Project Connect 2009 stats

Here's an interesting document I did up for the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness as part of my work co-ordinating the Project Connect service fair last month at Our Place for the local street community. Sorry for the weird formatting in the "comments" part, but that's what Excel tables do when you paste them in Blogger, I guess.


Analysis of surveys done at Project Connect 2009
Nov. 18, 2009

The following is a summary of surveys done with participants at Project Connect 2009, held Oct. 14 at Our Place Drop-In Centre.
This is the second year of PC and the second year of doing surveys, so there is some ability to compare the data from year to year (the actual survey had to be shortened from last year due to it taking too long, so some questions asked last year were gone from this year’s survey). We managed to survey about a third of the 700+ people who attended Project Connect, and completed considerably more surveys than last year: 238 this year, up from 164 in 2008.
Survey results obviously can’t be assumed to be representative of the overall population of people living homeless or at risk in the downtown, as there are several limitations in the way we gathered the information. The volunteers at Project Connect essentially selected who they approached about doing a survey, and that person then had to be willing to complete one. Also, the surveys were done only that one day and in a single location, so anyone who wasn’t at the event wasn’t captured.
Still, they offer an interesting snapshot of the people living homeless and at risk in our community right now, as measured by who would be inclined to attend a service fair at the region’s main street drop-in.
One of the things the data reveals is an aging population that is slightly less likely than last year to be fully homeless, yet spends so much on rent that the people have ended up dependent on places like Our Place to provide them with daily meals. Some 58 per cent of respondents are currently housed, but access to affordable housing was nonetheless a top priority for the vast majority of those surveyed.
I’ve attached the Excel spreadsheet so those who are interested can look at the data themselves, but here are a few key findings:

Men are overrepresented among the homeless, but women are catching up
• Of the 100 people who reported being homeless right now, 29 per cent are female and 71 per cent are male. That’s a slight change from last year’s figures of 26 per cent female and 74 per cent male


The population is aging
• Of the 42 per cent who are currently homeless, 66.4 per cent are over age 40. Approx 10 per cent are 25 or younger.
• The age range of those who are currently homeless is from 17 to 76, but almost 40 per cent are over age 40 (47.5 per cent of women are in that age group, 65 per cent of men).
• This year, 35.5 per cent of respondents reported being over age 55, compared to 20 per cent last year.
• Young people make up just 10 per cent of the total respondents, but are experiencing disproportionately high rates of homelessness - 76 per cent of those ages 25 or younger reported being currently homeless.
• 35 per cent of those who are homeless are staying at shelters at the moment; 10 per cent of those who are homeless said they were sleeping on the streets, in parks, or in the bush

People were more likely to be housed
• 67.5 per cent of women participants and 55 per cent men said they’re currently housed. That’s up from around 50 per cent at the 2008 PC.
• Three-quarters of participants receive some level of income-assistance support from the province, with 58.4 per cent receiving both support and shelter. Those figures are very similar to last year, with a slight increase in 2009 of people receiving both support and shelter (77 per cent of those on income assistance, up from 75 per cent in 2008).
Mental illness and addiction remain major problems
• Almost half of the women surveyed (47.5 per cent) have been diagnosed with mental illness, as have 39.4 per cent of men. That’s about the same as 2008 figures.
• More than half of the men surveyed (50.6 per cent) said they have a problem with drugs or alcohol. Women were considerably less likely to have drug/alcohol problems - just 16.25 per cent said they had problems. This is a significant change from 2008, when almost half of the women surveyed reported drug/alcohol problems.
• 100 per cent of women who reported having a mental-health diagnosis also had problems with drugs/alcohol, as did 74 per cent of men with a mental-health diagnosis

People were more likely to be victims of crime
• Almost one in two people reported having been victims of crime. That’s up from 2008, when one in three reported being victims of crime.
• Men were more likely than women to have been victimized: 55 per cent of men, compared to 40 per cent of women. Of those who are currently homeless, 100 per cent reported being victims of crime
• The majority of the crimes were committed by other people living on the street or at shelters. More than a quarter of those who’d had a crime committed against them reported that the police had victimized them.
People are most likely to have a City of Victoria address
• Whether homeless or housed, most people surveyed lived in City of Victoria, 84 per cent. However, most communities in the region (with the exception of Highlands, Metchosin, and North and Central Saanich) were mentioned at least once as somebody’s home address.
Downtown services are heavily used and appreciated
• Asked what services they used, the vast majority of respondents listed Our Place, the food banks at Mustard Seed and St. John the Divine, the shelter system and the 9-10 Club (a breakfast program run out of St. Andrew’s Anglican). But many other services were mentioned, including St. Vincent de Paul, Salvation Army, REES services and casual labour pool, the needle exchange, ACT, VICOT, the Rainbow Kitchen, VIHA Alcohol and Drug services, and mental health programs.






