Neighbours ‘in the dark’ over plans for Mount Edwards Court
Community says they’re being shut out of planning on future of transitional housing
Neighbours and parents of children who attend school near Mount Edwards Court on Vancouver Street in Victoria say they are being shut out of future plans for the transitional housing building.
“We have been left in the dark,” said Gillian Ley, who lives in a condo a block away. “They pride themselves on community engagement and consultation, but don’t return our requests for meetings.”
Ley is part of a community group that has met weekly for more than a year to share concerns over the former tent city on the courthouse lawn and housing at Mount Edwards Court.
“We went through hell with tent city and have all been impacted since the day [Mount Edwards] opened,” she said, citing an increased police presence, drug dealing and drug use as ongoing problems.
“Some people are afraid to walk in the neighbourhood.”
Ley said the group consists mainly of neighbours and parents of children at Christ Church Cathedral School, an elementary school across the street from the building.
“Older kids can better process incidents of violence and drugs, but these are young kids. They are vulnerable,” said Ley, who thinks the low-barrier housing was set up out of convenience rather than good planning.
“Nobody in their right mind would put a facility like this next to a kindergarten-to-Grade 8 school.”
The former care home was purchased by B.C. Housing for $3.65 million last spring. It was part of a $26-million provincial investment to house homeless people staying in tent city.
The building has 38 residents ranging in age from 21 to 70. It is managed by Cool Aid Society, which also runs the Rock Bay Landing shelter and other housing and social programs around the city.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman has said the province plans to open another 60 units in the building, which would require rezoning and public consultation.
“I am not against social housing. I just think it’s the wrong environment for that many people,” said Samantha Stone, who has four children at Christ Church.
“We understand it’s going to be some kind of housing, but we’d prefer it to be drug-free, especially with the opiates killing people.”
Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said that is the plan. She said B.C. Housing met with the school in December to discuss the future of Mount Edwards.
“They were told the plan is to have the building be 50-plus and no drug use,” Helps said. “The longer-term plan for the third floor is for it to be renovated for affordable housing for families.
“I feel like this is a good compromise for the concerns.”
B.C. Housing and Cool Aid did not confirm these plans and made no public announcements.
Don McTavish, director of residential service for Cool Aid, said: “As far as the future is concerned, that is up to B.C. Housing.”
The organization’s one-year contract to operate Mount Edwards expires at the end of this month. McTavish said there has been no indication it will not be continued.
There have been few issues with the building in recent months, he said. There have been a few overdoses but no deaths. Nurses and outreach workers visit daily. At least 19 people have moved on to permanent housing. Security patrols the block. “They’re pretty bored, frankly,” he said.