Cool Aid bridges homelessness, housing
I’m always interested in how things started. I like to ask people what paths they’ve taken in their careers to get where they are; I’m interested in how things were invented and how businesses and organizations originated.
In Greater Victoria, Cool Aid is a wellknown name. Even if you aren’t fully familiar with its programs and services, I’d be surprised if you have never heard of the name or seen it on signs outside the many buildings it operates.
Victoria Cool Aid Society offers homes, temporary shelter, medical services, dental services and meals. It also employs 330 people in our city.
The majority of Cool Aid’s focus is on serving the homeless population in the downtown core. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the organization, which began with a very different mission.
Cool Aid was created as a hostel to serve youth backpacking across the country.
“It was very grassroots and originated as a by-youth-for-youth organization,” said Kathy Stinson, CEO of Cool Aid.
It was around the mid-1980s when the organization increased its focus on the homeless population, and on shelter and health.
Seeing all the services Cool Aid offers, it really looks at the whole picture. With the growing opioid crisis, it’s only increasing the challenges and demands that Cool Aid faces, Stinson explained to me.
Years ago, I was talking to a man who was missing several teeth and had a lot of decay. He had a very troubled upbringing, and many of his family members were homeless.
He told me that he hadn’t taken care of his teeth and never set foot in a dentist’s office for two reasons: First, he was afraid of being judged, and second, he thought that he wasn’t important enough to seek care.
We talked about Cool Aid’s dental services, and he said it was the only one he would consider going to. He knew at Cool Aid he wouldn’t be judged the same way he might be in a mainstream dental office. I think programs such as this one will not only help teeth, but help reinforce to people that everyone deserves a level of care.
The homeless situation in Victoria is daunting and complex. It’s like the teeth. There are more issues and barriers than just gaining access to a dental chair.
“The biggest misconception is people don’t realize how the trauma people have experienced affects their lives,” said Stinson.
Stinson said Cool Aid houses more than 500 people in our region, and it’s more than just providing a home. Often, it’s for people who haven’t felt a sense of home in a long time.
Unlike a standard apartment building, some Cool-Aid buildings have 24/7 support staff. Doctors, nurses, and drug and alcohol councillors come to the buildings to see patients.
“Once you have the stability of a door of your own that locks, it makes a huge difference,” said Stinson.
With the success of these buildings, some of the tenants will eventually require less supports, which to you or me would sound like a success. Some of these buildings are offered only to people requiring the supports. What happens when they no longer need the additional support?
Here’s where the innovative idea came in: Cool Aid created a housing project, called Cottage Grove, where it moved 45 people who no longer required as many supports. This freed up space to provide supportive housing to those who need it, and yet continued to serve the original tenants, who have been able to move forward.
If a struggling alcoholic were able to get sober and gain more control over their life, they might be asked to move on and free up space for someone who needs it more. It could be easier to just start drinking again and not have to move.
With Cool Aid offering options with varied supports, this can encourage people to continue to enhance their lives, without fearing being asked to move out. Stinson explained people have found security within Cool Aid that they aren’t willing to leave. “We are focusing on permanent housing,” Stinson said. “That way, our tenants don’t have to think: ‘If I get better then I am going to have to move.’ ”