“We’re seeing some new faces coming down,” said Grant McKenzie, director of communications for Victoria’s Our Place Society. “They tend not to be people who are the most vulnerable — people who are on the street. For them, moving to a new city is very, very difficult.” Rather, McKenzie speculates that the new arrivals may be people who have the ability to move to Vancouver Island to prey on the less fortunate by selling drugs. “We’ve seen some collisions on the road,” McKenzie said. “People have their own protective communities or family units and when new faces come in they often fight for dominance and that can cause a ripple effect down the road.” Nicole Mucci, a spokeswoman for the Union Gospel Mission in Vancouver, told CTV News that McKenzie’s theory makes sense. “There’s no housing or other solutions being offered, so if people leave as a result of demobilization, we won’t be shocked,” Mucci said. Another Victorian organization – the Together Against Poverty Society – emphasizes the need to distinguish any new arrivals from the local unhoused population. “The reality is that people who don’t have homes are more at risk of harm than harm,” said Emily Rogers, TAPS tenant legal advocate. “I want to keep it in the center.” Mucci had a similar message. “They’re at risk right now because they don’t have somewhere safe to live,” he said. “This is across the province.” The provincial ministry responsible for housing said additional homes should be available in Vancouver later this month. He said he is also working to bring more homes to Victoria. It’s unlikely the new units the province will create will be enough, given that BC Housing has told the city of Vancouver it doesn’t “have access to a large number of new spaces” in the short term. With files from CTV News Vancouver Island’s Anna McMillan