Comments
What those surveyed wanted to tell the coalition:

• The cycle hard to get out of; more services for youth to help that cycle. Stable shelter.
Services for youth (Victoria is child prostitution capital of Canada) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Police shouldn't put people in shelters • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need longer term projects that teach people how to live sustainably • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• no trespass tickets, more beds, help with crim record/hire • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• housing's expensive • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• getting a house is difficult with pets • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• experience firsthand for one month like it is right now • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• build more homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• stop police brutality agst homeless • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• listen to people in recovery and what they need/don't need.
There is considerable prejudice in med system agst amphetamine addicts • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• homelessness is mentally damaging for most people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• listen to the people who've been on street instead of creating prejudice for those labelled drug addicts • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it sucks - we need more low-income housing and help for single people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• being homeless sucks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• youth out of rain shelter is not safe; less prejudiced landlords who are willing to rent to people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• don't cater to homeless people; look after those trying to help selves • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• keep family in mind • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more outreach, better attitudes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more support, fewer brick walls • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• H1N1 - try and help people on street; open up church for people on street • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more Connect days • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• not much to complain about, always food • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Shelter for people who are not addicted • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Much need out here - getting worse every year • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• hard to pay rent, no $ for food • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• 24/7 shelter&drop-in • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• lots of diff reasons why people homeless. Open services 7 days • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• welfare rates need to go up • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• cause of homelessness isn't homelessness - it's cultural, societal, individual • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it's n a choice - it's really hard to get out of, doesn't take long to get in • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• not fun for anybody! It's hard trying to make ends meet • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• red tape, rules changed, barriers if you in good shape • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• no address for my resume; how about a postal box for people to use for their resumes.
Appreciate your efforts • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• things are improving but more contributions needed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• resources help those who abuse system and not those who are honest and in need.
Can't use shelter because of dog • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• expensive to live on credit; hard to access ACT team $200 subsidy • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• services great but need clothing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• abolish needle exchange - it has led to more use of drugs • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• park people and cops kick you awake, even if you're out of sight • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• tough adjustment from 10-yr prison term • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more housing for the poor • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• police abusive • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• waiting for disability • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• people who care should live on streets for 1 wk for experience • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• wants to change life, needs home • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more drop-in in evening; FBs need to make hampers for homeless people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• smooth access to service; not fucked over • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need affordable rents, outreach programs; difficult to rent without credit • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• when crisis grants come as food vouchers, other necessary things are inaccessible.
Inflexible and depersonalized bureaucracy • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• activities for poor people - kayak, rock climb, hike • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we're an urban ghetto • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Mk it more like Amsterdam • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• thanks for the help; things are pretty much in balance • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• affordable housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we're no throwaway people - lots of talent, compassion among the homeless community • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Sunday service, more for mentally ill • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we're not all "schmucks" • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• affordable housing needed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• I'm fine • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• important to teach people about maintaining good health • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• create living wage • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more connect days • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• not going to get better without more help. Such a stigma to homelessness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• not enough affordable housing with the three-strike rule.
There are people who don't have drug/alc problems who also need help • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• i would like to be working • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we need more jobs, more homes. Open OP on weekends. We need low income housing! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• homeless safety; more people at night to check up (vancouver angels) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• doing OK • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more affordable housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• too many people on the street - they're not so hungry but they're very cold • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• thanks! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• open more shelters, more afford housing, extended hours OP • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• build housing instead of more shelter beds • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• visit Dignity Village in Portland, tent city in Olympia, for examples of how a
community can provide real assistance to people who want to live independent lives • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• people who work with bc housing need to be more respectful • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we don't want to be here • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• not enough done for those with disability; we all have diff needs • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more subsidized housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• people don't know anything about homelessness • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• wake up, please • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• being on income assistance can hinder you in getting housing because of stigma, discrimination • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• tho I'm not homeless, my disability cheque all goes to rent. Been on bc housing list for 6 yrs! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• #1 commit should be to people living on street • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• got apt but no food. Need help addiction • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• don't judge - we are all only one paycheque from the street • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• put more money into homelessness rather than olympics • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• extra funding for OP to keep open 7 days/wk; more housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• the feeling of exclusion can crush you • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• press government to open up closed bldgs. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• too much violence, not enough shelters. Too many condos.
