and August 2024. We’ll resume meetings in September.

However there is still lots going on in terms of homelessness issues and activities to support unhoused and other groups during the upcoming weeks. First we must talk about June 15, 2024 – this is the date by which City of Victoria staff are supposed to “identify at least three indoor or outdoor locations, excluding parks, where sheltering could be permitted, and report back to Council before June 15 with the sites” (from page 8 of the minutes of the April 18, 2024 COTW meeting). It is also roughly the date when the Federal Minister of Housing (Sean Fraser) is bound to respond to the Final Encampment Report from the Office of the Housing Advocate and its finding (though the government has until August 31, 2024 to come back with a plan for encampments).

Closer to home check out these activities and see if you’re inspired to help out/donate/participate at any of them:

  • Pancakes every Monday morning at 10:30 am until they’re gone at the SOLID warming facility (926-930 Pandora) – put on by the fine folks at QomQem
  • National Indigenous People’s Day – June 21, 2024 – volunteers needed from 1:00-9:00 pm – in Quadra Village (see screenshot below and email volunteer@quadravillagecc.com)
  • Pandora Day (a collaboration between the Victoria Downtown Residents Association, NSUN and other organizations) still somewhat tentative at this point as we’re waiting to hear about the success of some funding applications but save the date of August 8, 2024 – volunteers will be needed to help with activities such as: setting up and taking down chairs, tables, canopies, serving food and clean-up, and engaging in conversation with housed and unhoused participants (event will run from ~5:30-8:30 pm)
  • August 31st Moms Stop the Harm event recognizing International Overdose Awareness Day at BC Legislature

We’ll update this list as more things are added. Hope to see you out and about in Victoria this summer – look for folks wearing buttons with the NSUN logo and introduce yourself!

Housing Justice Project Report Release Event

NSUN was honoured to be asked to support the Housing Justice Project group as they spoke to the media and the public from the steps of the Legislature on May 7, 2024. They released their comprehensive report Homes for All: Evaluating the Right to Housing in Victoria, spoke about their personal journeys of homelessness and clearly laid out their 8 calls to action.

Calls to Action from the Housing Justice Project:

  1. There must be direct and meaningful involvement of people affected by homelessness as partners and in employment roles.
  2. Until there is adequate housing for all, end displacement of people living outdoors. Work with people in encampments to protect their human rights and provide basic services such as running water, electricity, bathrooms, sanitation, and garbage disposal. Stop Displacement, Stop the Sweeps.
  3. Eliminate long-term stays in shelters by moving people into permanent housing within 30 days.
  4. End evictions from transitional programs into homelessness. Move people directly from homelessness or transitional programs into permanent, adequate housing that costs no more than one-third of income, or the shelter rate with security of tenure.
  5. In Greater Victoria alone, we need 2,000 net new deeply subsidized and shelter-rate homes constructed annually for the next 10 years to prevent and end mass homelessness in our region.
  1. Provide everyone who is exiting homelessness with adequate housing as defined by The Housing Justice Project. Adequate housing aligns with human rights, and includes security of tenure which cannot be found in program agreements.
  2. Reconciliation includes ending homelessness for Indigenous people with Indigenous-led housing and culture as healing.
  3. We need rental supplements that are easy to access and are enough money to rent an apartment in the market.

NSUN members Heather (far left) and Susan (far right) help hold sign at the Legislature on May 7, 2024

Photo above from the CHEK news article on the event.

NSUN Members Address Mayor and Council

On April 11, 2024, six speakers – three of who are members of NSUN – addressed the City of Victoria Mayor and Council around various issues associated with the homelessness crisis. In the list below are links to individual posts for each of the NSUN speakers as well as a note of when Bernice and Diana’s addresses begin in the video.

Susan Z. Martin Addresses Mayor and Council – April 11, 2024

NSUN member Susan Z. Martin spoke to council about the slow pace of housing construction for those most in need in the CRD and what NSUN sees as a viable and quickly available alternative – sanctioned encampments. See Susan’s address beginning at about 38:35 minutes into this video. The text of her address is here. Resources that you might find helpful are shown in the list below.

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)

940 Caledonia Reports

940 Caledonia was a sanctioned encampment that existed for a few months (Dec. 2020 to March 2021) at 940 Caledonia. There is a summarized and condensed report (14 pages) available as well as a much more comprehensive report (138 pages!) that is full of details and helpful information that the present Council and city staff would do well to review.

940 Caledonia Movie

Mindfuel Films, which includes now Councillor Krista Loughton, made the movie 940 Caledonia about the experiences of the people who were tenting in Central Park and after being flooded out of that space set up the sanctioned encampment at 940 Caledonia. The movie’s trailer is available for viewing.

