Homeless

Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Homeless spent free cash on staples, not temptations, UBC study finds

Researchers gave 50 Lower Mainland B.C. homeless people $7,500 to spend as they wished

Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Kurtis Bunnett getting a haircut at Project Reconnect in Royal Athletic Park on Tuesday, Aug. 22. (Ella Matte/News Staff)

Service providers come together to support Victoria’s homeless population

‘Homelessness is an issue that affects everyone,’ says event organizer

Kurtis Bunnett getting a haircut at Project Reconnect in Royal Athletic Park on Tuesday, Aug. 22. (Ella Matte/News Staff)
Tent camp on Pandora Avenue in Victoria. (File photo, Black Press Media)

More than 1,600 identified as homeless in Greater Victoria

Numbers are higher than in 2020 report

Tent camp on Pandora Avenue in Victoria. (File photo, Black Press Media)
Candide Dias and Karen Lundgren from Victoria’s Cool Aid Society stand inside Victoria’s second mobile health unit, which will deliver more health-care services and outreach to vulnerable populations in Greater Victoria. (Natasha Baldin/News Staff)

Greater Victoria’s second mobile health clinic added to help vulnerable

Cool Aid Society and Telus Health partner

Candide Dias and Karen Lundgren from Victoria’s Cool Aid Society stand inside Victoria’s second mobile health unit, which will deliver more health-care services and outreach to vulnerable populations in Greater Victoria. (Natasha Baldin/News Staff)
Parksville council has directed city staff to begin the process of defining Memorial Plaza as a “sensitive area” where shelter and overnight stays are prohibited. (Kevin Forsyth photo)

Parksville council to consider camping ban for city’s Memorial Plaza

Mayor’s motion came after weeks of complaints about security concerns

Parksville council has directed city staff to begin the process of defining Memorial Plaza as a “sensitive area” where shelter and overnight stays are prohibited. (Kevin Forsyth photo)
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales arrive for the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting, at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England, Friday, June 23, 2023.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Prince William launches 5-year project to end long-term homelessness in the UK

Prince William launched a five-year project to end long-term homelessness in the…

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales arrive for the Royal Ascot horse racing meeting, at Ascot Racecourse in Ascot, England, Friday, June 23, 2023.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
The Natural Hair Salon stylist Emilya Blegun gives David, an Our Place participant, a haircut for Handsome Day. (Natasha Baldin/News)

‘A day for guys to feel special’: Handsome Day comes to Victoria’s Our Place

Volunteers offered free haircuts and grooming services to those who need them most

  • Jun 16, 2023
The Natural Hair Salon stylist Emilya Blegun gives David, an Our Place participant, a haircut for Handsome Day. (Natasha Baldin/News)
People who experience homelessness in Kelowna often sleep in doorways of businesses on the city’s main downtown street, Bernard Avenue. (David Venn - Kelowna Capital News)

Kelowna’s tent city garners national attention after Poilievre tweet

Pierre Poilievre tweeted a video of a designated homeless encampment in Kelowna

People who experience homelessness in Kelowna often sleep in doorways of businesses on the city’s main downtown street, Bernard Avenue. (David Venn - Kelowna Capital News)
A woman who suffered a series of catastrophes after moving to Victoria - including becoming homeless - got zero sympathy from an adjudicator in a civil case. (Pexels photo)

Homeless Victoria woman ordered to pay back boss $4K in loans that brought her to city

Court had zero sympathy despite series of catastrophes

A woman who suffered a series of catastrophes after moving to Victoria - including becoming homeless - got zero sympathy from an adjudicator in a civil case. (Pexels photo)
City of Campbell River City Hall. Campbell River Mirror Photo

City of Campbell River takes another stab at ban on public drug consumption

Legal challenge, jurisdictional issues quashed first attempt so city proposing a new bylaw

City of Campbell River City Hall. Campbell River Mirror Photo
Vancouver police officers surround a tent with a person still inside as city workers clear an encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, April 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

City of Vancouver says safety up, overdoses and attacks down, after tent camp removal

Vancouver Fire and Rescue received 27 fewer overdose-related calls during the week of the sweep

