Officials hope for street-level change in Victoria after July attack on first responders

Some elected officials, social service agencies and front-line workers are feeling positive about support for some of the city's most vulnerable residents. However, they say long-term solutions are impossible without provincial and federal resources.

Police chief says incident has led to more collaboration to support safety on Pandora Ave.

Maryse Zeidler · CBC News · Posted: Aug 09, 2024 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: August 9

People walking and hanging out on a city street. — Victoria's Pandora Avenue, which has often had tents set up along its sidewalks, has been the target of recent police enforcement after a paramedic was swarmed by a group of people while responding to a call. (Kathryn Marlow/CBC)

It's a sunny, hot day in British Columbia's capital and Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto is making yet another announcement about safety on one of the city's most challenging streets.

In the four weeks since a paramedic was allegedly punched and kicked in the face while treating a man on Pandora Avenue, city councillors, police and other officials have been working to address safety in the area.

"The situation has become sufficiently dire that it's no longer acceptable to the general public or to the unhoused residents of the city to be left in the situation in which they find themselves," Alto said Wednesday morning, addressing ongoing issues on Pandora Avenue.

Alto was responding to the previous day's announcement from the Victoria Police Department about its three-part safety plan for Pandora Avenue and Ellice Street.

The plan includes foot patrols, police assistance of bylaw officers clearing shelters set up on the street, and removing encampments. It has been well received, even by advocacy groups that have previously criticized the removal of tents and other shelters from Pandora, which has long been known for unhoused people grouped around social service agencies in the area.

A woman with short, grey hair and a grey blazer stands in front of city hall. — Victoria Mayor Marianne Alto speaks at a news conference Wednesday morning. Alto says she supports a new safety plan for Pandora Avenue but long-term support from the province is needed to make long-term improvements. (Emily Fagan/CBC)

A 'breaking point'

Safety concerns on Pandora were heightened about a month ago when a paramedic was attacked and first responders were swarmed by a group of about 60 people.

Victoria Police Chief Del Manak says the incident was chilling for many.

"This incident that happened really was the kind of breaking point that allowed us to reset and make sure that the police are there to make sure that we can create safe environments for everyone," Manak said at a news conference Tuesday.

A man lies on the grass in front of a sign that reads "stop the sweeps." — A man lies on the legislature lawn in May in front of a 'stop the sweeps' sign. 'Sweeps' refer to the practice of clearing encampments or shelters, which is a controversial practice often criticized by people experiencing homelessness and their advocates. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press)

The incident led to a flurry of activity that included police escorts for first responders to Pandora, a council decision to regularly enforce the city's ban on sheltering in the area, and heightened concern for safety.

The increased response has also prompted collaboration among government agencies and service providers that has led some officials to feel positive about support for some of the city's most vulnerable residents. However, those same people say that long-term solutions are impossible without an immediate influx of resources from the provincial and federal governments.

'Massive gaps' in services: Alto

That's a point that Alto, like many mayors around the province, has made repeatedly.

"It's important, I think, for us to realize that all of this is happening in a context where we are seeing a very dramatic breakdown in social services that are usually provided by the province and sometimes the federal government with a little bit of interaction with local governments," Alto said Wednesday.

"These things that we're dealing with locally are responses to symptoms that indicate massive gaps in the health-care system and in the housing system."

A man in a police uniform stands before a podium speaking with his hands clasped together. Behind him on a screen are the words 'Honour through service.' — Victoria Police Chief Del Manak says his officers are targeting criminal elements on Pandora Avenue, not vulnerable people who are unhoused. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press)

The police plan, which Manak says was created in collaboration with the city and social service agencies, includes helping outreach workers connect the unhoused on Pandora and Ellice with housing, whether that be a shelter bed or affordable and supportive housing.

Alto says there are new shelter spaces coming and several service providers are currently waiting for provincial funding. She hopes the province will act upon those requests sooner rather than later.

She praised the province for its new housing plan but says the housing crisis is too critical to wait for those units to be built.

Rapid options

Don McTavish, director of housing and shelters for Victoria's Cool Aid Society, is one of the people supportive of the Victoria Police Department's plan.

McTavish says people living on the street are particularly vulnerable to abuse, in part from people targeting them specifically.

First responders get police escort for downtown Victoria street

But, like Alto, he doesn't think a safety plan alone will solve anything.

"The enforcement and the safety that has to come with the resources to be able to provide an alternative to the folks that are living there," he said.

"Now we need to rapidly come up with the shelter and housing options to try and provide a more permanent option and a way to kind of prevent [the encampment] from recurring in such a large way."