Correspondence (m): Letter dated June 18, 2018 from Downtown Service Providers Committee

Downtown Service Providers (DSP) Committee

June 18, 2018

Mayor and Council Town of View Royal

Via Email: mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca

Re: Our Place Society Therapeutic Recovery Community – Letter of Support

Dear Mayor and Council,

On behalf of the Downtown Service Providers Committee, please accept this letter of support for Our Place Society in their request to rezone the former Youth Custody Centre to allow for the creation of a Therapeutic Recovery Community.

The Downtown Service Providers Committee is comprised of service providers operating in Victoria’s downtown core, or serving populations in the downtown core, that have been meeting monthly since 2002 to share information, coordinate activities, and develop collaborative strategies to address the needs in the downtown core. Membership includes representatives of: service delivery organizations, city council, city staff, police, and local businesses, as well as funding, advocacy and social policy agencies. Advocacy letters such as this generally reflect the views of the service delivery, advocacy and social policy agencies only.

Our front-line service provider members play a key role in the social stabilization of individuals in Victoria providing a range of housing, health and support services. We welcome efforts to ensure that a robust continuum of services is in place in the Greater Victoria area as we know how vital this range of options is in assisting people to attain physical and mental health.

The DSP supports the urgent need to strengthen the long-term treatment and recovery aspect of services for those struggling with substance use in Greater Victoria. The DSP applauds Our Place as they continue to advocate for the creation of a Therapeutic Recovery Community (TRC), which will provide stable housing and rehabilitation for people caught in the destructive cycle of homelessness and incarceration. The primary goal of a Therapeutic Recovery Community is to foster individual change and promote positive growth that helps an individual return to society and lead a productive life. The intent of Our Place in establishing a TRC is to provide critical recovery focused supported housing that compliments the Housing First Strategy in Greater Victoria. The program will address such barriers to recovery as trauma, brain injury, abuse, mental health, and criminality.

We understand that the Province, through BC Housing and Island Health, is supporting Our Place in repurposing the former Victoria Youth Custody Centre as a Therapeutic Recovery Community, subject to a successful rezoning.

Our Place successfully operated a transitional shelter facility known as “Choices Transitional Home” out of that location until March 2018. Our understanding is that there was minimal impact on the surrounding community from the shelter operations. A Therapeutic Recovery Community, by its very nature, will have even less impact on its immediate neighbourhood.

It is our hope that the Mayor and Council of View Royal will support the rezoning application by Our Place to transform the former Youth Custody Centre into a Therapeutic Recovery Community, creating a much needed resource in Greater Victoria.

If you require more information about the Downtown Service Providers Committee, please contact me at 250-414-4792 or kstinson@coolaid.org.

Sincerely,

Kathy Stinson CPA, CMA CIHCM Chair, Downtown Service Providers