Vancouver police officers surround a tent with a person still inside as city workers clear an encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, April 5, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Vancouver police officers form a barricade as a person removes their belongings while city workers clear an encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Vancouver police officers have been deployed to a tent encampment on the city’s Downtown Eastside with the aim of shutting down the site to campers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Vancouver’s homeless shelters are overwhelmed following heavy rainfall and decampment

‘You need to have enough spots for people to go to and there are not enough spots’

Vancouver police officers form a barricade as a person removes their belongings while city workers clear an encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Vancouver police officers have been deployed to a tent encampment on the city’s Downtown Eastside with the aim of shutting down the site to campers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The federal government has committed $3 million from its Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy program for initiatives to deal with homeless issues in the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo . Pictured is a homeless camp that sprung up in Duncan’s Charles Hoey Park in 2017. (Citizen file photo)

Mid-Island groups to receive $3 million from Ottawa to deal with homeless issues

Recipients include the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society’s new women’s shelter

The federal government has committed $3 million from its Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy program for initiatives to deal with homeless issues in the Cowichan Valley and Nanaimo . Pictured is a homeless camp that sprung up in Duncan’s Charles Hoey Park in 2017. (Citizen file photo)
Dan Hogan gets emotional as they load a few of his possessions into a truck. (Michael Briones photo)

Temporary shelter at Parksville’s VIP Motel is now closed

OHEARTS future is uncertain after emotional last day for residents

Dan Hogan gets emotional as they load a few of his possessions into a truck. (Michael Briones photo)
Police say a body has been found inside the remains of a burned tent at an encampment on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Woman found dead after firefighters douse blaze at Vancouver tent encampment

Woman appears to have died before the fire started

Police say a body has been found inside the remains of a burned tent at an encampment on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Police cars are seen parked outside Vancouver Police Department headquarters in Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The cityÕs fire chief issued an order last month requiring the tents to be cleared because of an extreme fire safety hazard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Annual count of Metro Vancouver homeless underway after pandemic hiatus

11 municipalities across the Lower Mainland are taking part in the 24-hour, point-in-time count

A man using a rolling walker walks on the street past tents setup on the sidewalk at a sprawling homeless encampment on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The cityÕs fire chief issued an order last month requiring the tents to be cleared because of an extreme fire safety hazard. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Tent camp in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press Media)

Advocate for unhoused sued Victoria, saying city ‘wrongly confiscated’ donations

City says it spent at least $5,000 fighting the case

Tent camp in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. (Tom Fletcher/Black Press Media)
A person pushes a stroller past the shelter of an unhoused person in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023. The federal housing advocate is launching a review of homeless encampments in Canada, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Federal housing advocate reviewing ‘human rights crisis’ of homeless encampments

Review takes place against the backdrop of a visible rise in homeless encampments since the start of COVID-19

A person pushes a stroller past the shelter of an unhoused person in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023. The federal housing advocate is launching a review of homeless encampments in Canada, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
Lewis Street resident Fran Stirling feels like a prisoner in her home due to the many social issues in the neighbourhood. Pictured is Stirling next to a chain link fence set up by authorities in 2019 that runs the length of the street in an attempt to keep homeless people from camping in certain areas. (Robert Barron/Citizen)

North Cowichan resident feels abandoned by authorities in face of street disorder

Fran Stirling says issues with homeless has trapped her in her home

Lewis Street resident Fran Stirling feels like a prisoner in her home due to the many social issues in the neighbourhood. Pictured is Stirling next to a chain link fence set up by authorities in 2019 that runs the length of the street in an attempt to keep homeless people from camping in certain areas. (Robert Barron/Citizen)
Unhoused people set up camp in the park during the COVID-19 pandemic, when sheltering space was reduced. (Black Press Media file photo)

Judge rejects B.C. appeal of court ruling halting sheltering in Beacon Hill Park

Province was concerned ruling could set precedent for other communities

  • Feb 22, 2023
Unhoused people set up camp in the park during the COVID-19 pandemic, when sheltering space was reduced. (Black Press Media file photo)