ADVISORY: All-candidate invite to shelter overnight on Pandora Avenue

VICTORIA, BC | I hereby call upon all fellow candidates for Victoria’s municipal council to share the plight of this city’s most disenfranchised residents on the night of Sunday October 4 to Monday October 5 by joining me in sheltering overnight on Pandora Avenue.

WHERE: Intersection of Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street, Victoria, BC
WHEN: Sunday October 4 at 7 PM to Monday October 5 at 7 AM

The latest Point-in-Time count found 318 unsheltered people in the Greater Victoria Area; the actual number is presumably significantly higher considering that the survey only counted respondents.

Of these, I estimate about 75 to be sleeping rough within the 800-1000 blocks of Pandora Avenue in downtown Victoria for lack of overnight shelter space, despite every attempt made by the municipality to displace them, which include erecting fences and performing bylaw sweeps every morning.

This dire predicament has claimed many lives among the unhoused in the past few years. In recent months, the community has been maintaining a memorial to those who died on our streets at the intersection of Pandora Avenue and Quadra Street.

I believe it is the duty of every elected representative not to subject their constituents to any worse than they would tolerate for themselves and their loved ones. In this optic, I challenge every fellow candidate to experience those conditions on the ground themselves, and to mingle with community members reduced to sleeping on patches of grass, on the pavement, and on sidewalks. Allow me to emphasize that these folks are our future constituents and most are eligible voters, no less worthy of our attention than any other resident of this city.

Those who can afford to remain a little longer in the morning are also encouraged to observe the subsequent bylaw sweep, which usually starts around 7:15 AM and may last up to 90 minutes. These have been decried by observers as inhumane for depriving the unhoused of what little survival gear they have.

While a mere overnight stay cannot replace actual lived experience of homelessness, I am confident it shall positively influence municipal policy henceforth by providing a better appraisal of the consequences which follow from requiring impossible compliance with vain enforcement.

All supportive members of the public are welcome to join us.

To those brave souls who mean to answer the call but lack lived experience, I have the following tips:

• Dress warmly; nights can be surprisingly cold at this time of the year.
• Choose a 2-3 person tent. Avoid a 1-person tent unless you’re comfortable with a ceiling too low to sit, or a 4-person tent whose footprint may be too large for a narrow strip of grass or sidewalk. Also, make sure it is a standalone tent, as you may not be able to drive stakes into the ground.
• Bring a foam or inflatable mattress pad; sleeping straight on the ground is not only rough but chilling.
• Be advised that the Centennial Square washrooms are permanently closed; only a portable toilet is available. Otherwise the nearest public washrooms are located on Langley Street near Bastion Square and at the intersection of Douglas Street and Broughton Street. So plan accordingly.
• Set an alarm to wake you up before 7 AM so you have time to take down your shelter before bylaw officers arrive; make sure your device doesn’t run out of power by then.
• If you wish to observe the bylaw sweep, comply with the officers’ instructions, especially if they set up a cordon with yellow tape around a tent.
• Recording people at their worst is a taboo subject among the unhoused, so be mindful of what you do record, let alone publish. In doubt, ask for permission, or leave the homeless out of the picture altogether.

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ABOUT THE ORGANIZER:

Martin Girard is a community advocate with lived experience of homelessness running as a candidate for Victoria’s council in the upcoming municipal election. More at martingirardforvictoriacouncil.ca.

CONTACT: Martin Girard
EMAIL: martin.girard@martingirardforvictoriacouncil.ca
PHONE: 7787005647