I moved to Victoria from Vancouver about a year and a half ago. For the better part of 15 years in Vancouver, I had offices or work spaces in the city's Downtown Eastside. Coming to Victoria, it's way chiller, but it's also very different from the city I lived in, in the 90s. Back then, drug use... - ThreadSky

lesliboldt.bsky.social • 30 days ago

I moved to Victoria from Vancouver about a year and a half ago. For the better part of 15 years in Vancouver, I had offices or work spaces in the city's Downtown Eastside. Coming to Victoria, it's way chiller, but it's also very different from the city I lived in, in the 90s. Back then, drug use...

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lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

and homelessness was out of sight, confined to hidden corners of the city, like under the Johnston Street Bridge. As housing prices climbed and more dangerous street drugs like fentanyl came on scene, the drug and homeless crisis also grew, leading to the tent city on the courthouse lawn. Many...

lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

residents here were shocked. "Where did all these homeless people come from?" Like cities around the province, the first theory was they'd come over from the mainland. This couldn't be a homegrown problem, could it? This moment - and the pandemic - led to a rapid increase in supportive housing...

lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

in Victoria, often in motels not made for this kind of housing. This created more public discomfort with supportive housing (though I have purpose-built supportive housing for youth next door to my building and I think it's actually improved the neighbourhood) and an increase in street activity.

lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

Today, while I rarely feel unsafe (though there was a big guy under the influence yesterday moving around on the sidewalk in away that might have taken me out if I hadn't veered out of the way), I frequently feel uncomfortable. I think it's important we distinguish btwn these emotions.

lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

This same story isn't just Victoria's - it's playing out in communities throughout BC and across Canada. The province needs to listen to housing and community advocates, to city councillors, to the police and to the community members who are telling them that the current model isn't working.

lesliboldt.bsky.social•30 days ago

These are complex problems that need solutions that are also hard. We need a BC and federal gov't who are willing to do complex and difficult work of finding those solutions in partnership with local governments and authorities. These issues are urgent. Why are we still not treating them this way?

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