VICTORIA Campers sheltering in Victoria parks began moving into the new Russell Street shelter in Vic West on Monday. The shelter will house up to 60 people in individual pods, according to Our Place director Grant McKenzie. The shelter will provide wraparound support and meals for those living there. It will have a safe consumption site, showers, laundry facilities and 24-hour security. Neighbourhood resident Tony Young says the arrival of a shelter in the neighbourhood was a surprise. “This is a shock to us still,” said Young, adding that the community is bracing for the worst. “There are things that are going to happen and there’s probably going to be more criminal activity,” said Young. “Drug use and so forth and we’re concerned about that.”
The new charging station, with the ability to charge two electric vehicles at a time, is at the south end of Store Street between Johnson Street and Pandora Avenue, near the Johnson Street Bridge. The new charger joins a network of 19 city-owned Level 2 chargers, 13 of which can be found in each of the five city-run parkades and six along Broad Street. The city and B.C. Hydro worked together on the site selection and design for the Store Street charging station, with B.C. Hydro responsible for the installation and maintenance of the equipment. “We are continuing to build a future-ready city and we know that residents are switching to zero-emission vehicles at a rapid rate,” said Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps. “Not only are these new fast chargers a great step towards reducing emissions and addressing the climate crisis, but they are also going to be a great incentive for EV drivers to come downtown and support our local businesses.”
VICTORIA Media and local officials took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Tiny Homes Village in Victoria, which is set to receive its first 30 occupants on May 12. The project will provide transitional housing for individuals experiencing homelessness in converted shipping containers located near Royal Athletic Park. The concept for the housing project was brought forward by Aryze Developments last December and received huge community support. On Thursday’s tour, media and officials got their first look inside one of the village s 100-ft living units, furnished with a bed, side table, a small fridge and armoire with towels. The designers say the project is meant to have a community feel.
From left to right, Lindsay Gaudette, marketing and community relations, Peninsula Co-op; Chris Forester, executive director, Connections Place; Mark Breslauer, CEO, United Way Greater Victoria; and Heather Skydt, marketing and communications, United Way Greater Victoria. Theyre holding numbers and hearts to represent a $100,000 gift from Peninsula Co-op to kick off the Blue Love Campaign, at Peninsula Co-op Gas Centre on the Pat Bay Highway. [Darren Stone, Times Colonist, April 2021] The United Way of Greater Victoria has launched a campaign to help people across Vancouver Island looking for mental-health support as they deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Love Campaign has been kicked off with a $100,000 donation from Peninsula Co-op, in which the company will match all money raised up to the $100,000 level. The overall goal is to raise $1 million by the end of the year for services like counselling, peer support and outreach.
VICTORIA In the wake of several high-profile sex assault allegations in Greater Victoria, a city councillor s motion to create a task force on the subject has been postponed. The motion, brought to city council by Coun. Stephen Andrew, asks council to establish a ‘Task Force on Sexual Abuse’ to bring together survivors, advocates, and the justice system. Andrew penned the motion earlier this week, after facing backlash from the community for tweeting that there is no “rape culture” in Victoria, despite multiple serious allegations in Victoria’s restaurant, tattoo and real estate industries. He has since apologized for the tweet, and promised to “bring a solution to the table that is going to try to improve the situation.”