ItB次元官网网址檚 time to clean up the tent city in Victoria once and for all.
With two new facilities opening this week - one of which is in View Royal - the spaces being made available should cover the bulk of people living at the tent city on the Victoria court house lawn. These spaces opened just in time, before yesterdayB次元官网网址檚 provincial governmentB次元官网网址檚 deadline forcing campers to move on or face a possible injunction order.
However, just because space is being made, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 mean that campers have to take the space allotted for them. They also donB次元官网网址檛 have to move off the street and into a facility if they donB次元官网网址檛 want to.
So with government funding pouring in to open more temporary or transitional housing to get people off the streets we canB次元官网网址檛 help but wonder why this funding wasnB次元官网网址檛 available earlier - perhaps the beginning of the winter season.
We also have to question why this money is available for temporary solutions and didnB次元官网网址檛 go towards addressing the root causes of homelessness.
We suspect someone who devotes their time to getting people off the streets would agree with us when we say there isnB次元官网网址檛 enough funding for the programs aimed at preventing people from ending up there, whether it is from drug use, mental illness, abuse or a variety of other causes.
Yes, there are some people living on the street just because they want to. But a far greater number are there because they have no other choice.
We canB次元官网网址檛 keep using these Band-Aid fixes and expect them to be the end all to the systemic problems that create homelessness in the first place.
ItB次元官网网址檒l be interesting to see what unfolds in the aftermath of yesterdayB次元官网网址檚 deadline and whether more funding will be made available to keep those facilities operating after their six-month operation timeline comes to an end.
Will we see another tent city taking shape again next fall or will we even have to wait that long before campers set up shop in a new location? Temporary solutions wonB次元官网网址檛 fix long term problems.
