MAY JUNE 2017

Life on the Front Line

Guest Achievements Housing S.R., J.D. N.S. & D.P. moved from Dorms to room as part of the Transitional Housing Program (THP) in May. D.M. moved into a room in May, & moving into the Community in June. C.M. moved into a room from a Dorm in June becoming part of the THP.

On May 13th, J.L. moved into the community with the 12th being his last night here. On May 19th, A.F. found permanent housing & moving into the community today. On May 25th, J.H. found a place before he arrived & moved out soon after arriving, spending little time in the ARC. On May 30th, B.H. found market housing through his church group & moved out. As of May 31st S.O. found a place in the community, renting from a friend & moved out the next day. On June 06th, D.M. was wait listed for Our Place being diligent while working on his housing options. He has applied to “Streets to Homes” for a chance at additional housing.

On June 6th A.G. found housing, stating he had shared accommodations on the reserve. R.T.

ISSUE 31

From the ED's Desk Brian Slous (M.A.C.S.) Major Executive Director The prophet Jeremiah once wrote, "...for I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you & not to harm you, plans to give you hope & a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 - NIV). These were words written to the nation of Israel when facing a period of transition, a 70 year exile's worth, in fact. But what an incredible promise! The God who allowed significant change & challenge to take place in the lives of his people, still wanted them to know that there was a plan and that He had everything under control. We are all acutely aware that change is in the air here at the ARC. By the time this edition of our newsletter is published, I suspect I will be on my way to new & challenging responsibilities in the UK. I know I want to

claim this promise as I go for myself, but I also want to claim it for you. It is my prayer that we will all embrace these words of promise as we welcome a new ED. & management level & fill vacant positions. We can be glad that, as we move forward, God is already there & the plan is set for our good & the good of those we serve daily in His name. It has been a privilege ministering alongside you over these past three years. This appointment was one I would have never dreamed would be on my resume, but it is - &why? Because God had a plan & he brought us all together for such a time as this. He still has a plan & as we see it unfold under the competent, vibrant leadership of new ED., Captain Sheldon Feener, I can only imagine the possibilities for the future of the ARC not only for the immediate future but for years to come. Know that the Victoria ARC, along with all who live and work here, will always have a special place in my heart. May God bless you each one.

Quote of the Month

It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody. Maya Angelou

came in today & is doing great! 9 months since he left, he’s working hard &has his own place. He hopes to resolve past issues & volunteer here.

On June 16th G.H. was waitlisted for Cottage Grove, in a “CASH” referral. Having over the years, dealt with physical & emotional issues, it’s the building in which he hoped to live.

Maj. Brian & Lt. Col. Beverly Slous at their going away party, with Kirk Fremont ARC ex-cook.

Meals in the Community 2100

Meals for residents 13,320

Sleeps provided 3059

M.A. was placed in Cool Aid’s Waterview building, as of June 19th. As of June 21st A.P. secured accommodation through Pacifica Housing which included a new bed, while K. G. found housing starting the end of June. On June 22nd M.M. attained housing at the York Hotel, coming due as late as Aug 1stst. He came to the ARC from the Traveler’s Inn fire in March 2016 & now hopes to be content in his new setting. R.C., as of June 27th was accepted for housing downtown at St. Josephs with a Streets to Homes subsidy to be moving July 4th resolving his long term homelessness. As of June 27 th, C.G. has found some housing in Sydney& will move there, end of the week. Programs In May, N.V. entered detox, after coming to the ARC, for resources. He found a rehab pro-gram & was signed to a Duncan facility, with a wait time of 2 weeks to months. May 30th, K.H. a past resident finished Detox/Stabilization & came by to thank us for our help as he carried on with his life. C.S., fearful of the new life he is building, went to Detox , for the first day of the rest of his life his life. On May 31st, 12 days later, he came to the ARC saying he was in Stabilization & doing well, looked amazing & has adapted positively to the program according to his counselor, being “All-in”. Topping it off he attended Celebrate Recovery that night. On June 5th D. F. officially left for treatment to Harbourlight today. We wish him all the best!. We expect his return in 3 months. T.B., a victim from the Traveller’s Inn fire & a resident of Salvation Army transitional housing, about a year ago, with our help es-

committed to graveyard shift work. As of May 23rd, A.G. works at Bear Mountain & is by all accounts doing well there. On May 24th P.N. started working graveyards at Denny’s. It’s his first shift & if it goes ok he will be doing more. On May 30th, A.A started a new job at “The Lo-cal” restaurant. As of May 31st F.F-W, M.W. & M.K. have all found jobs in the community & are making their way in the world. In late May M.A. called from Campbell River at Second chance Recovery Program. He is doing very well & will stay there as he has a job & is working with a friend. All is well in his world. As of June 1st, D. L. started working all day. As of June 3rd, C.N. works construction at a high rise down the street, has bought a truck & is now looking at apartments out in Duncan. On June 20th, R.W. asked for his first wake-up having just got a job. As of this date H. M. found a job at the shipyard & L.R. was offered full time working on Yachts as a heavy duty mechanic. As of June 24th T. H. has casual work. Health & Emotional Wealth In early June, A.P. returned from knee surgery & is feeling much better. On June 9th, past client , J.R., stopped in, thanking our staff for help in tough times. Displaced by a building fire last year we helped when his resources were exhausted. Almost in tears he said ARC helped him get a better place, with a great landlord. He is so thankful to the Salvation Army & the incredible staff here dur-ing that time. On June 11th D.B ask to be a volunteer at the ARC & will hopefully talk to Karla soonest. Despite ongoing health issues with a good prog-nosis, R.D. picked up his stuff on June 12th & moved to Matson-Sequoia. With some surgeries to go, he is looking better & starting to volunteer at the ARC.

