Sherry Thompson and Earl Bretherton realized several years ago that Sooke needed a local effort to deal with homelessness, and came together to do just that in 2017.
They opened the Sooke Shelter, which was incorporated into the non-profit Sooke Shelter Society in 2018.
“We’ve certainly grown over the last few years, that’s for sure,” said Thompson, the society’s executive director.
The society now has 29 units of supportive housing and supplies meals to the residents, as well as to the homeless or those just needing extra support.
“Anyone in the community can have a meal in our dining room,” Thompson said.
There were plenty of special activities going on ahead of Christmas, including cookie making, movie nights and decorating, she said.
The facility also has six pods on the main floor earmarked for use when extreme weather hits, as has been the case with recent storms. Thompson said there are an additional seven cots that can be set up in an common-room area, for a total of 13 beds.
She said that homeless people in the Sooke area often have local ties.
“They do tend to want to stay in their community here in Sooke,” she said. “Many of them grew up here.”
Thompson said that the total number of homeless in the area is “fluid” but estimates there is a core group of about 75 or more. “And there’s so many that we don’t even know about who are living in vehicles or maybe couch surfing, that sort of thing.”
The numbers show that homelessness is not confined just to one or two areas in the capital region, Thompson said.
“It goes out even west of Sooke, to Shirley, Jordan River, Port Renfrew,” she said.
Services from Island Health are available at the society’s West Coast Road facility called Hummingbird Place, located near the town centre, Thompson said. It was purchased by B.C. Housing in 2021.
Services come from a registered nurse, an addictions doctor and other health-care professionals who are there on a regular basis, Thompson said.
A $30,000 grant from the Victoria Foundation, via the provincial Community Prosperity Fund, has added to the range of services by making it possible to hire a mental-health and addictions worker, Thompson said.
“We’ve been able to address critical gaps in the services for our residents and for our outreach clients,” she said.
The worker helps with things like referrals to doctors, and also sees that those living outside have dry clothes, dry sleeping bags and proper tents “to make sure they’re as safe as they can be,” she said.
It’s also important for the worker to watch people’s condition and respond to any health issues they develop, Thompson said.
She said the overall effect of having someone in the position has been to reduce barriers for those who need help.
