City shows leadership on homelessness

Re: “Local businesses bear brunt of social problems,” June 4.

Eric Findlay, president of Splashes Bath & Kitchen on Hillside Avenue, asks us to think about the horror his staff and customers felt when witnessing a person experiencing homelessness going “number two” in his bathroom-fixtures store. Imagine for a moment the horror one would feel having to go “number two” with no home and no access to a public washroom.

Findlay suggests that there is no leadership in the municipal and provincial governments.

Some facts: In the past three weeks, the provincial government has invested $33.5 million to purchase two hotels to immediately house people, properties that will be redeveloped as more affordable housing in the near future.

In comparison, the federal government has spent $1.3 million in its COVID-19 strategy for people who are homeless in our region.

In Victoria, taxpayers elected representatives who rezone land for affordable housing, steward a housing reserve fund, contribute to the regional housing trust fund, purchase land and exercise leadership. The CRD Regional Housing First Program was spearheaded by Victoria city councillors in 2015.

If you are frustrated with the growing number of people who are experiencing homelessness, ask your own municipal leadership what they are doing to address this. You don’t need to vote in Victoria to make a difference.