City of Victoria says neighbouring communities need to step up when temps drop

As the cold weather approaches, B.C.’s capital city will be testing a new model for keeping its most vulnerable citizens warm.

“It’s a little bit more nimble and flexible, and I think it’s going to be a lot more effective in its reach and its effectiveness,” Dan Atkinson, Victoria’s Fire Chief said.

“So this year we’re going to be deploying two levels of response when all shelters are full. We’ll be out in the community with enhanced wellness checks, we’ll be distributing resources for people to stay warm, and we’ll be activating warming tents and warming buses as well.”

Atkinson said this two-tier approach not only includes tents and buses but also distributing hundreds of kits to help people stay warm and dry.

“Each individual municipality is responsible for assessing their own level of risk and then coming up with a plan that addresses that risk,” Atkinson said.

“What I can say is we’ve completed that work in Victoria and we believe we have a plan that’s sufficient in meeting the need of Victorians. I’m not gonna speak to the effectiveness or the level of response in other communities.”

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Victoria city council says neighbouring communities, such as Oak Bay, Esquimalt and Sidney, rely on Victoria to provide the cold weather response.

“Not every municipality is participating,” Coun. Krista Loughton told Global News.

“Sidney had an opportunity to set up a warming center, but council voted against. And that would have been for 20 homeless seniors. So that’s problematic in my mind. And Oak Bay and Esquimalt are saying that there’s no need. Well, that’s because they lean on Victoria. And that is a cop-out.”

2:12 Victoria city council spending millions on community safety

Loughton said there are 318 unsheltered people in the city at least and the need could be greater than that.

The most recent homeless count that took place in Victoria found 1,794 people experiencing homelessness across the region, including 318 of them living unsheltered and 493 staying in emergency shelters.