Victoria homelessness: camping in parks a problem in suburbs too

While the tent city on the lawn of the Victoria law courts keeps making headlines, a University of Victoria professor says homeless camping is a problem in Victoria's suburbs as well.

Trevor Hancock, with UVic's School of Public Health and Social Policy, recently wrote a draft paper for the Gorge Tillicum Community Association of which he is a member addressing homelessness and housing affordability in Saanich.

That paper calls for more help to deal with homelessness as tents are on the rise in places such as Cuthbert Holmes Park.

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"What we saw in Saanich, particularly over the last summer, and into the fall, was a bit of an upsurge in camping and also the state of the camps," Hancock told All Points West host Robyn Burns.

"In a few cases [there were] troubling or unsettling interactions with people, although that's not true of most campers."

Hancock says that at present, there is no permanent shelter in Saanich, which is part of the problem.

"We need to deal with the people in our own community rather than leave it to the Capital Regional District or leave it to the City of Victoria with its shelters and services," he said.

Hancock's paper calls on the District of Saanich to hire a dedicated planner.

He thinks the District should establish a community task force to engage the community on solutions.

Hancock says he wants other community associations in Saanich to find out more about homelessness in their neighbourhoods so they can present a case for action to Saanich council.

With files from All Points West

To hear the full story, click the audio labelled:Saanich researcher says suburbs, not just Victoria, seeing increase in homeless people camping