More B&Es and theft in stores when government decreases support • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more sufficient income • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more help, someone to listen • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• that what we receive is not sufficient to live on; will need to find PT work to make it.
Also, provide vegetarian meals • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• everybody needs a hand • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we need more jobs, more homes. Open OP on wknds • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• there shouldn't be homelessness when we have resources • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more money - $375 for shelter is not enough. We shouldn't be needing food banks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more women's shelters; daughter was on street for 4 yrs and had lot
of negative experiences that could have been avoided had there been a women's shelter • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• please get heads out of your ass, esp police • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more shelters needed, help with forms • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• rental assistance not available; on bc housing waitlist for 5 years • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• affordable housing is critical • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more support for people with alcohol problems; more people to listen • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• I'm lucky - i have my own place. Others need housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• there is stereotyping around appearance and clothing; if you homeless, you have less value.
Bandaid solutions look good but don't address core problem • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• a lot being done but access slow and frustrating • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• too expensive rent and utilities, visitors not allowed • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• panhandle in order to make up shortfall of income. Increase in local street pop due to prep for Olympics.
Not enough affordable housing, not enough being done to keep people off the streets • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• better access to counselling and psych help • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more room for single affodable accom. Welfare system failed me. OP very helpful • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• are there homeless people in coalition to get a firsthand experienced opinion?
Why are they stopping 4 single people from residing together? Why not using boarded-up housing? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• live on street for week and see what it's like - a week is forever if on street • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more counselling and self-help groups, opportunity to talk • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it's cold, need a place to live • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• don't give us money, give us housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more connect days • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• how people treat homeless and mental health people - it's sad.
Fed up with all the needles. Support for special-needs people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it will cost a lot more in the long run if you don't support us now • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Without OP would go hungry - lost 10 pounds in 5 months because can't afford food.
Need affordable housing, Nx • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• raise min wage to $12/hr; more low-cost housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we should buy traveller's inn • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• lack of affordable housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• street link shelter very good • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• law needs to change so landlords can't require credit checks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• 1-1 talk • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• advertise this event more • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• provide nutritious food, adequate places for women, immed temp shelter • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• too many apartments are empty. Not enough support for rental places. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• talk to us • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• ask us what we need - listen to us • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• wake up! We are not units • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• get more input from the homeless • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• walk a mile in my shoes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• free enterprise means no one wins unless someone loses - we don't really have a democracy • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• 7 wks waiting for EI to kick in - would be on street if not paid 2 month rent in advance • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• 4-hr day job not worth it • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• no co-ord • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need safe housing, nicer staff • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• shelters not the answer - we need homes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• a lot more BC Housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• hard to find public washrooms; more affordable housing for 55+ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• need more low-cost accommodation • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• see homeless as individuals; more respect for our needs; more holistic.
One week for homeless is great, but need to continue engage and involve us • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• change attitude, we not criminals, affordable housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we need access to coalition to tell them our needs and our ideas • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it's awful • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• victoria great place, services tremendous, people treated with dignity, community generally mellow and safe • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we need more than one solution - we are individuals. We are in an emergency • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• homes! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• fair treatment for everyone • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• housing not enough low-cost; too many condos; OP needs to be open 24/7; get service clubs involved • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• think about the working poor - min wage doesn't cut it • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• services for seniors with disabilities; would like support from community living • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• it costs $60,000 to keep a guy in jail • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• nurse/doc on site at coolaid and OP • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• needs to be some damn affordable housing. More dental services, better income assistance.
Look at Dignity Village in Portland • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• a place to call home • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• be more approachable, provide info when asked • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• homelessness is 24/7 - need something to do • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• put money toward fixing old buildings to make shelters and housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• why coalition set up behind security guard? Disconnected from real people • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• bias toward people who homeless by those in health care system • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• housing! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• social services - $3-5 a day for food! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• cheaper, less restrictive hsing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• concerned about young women on street, esp ones not on drugs. Seeing mothers with kids • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• more and better housing • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• less talk, more action • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• Asked Jody to attend ACE committee • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• rents too high; not always safe for women • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• interview clothes, better food • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• vic is greatest place in canada for homeless people - feels like "home" • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• we welcome opportunity to speak on our own behalf. That doesn't happen very often. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
• less survey, more action. Open OP 7 days week • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •








