Change is happening on Pandora By Julian Daly, Our Place CEO
I
f you’ve travelled down Pandora recently, you will have noticed a lot of change.
The most visible changes are the fences being erected along the boulevards to allow the grass to regrow and to signal to people that Pandora is no longer a suitable place for camping.
Change can be difficult, and it comes with a lot of opinions, challenges and controversy, but in this case, it also comes with a genuine feeling of hopefulness. Every individual who has been struggling on Pandora has been approached and offered shelter. Most are embracing the idea as they understand that shelter is the first step to securing permanent, stable housing. Shelter is also the first step for people to be properly assessed.
When we first launched our Pathways Off Pandora call for action, we knew it would take all of our partners – City of Victoria, Victoria Police, Bylaw, Island Health, BC Housing, and our fellow non-profits – to make it possible. We threw down the gauntlet, and we were thrilled when our partners picked it up and asked how they could help. You are starting to see the results of that teamwork now. Naturally, it’s a bit chaotic and a bit messy, but few things in life are ever perfect, especially where human beings are involved. We can’t look at the people suffering outdoors on Pandora as a collective that will fit nicely into a one-solution-for-all box. Instead, we need to look at everyone on an individual basis because, and I feel this needs to be emphasized, we want them to succeed.
done. There is still much to do. We are continuing to help those who have come inside from the streets as well as those who need our services just to make ends meet. We strive to help everyone along the path to a better, healthier life. We don’t want to repeat this cycle of street camping next winter or the winter after that. We want to put safeguards in place, build toward the future, and make it possible so that the moment anybody pitches a tent on our sidewalks, parks or alleyways that someone is there to take them to a shelter and begin the process of helping, healing, and housing. Fences may say ‘Keep Out’, but we want the ones on Pandora to say: ‘We’re here to help’.
In short, we want to deliver hope.
And one day in the not-too-distant future, the grass will regrow, the fences will come down, and Pandora will become an example of what we can do when we work together with purpose, compassion and pure determination. It will no longer be a symbol of failure and despair but, instead, a symbol of success and transformation.
So, yes, there are a lot of changes happening on Pandora, but this is just the beginning. Just because there is no one camping on Pandora doesn’t mean our work is
Personally, I can’t wait. Julian Daly Our Place CEO
To donate to Our Place Society, please visit us at: ourplacesociety.com/match2024, call 250-940-5060, or email donors@ourplacesociety.com
INSIDE
Assessment means we can better understand exactly what supports are suited to each individual. For some that can simply be a bed out of the rain while they catch their breath and make a plan. For others, it’s more complex: health needs, psychiatric support, medication renewals, dental care, supportive housing, detox, therapeutic recovery options, or even in some cases hospice.
At Our Place, we believe in dignity, and leaving people to struggle on our streets, back alleys and doorways is not dignified. Nor is it compassionate.