A National Protocol for Homeless Encampments in Canada

This 40-page document was developed relatively early in the pandemic (April 2020):

“As encampments increasingly emerge across Canada, there is an urgent need for governments to interact with them in a manner that upholds human rights. This Protocol, developed by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing and her lead researcher, Kaitlin Schwan, with the input of many experts, outlines eight Principles to guide governments and other stakeholders in adopting a rights-based response to encampments. While encampments are not a solution to homelessness, it is critical that governments uphold the basic human rights and dignity of encampment residents while they wait for adequate, affordable housing solutions that meet their needs. The Principles outlined in this Protocol are based in international human rights law, and the recognition that encampment residents are rights holders and experts in their own lives. The Protocol is intended to assist governments in realizing the right to adequate housing for this group.”

Municipal Engagement Guidance for Homeless Encampments

This 8-page document, created by the National Working Group on Homeless Encampments (NWG-HE) – “is intended to support municipalities in engaging homeless encampments in a constructive and peaceful manner. The Guidance is not a road map to solving homelessness. It is an effort to establish national standards, based in human rights, for municipal government engagement with encampments across the country. It is intended to help ensure the best outcomes for those living in encampments and their communities in the short term, while establishing a foundation for longer-term solutions.” This document was “shared at the Big City Mayors Caucus in May 2023.”

Niki Ottosen and Tammy C. Address Mayor and Council – April 11, 2024

NSUN member Niki Ottosen, founder of The Backpack Project, was the first speaker of six to address council at their meeting on April 11, 2024. Niki spoke about the harassment of unhoused people by City of Victoria bylaw officers. The text of her address is here and you can watch her starting at about 23:00 in this video. Resources that you might find helpful are shown in the list at the bottom of the page.

After Niki spoke we heard from Tammy, who currently lives at VicWest park and who is regularly targeted by City of Victoria Bylaw Officers. She and Niki both spoke to Mayor and Council on January 11, 2024 as well (see Niki starting at about 12:37 and Tammy directly after in this video from the January 11th Council meeting). Tammy’s moving testimony on April 11th begins at about 27:07 in the video from April 11, 2024 .

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)

CHEK news coverage from January 2024

Kori Sidaway from CHEK News interviewed both Niki and Tammy (who sometimes goes by Tammilynn) for this January 9, 2024 article (so before they presented to Mayor and Council).

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. 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.

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 human rights-based National Encampments Response Plan.

You can view a recording of the panel session as well as access a toolkit and find other helpful information on the National Right to Housing website.

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 beginning at 29:00 on this video of the Council meeting. You can also read what Heather said in this PDF.

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 summer break, we discussed running the program again, and Michael and Kris of the Victoria Downtown Residents Association stepped up to help strategize and plan the relaunch.

It quickly became clear that we would need a more ambitious venture if we were to provide food and drink to the folks on Pandora, since there were so many more people to serve. We signed up loads of willing volunteers, and in January 2024, we had our first breakfast event. The plan is to do two more – one in February and one in March.

We were very grateful to Cool Aid for letting us use the kitchen of the Downtown Community Center, where almost a dozen volunteers squeezed in to make about 5 dozen muffins and another 5 dozen breakfast burritos. It was chaotic and crowded, but we got it done. By 10 a.m. volunteers were handing out muffins, burritos and fresh fruit to folks along the block.

It was a great event and if you’d like to be involved in the next one drop us a line through the contact form or by emailing us at neighbourhoodsun@gmail.com.

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 include a shorter holding period for impounded items, changes to the definition of “trash” which allow more items to be discarded, and changes the pickup location from Centennial Square to multiple storage facilities across Victoria. Advocates and unhoused people oppose the changes.

Unfortunately, despite sending emails and engaging in conversations with Councillors against the proposed bylaw changes, they were passed unanimously. It remains to be seen how these changes impact unhoused people in 2024 and beyond.

City Council did put together a bid opportunity for an organization to come forward to provide day storage for the belongings of unhoused people. An NSUN member reviewed this bid opportunity and found it complicated and with high requirements for potential organizations that might run such a storage facility. This bid opportunity is now closed and it will be interesting to see if any suitable submissions were made and if this becomes a reality.

Niki Ottosen, an advocate from the Backpack Project, and Tammy Cardinal, an unhoused neighbour, spoke to Victoria’s Mayor and Council about the harm caused by current personal property bylaws on January 11, 2024. You can watch their presentation starting at 12:30 or read Niki’s speech.

At NSUN, we often wonder if our activities have impact. One of our members took the screenshot below from a Facebook group where community members were discussing the January 11 council meeting. As you can see, some were very moved by Tammy’s heartfelt presentation.

We hope that council too will listen to those neighbours with lived experience of homelessness and repeal the current bylaws on personal property and sheltering outdoors during extreme weather that are causing more harm than good.