Services that participants want but can’t find:

• help finding housing, more dog friendly spaces, legal help for youth
• welfare accessibility
• income assistance
• job
• job
• housing help
• housing
• ID, credit, child support for 2 yr old
• a roof over my head!
• help with house search
• need more money
• free schooling for people with serious brain disorders; awareness of how to support amphetamine addicts; support groups for women who have lost their children
• legal help
• non-prejudiced doctor. Someone who will help regardless of my condition. Need more support with crystal meth
• more shelters
• supported housing
• More for pets on cold days
• tax service
• More programs for lifeskills
• welfare
• immed detox, more shelter, housing
• employment
• job finding service
• dental, ID
• nutritious food, more
• hard to get cognitive behaviour therapy
• places to grow food, nut trees esp
• need laundry and proper storage facilities
• housing
• help with getting job - new to vic
• need more laundry facilities/ drop-in on weekends
• home that allows pets, affordable
• i have celiac disease and need a meal program
• housing
• men's transition house
• help with ID, clothing in plus size
• clothing
• adopt an addict' or sponsorship like that in AA
• adequate housing
• alarm for morning; temporary housing; help from welfare for rent deposit for Traveller's Inn
• free reading/education, job (GT not helpful)
• medical, more money for rent/food
• has love in her life
• welfare would not give rent deposit for Traveller's
• services i don't know I need
• unite homeless to protest Olympics on stolen native land
• existing services don't help working poor due to schedule conflicts (e.g. Night work and shelter access); concerned with some staff suitability to be in service position
• housing, banned from sobering centre, no help if meth
• job counselling,
• regular doc, psychiatry
• safe shelters
• my kid back and my own place!
• housing, physio, guys' clothing, shoes
• Cheap rent
• dental, ID
• legal help
• housing is slow; waiting a year
• bus pass
• place to stay clean
• housing
• money
• dental- need partial plate and can't get it funded
• more support for detox
• ID replacement, clothes
• training and work
• clean available housing; ability to make money without affecting my IA
• full disability; someone to talk to
• better home
• housing bus pass/ticket
• housing - very hard to find a cheap place to live
• elevator, supplements, attention for med needs
• bus tickets, extended hrs at OP, phone, 24hr crisis service
• dental work
• housing, literacy support
• forced to have roommates because of rent cost; wait list for bc housing 2 years, go every month
• bus tkts
• housing, help for disabled
• bc housing waitlist for families
• counselling, sleeping bags/tents
• 24-hr drop-in centre
• subsidized housing
• none
• help with loneliness
• more Connect days
• housing
• more money to live on; motel is expensive
• a home
• help with ID
• doc, housing, food
• access to acupuncture
• toilets, low-cost housing
• foot care, better food bank system, better telephone system for people who can't afford it, cable too
• food needs be more sufficient
• lockers
• more access to mental health system
• help with housing expenses
• dentist, eye doctor, hearing aids
• rent supplements, nice food
• Counselling; supportive and compassionate shelter staff
• health care, help with vaccinations
• FB - more food for singles; drug and alcohol centre, NOT jail
• work
• subsidized housing
• handicapped with cerebral palsy; would like to earn a living
• housing that allows pets
• companionship
• housing
• homecare
• my own place
• access to housing - services inadequate
• took 1 yr to find family doc. Need glasses
• access to phone; laundry; place for her dog
• most services geared to those with multiple probs - nothing for those who aren't addicted
• housing
• more health services - have memory deficit due to heroin OD
• safe housing
• Housing! Hard to sleep in shelters with things going on - exhausting
• cheap affordable housing
• food bank rations inadequate, shelters not safe, medication expenses should be covered
• clothes for larger women
• shuffled around in housing until you don't know which end is up
• replacement of ID, sleeping bags, tents
• housing, injection site
• find temporary job, problem due to criminal record
• housing
• help finding housing; optical help (legally blind)
• medical pot
• medical marijuana
• subsidized housing
• a home, love
• medical marijuana
• a partner and companion
• larger clothes
• gay help
• job
• housing
• need place for homeless working person
• system not able to deal with the volume of people needing help
• income tax
• subsidized housing
• services on weekends, holidays, 24/7
• more rehab, more shelters, more family counselling
• doc
• transportation an issue
• fill forms
• resume help; hotel manager at rental unit
• finding a doc to get referral to eye specialist
• money
• counselling
• bipolar support
• meditation centre
• nothing on weekends
• help with writing letters, etc. have problems putting words together but can use computer
• office for CPP, more quiet to meditate
• need apartment, better access to US consul (he's american), more dental work, housing for pets
• part-time work
• assistance to find affordable housing when you don't fit current criteria for help
• $ for SA dinners, housing
• need vitamins, brace for separated shoulder, legal services
• money
• more help with lifeskills, addiction, etc
• want change to OP rules around people coming to room, smoking/drinking
• food costs
• vision
• a place to live, money
• exercise to get out
• permanent home
• I get $60/mo - that's not enough to get by
• a good lawyer

