Author Archives: The Coalition

Hidden Homeless

Not all those who are homeless sleep rough on the streets. There are many more people you don’t see. The term “hidden homelessness” refers to those who live temporarily with friends or family (couch surf) or are sleeping in cars. These people have no other option, as many were living in unsafe or inadequate housing. Continue reading →

Homelessness & Brain Injury

You see a young man* walking towards you on the sidewalk. At first he appears just fine, but as you approach you notice that his steps aren’t quite as direct and sure as your own. You notice him fumbling in his pocket for a note. As you get close enough, he requests your help in words that aren’t quite clear, “can you read this for me – I’m not sure where I need to go.”

Do you stop and help? Do you shake your head and move on? Do you make assumptions about substance abuse or mental illness? Continue reading →

Speakers Bureau shares real experiences of homelessness

I often go out to speak on the topic of homelessness. I can speak to the types of issues that drive homelessness in our community. These include things like low vacancy rates and high rents. I can speak to the numbers of people experiencing homelessness in our community using things like our facilities count or shelter data. I can even predict how much housing we need to break the back of homelessness in Greater Victoria.  This allows me to capture people’s mind and increase the intellectual understanding of homelessness in Victoria.

The one thing I can’t do is capture their hearts. I can’t speak to the actual experience of homelessness. Continue reading →

How much does housing cost?

This is a common question and one that is becoming increasing important to understand  why there is such a shortage of affordable housing options. The answer is that it costs more than $130,000 to build a one-bedroom apartment unit or almost $225 per square foot (approximate costs to build a wood-frame, multi-family housing development with below ground parking). But that doesn’t include the price of the land or the cost to provide additional supports to residents. Continue reading →