News & Events

At the age of 60, Mabel accomplished one of her lifelong goals. She graduated high school. “I didn’t really do great in school when I was young,” she says. “It was always a struggle, and I never really understood why until later in life when my learning disability was diagnosed.” But despite that obstacle, Mable […]

Healing can come from the most unexpected places: planting a tree or mopping a floor, but perhaps the strongest connection is when someone looks into your heart and recognizes the strength inside. Born into a family of 15 children with alcohol-dependent parents, John Prevost admits he should be dead. A nurse told him once that […]

When he was only seven years old, Mark suffered the first of two serious head injuries that forever changed his life. While riding his bike to school in St. Catharine’s, Ontario, Mark was struck by a car and suffered a devastating head injury. The driver stopped, helped him up and told him that he was […]

When Rose was studying to earn her Business Administration degree in Prince George, she never set her sights on future goals or dreams. But if she had, it’s unlikely that she would ever have imagined trying to live on a government allowance of $500 per month when her rent cost $495. “I picked bottles for […]

When you first meet Al, you are taken in by his eyes: clear, strong and focused. But those eyes also contain a vulnerability that tells you he is someone who has lived rough, faced difficult decisions, and known pain. Born and raised in Victoria, Al’s life was turned upside down 11 years ago when he […]

“What I’m scared of, terrified of, is that I’m going to go back to it. But I don’t want to go back,” says family member Gordie about his 30-year addiction to drugs. What’s remarkable about Gordie’s statement is the strength he shows every day to stay sober after battling his addiction for three decades. “I […]

If you walk into Our Place on a Wednesday afternoon, you’ll find a line of people waiting for Gordon. Every week this gentle man extends care and compassion to a host of people who sleep outside or on hard mats – people whose shoulders ache, whose spines are stiff, and whose backs are in dire […]

“It’s like a game of snakes and ladders,” says long-time Victoria resident, Don McLeod, about injuries due to a recent bicycle accident that he’s concerned will impede his recovery. In the past, an injury like this one would have sent the retired commercial fisherman and businessman back to using heroin and prescription pain killers. But […]

“My dad was a long-standing member of the Victoria street community,” says Shawn, 29, as he sips a coffee at the end of his work day. “Yeah, he died on the stairs there behind the Empress. He had a heart attack and an alcoholic seizure.” Even though the paramedics successfully resuscitated Shawn’s father, Daryl died […]