It's community involvement that sets Project Connect apart

For the past two years, I’ve had the honour of organizing the Project Connect service fair for the street community, put on by the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness.
This year, we saw at least 700 people through the door for the event at Our Place drop-in last Wednesday. They came for help: a new birth certificate, care for their broken and battered feet, a haircut, vet care, a backpack full of useful stuff They also came for food, eating a whopping 2,100 hamburgers and 1,000 hot dogs by day’s end.
I don’t know whether to be delighted or heartsick that the number of people at the event was up by more than 200 this year, or that we served twice as many burgers and dogs. Sure, it’s great to draw a crowd, but I dream of the day when an event for people living in profound poverty fails to attract anybody.
If you’ve done any event-planning, you’ll know it’s a crazy-making activity with a million details to attend to. But when it all comes together, it’s a whole lot of fun, especially when the event is Project Connect. What sets it apart is that it really is a community-wide effort - one that depends on hundreds of people in our region stepping up to make a difference.
Consider, for instance, what it took to be able to hand out 700 backpacks last week.
First, it took the efforts of leadership students at seven local secondary schools to help us hustle up some of those packs - 250 all told. But we needed many more than that, and couldn’t have done it without a generous cash donation from a local businessman and a sweet deal on back-to-school packs offered to us by Wal-Mart and Real Canadian Superstore.
Then we needed things to put in those packs. We wanted to put a dozen or so items in each pack: a new pair of socks, gloves, toque, scarf, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, and other essentials. But that meant collecting almost 9,000 individual items.
For that, we turned to the community. And people really came through.
The Church of the Nazarene bought us 500 pair of men’s gloves. Lambrick Park Church’s “The Place” congregation rustled up 400 toques and 200 scarves. St. Philip’s Anglican Church bought 400 emergency blankets. UM Marketing donated 200 deodorants, 800 razors, and 600 packages of tampons. Save On Foods, Safeway, Thrifty Foods, Lifestyle Market and Costco loaded us up with food.
Workplace donation drives at Telus, Queen Alexandra Society, Victoria Foundation, the Ministry of Housing and Social Development, Royal Bank Oak Bay and Shaw Cable brought us box after box of the kinds of things we needed. So did you - for four days straight in late September and again in early October, members of the public poured into Our Place with armloads of donations for Project Connect.
That all of the above happened was largely due to the efforts of five amazing volunteers I’d gathered around me to help organize the event. My deepest thanks to Gloria Hoeppner, Ruth Simkin, Deb Nilsen, Jill Martin-Bates and Willie Waddell - women who I’ve come to count on whenever the occasion calls for a crack team of volunteers.
The packs wouldn’t have been packed without them. Some 10,000 donated items would have gone unsorted. These women’s vehicles, husbands, living rooms, charge cards, friends and neighbours were all conscripted to the cause, as were mine. But hey, we got things done.
As for Our Place, which hosted Project Connect this year - well, I can’t say enough good things about those guys. Everybody on staff was unfailingly helpful and patient with us. I don’t know where we would have stored our overflowing bounty of pack items, let alone physically done the packing, were it not for Our Place making room for us every step of the way.
What was particularly nice was that anytime someone from our group arrived at the drop-in with the latest load of big heavy things needing to be carried in, at least four or five of the men who come to Our Place would immediately step forward with offers to help. Is there another place in the city where you can count on such gentlemanly behaviour?
And this long list was just what it took to get the packs together. Multiply the effort tenfold for all the volunteers who turned out that day, all the service providers who were there, all the work Gord Fry and the Capital Lions Club put in to help us feed such a big crowd, all the media support for getting the word out.
It was a remarkable community achievement. Thank you.

