People experiencing homelessness in Parksville will have temporary access to showers at Orca Place for approximately six weeks starting in late November.
City council approved a request from Island Crisis Care Society, which will offer the service in collaboration with Island Health.
The service will be hosted at Orca Place from Nov. 25 to Jan. 3, while the Society of Organized Services shower program is unavailable to accommodate its Caring for Community at Christmas program.
"I took this proposal to the Orca Place Community Advisory Committee today," ICCS executive director Violet Hayes said in her Oct. 17 letter to council. "No one reported any issues or concerns from last year and agreed for us to offer the service again this year. It was noted that it was helpful to have an outreach worker available to support people."
This will be the third year ICCS has offered the program at the supportive housing facility, a 52-unit building for people who have experienced housing and health challenges, built by BC Housing on land owned by the City of Parksville. ICCS provides staffing and maintenance.
Coun. Amit Gaur questioned why the city does not put a longer-term agreement in place with ICCS, instead of approving its request on a yearly basis.
“We know this program has been successful. It has been well-managed, well-staffed," he said. "There have been no complaints from the neighbours or the community at large. We see the benefit of this program."
ICCS has only asked for an approval for this year, according to chief administrative officer Keeva Kehler, and it is within council's discretion.
“In previous years council has discussed keeping it a temporary thing, but if council wished to change direction, council could approve something for a longer term,” Kehler said.
Prior to 2022, the shower program was hosted at other locations that include Ravensong Aquatic Centre in Qualicum Beach and a church.
“We have had no situations or problems in the past, but unfortunately time moves on, managers move on and different people become operators of this facility," said Mayor Doug O'Brien, and added council has been "totally impressed" with the management by ICCS. "I think it’s just prudent that we continue, instead of just giving a blanket recommendation.”
Coun. Adam Fras agreed council should approve the request on a yearly basis, rather than grant a "blanket approval", and only with approval by the Community Advisory Committee, made up of Orca Place managers and neighbours.
“That’s why I’ve always said in the past, when these kind of requests come forward, they should also come either with a letter of support or of opposition to it from the community advisory committee," Fras said. “An important part I think here is, about it being temporary, is that Orca Place is primarily supposed to be supportive housing and for the residents. It’s not a place for transients or people who don’t live there to have programming go through there."
The annual request also informs the public about the program's ongoing success, Coun. Sylvia Martin added.
Council voted to approve the request, with an amendment proposed by Coun. Joel Grenz that requests the service provider submit a written report to council by Jan. 31, 2025 with details about utilization, learning and recommendations for the program, as well as alternatives to consider for future years.
A 2023 point-in-time count by the Oceanside Task Force on Homelessness found 103 people who identified as experiencing homelessness, up from 87 people in 2021. Of those 103 people, 72 per cent were adults, 25 per cent were seniors and three per cent were youth.