I'm co-ordinating Homelessness Action Week events this October on behalf of the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, including our second annual Project Connect. Here's the press release that will be going out tomorrow - if you're interested in contributing to the week, please see the list of needs below. And if you can volunteer your time for Project Connect on Oct. 14, please let me know. Hope to see you there!


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 14, 2009

Service day for street community helps prep for winter cold

A service fair next month for people living homeless and in poverty returns for another year with even more on offer for hundreds in the capital region preparing for a cold, wet winter on the streets.
Almost 600 people attended Project Connect last year, an all-day event sponsored by the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and its partners across the region. Organizers are preparing for even higher numbers for this year’s, to be held Oct. 14 at Our Place. The popular event, part of Homelessness Action Week (Oct. 11-17), provides one-stop access to a wide variety of services and food for people living in deep poverty and homelessness in our region.
“We bring key community services into the same room for a day and make it as easy as possible for people coming to the event to find the support they need,” says Jody Paterson, who’s co-ordinating Homelessness Action Week activities this year on behalf of the Coalition.
“So we’ll have the street nurses there, and people doing footcare, and help for people needing to get on income assistance, replace missing ID, or connect with the major outreach teams working in the downtown. But we’ll also have haircuts, veterinarian care, acupuncture, resume-writing and a whole lot of food, which means the day is also about helping people have a good time for a few hours.”
Donations of all kinds are most welcome. The Coalition is organizing a backpack drive in local secondary schools, and hopes that every Project Connect participant leaves the event with a backpack filled with donations from the community: socks, gloves, toques, scarves, grooming products, feminine hygiene, toothbrushes and toothpaste, reading glasses.
Please drop off Project Connect donations at Our Place, 919 Pandora Ave., any morning Sept. 21-24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ask to be directed to the Project Connect volunteers.
The Coalition is also looking for haircutters willing to volunteer a few hours that day, having seen last year that haircuts were one of the most sought-after services. Volunteers in general will be needed to help out at Project Connect and in the coming weeks; contact Deb Nilsen at dnilsen@shaw.ca to get involved. The Capital City Lions Club will return for a second year for a day-long burgers-and-dogs barbecue.
The Coalition is a non-profit community-based partnership of agencies that work together to end homelessness in Greater Victoria. More than 400 people were housed and supported last year through the collective efforts of coalition member agencies, and almost 400 more units of housing and shelter are now underway.
Visit the Coalition's Web sitefor more on the coalition. For information on Project Connect and Homelessness Action Week events, contact Jody Paterson at jodypaterson@shaw.ca.
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Homelessness Action Week events
Oct. 11-17, 2009

Here are a few of the events being organized by the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness and other service providers in the region. Keep an eye on the Coalition’s Web site at www.solvehomelessness.ca for more information on events as the date draws closer.

• An art show featuring the art and music of people who have experienced homelessness, including selected works from the Street Voice Project. Friday, Oct. 16, 7-10 p.m. at the Victoria Conservatory of Music.
• A forum for leadership students throughout the region led by a panel of people who have experienced homelessness. Tuesday, Oct. 13, venue and time TBA.
• Tours of service agencies and other organizations working in the area of homelessness, including the new Access Health Centre and Woodwynn Farm
• Landlord Appreciation Day, sponsored by Pacifica Housing
• Public premiere of the documentary 40 Years of Cool Aid Culture

About the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness:
Formed in 2008, our diverse non-profit coalition is made up of representatives of all key organizations whose work relates to homelessness, including service providers, government ministries, police, funders, the health authority and elected officials. We work to find housing and support for people living homeless using a “housing first” approach, and also to stop the flow of new people onto our streets by addressing the root causes of homelessness.
The cost of people living homeless is estimated at $50,000 annually per person - a total of $75 million a year in our region alone based on an estimated homeless population of 1,500. Housing people and providing the supports they need not only improves their quality of life and community connection, but reduces the enormous social, health, justice and sanitation costs of homelessness.

A few highlights from the past year:
• More than 400 people housed and supported through the collective efforts of coalition member agencies - significantly exceeding the target of 250
• 130 additional rent supplements for our region from BC Housing
• 15 new adult detox/residential treatment beds brought on by the Vancouver Island Health Authority, for a total of 21 in the region
• The forging of a new partnership merging the Coalition and the Victoria Steering Committee on Homelessness, bringing $1.2 million in federal contributions to the Coalition over the next two years.
• Some 367 units of supportive and transitional housing in the works or newly available, including a shelter under construction on Ellice Street and supported housing units on Humboldt and Swift streets