ARC Resident A.C. at Buccaneer Days in Esquimalt, BC.

caped an abusive relationship & made her way to Sagewood Treatment Centre, Maple Ridge. She stopped by on June 13th, to say hi & pick up belongings. She’s still clean, sober & very happy! It’s so heartwarming to see such a remarkable change in her life. On June 13th, D.B. approached a Resident Support Worker (RSW) to ask to do some volunteer work here at ARC. & was referred to our Spiritual Coordinator Karla Anderson. By June 21st, ex-client S.P. is in treatment for 32 days is clean, sober & learning to manage his diabetes. He requested another 30 days stay, approved by his PACT team. As of June 27th, I.T. & D.M. started a “Skills Training & Readiness to Employment” program taking them closer to finding employment in their field of interest. Jobs On May 11th, F.W. newly booked in bed, has

Springtime rains in the ARC, its been wet & cold much of the time

On June 2nd, 2017 Maj. Brian Slous Executive Director ARC, led the proceedings from 11:30-12:00. Attending were Lt. Col. Brian Venables, Divisional Commander for the Salvation Army BC Division; Murray Rankin, Member of Parliament Victoria; Carole James, Member of the Legislative Assembly Victoria-Beacon Hill, Mitzi Jayne Dean Member of the Legislative Assembly for Esquimalt-Metchosin, Geoff Young, Councilor, City of Victoria, Bruce Donaldson, Chair Victoria Advisory Board.

MAJOR BRIAN S DEPARTURE PARTY

On June 14th, 2017, 1:30-2:30 PM we had a gathering in the 2nd Floor Boardroom themed, Canada 150 Years Old to celebrate the Major Brian Slous’s posting to England . We learned, courtesy of the Annual Change article in the Salvationist that Captain Sheldon Feener will be Executive Director Victoria Addictions & Rehabilitation Centre in July.

Bob took all these clients to the IMAX Theatre at the Royal British Columbia Museum.

EVENTS BC election politics affected what we do. As recorded by Jeff Baergen on May 1st, “it was such a privilege serving at the weekend Poverty event at Centennial Square. The Salvation Army served about 350 hot dogs & hamburgers throughout the day. Many thanks to Josh for standing in front of the BBQ for hours. We heard from most local candidates – actually a great turnout!”. Other meetings affecting our client base were Kalen Harris, May 2nd at Our Place, while Carole James was at Our Place Society in the Drop In, May 3rd .

AA MEETINGS Starting in early May, AA meetings are back at the ARC, meeting Fri /Sat. at 07:30 pm. WELLNESS WEDNESDAY Bob McMeechan, came in on a day off, to take clients to an IMAX theatre, they had a wonderful time. STAFF MILESTONES Ex Residence Manager Jeff Baergen held a farewell BBQ at his house in Sooke, May 13th, with transportation to Sooke & back. Several staff participated with transport to 7 & fro. Entertainment included Campfire & “gangsta rap”. Head Cook Anthony Dompierre has also moved on. OPEN HOUSE CELEBRATION

MEMORIAL A memorial service was held for Donovan Whitely-Russ on June 16th at13:00 at Our Place Chapel in Celebration of his life.

Photo: Jeff Baergen

Jeff Young, Mitzi Jayne Dean, Carol James, Brian Venables, Murray Rankin, Patricia Mamic

it was a nice sunny walk in the park, the day we went. We walked down to the beach, climbed a hill & came back returning to the van . On June 1st the hiking group went to Caleb Pike. This is us. We don’t get out our see the rest of the world enough.

At the Beach at East Sooke Park.

EAST SOOKE PARK HIKE & CALEB PIKE May 4th saw the ARC Hiking Program go to the East Sooke Park. It started at 01 pm, returning at around 05 pm. It was wet & soggy the day before & it rained as well as the day after, but

Up the hill at East Sooke Parke Caleb Pike overlooking the Lake Photo: Trevor Impey

The group at East Sooke Park

Web Links Out to East Sooke Park Caleb Pike

By the road in East Sooke Park More Forest along the road in East Sooke Parke

Rev. Al Tysick

General Editor & Content Provider—Gord Handford

Email: GHandford@victoriaarc.org

Web Address http://www.victoriaarc.org/

Publisher—SAARC

ARC RENOVATION We are on the final leg of renovation correcting deficiencies, as well as moving garbage, detritus & unneeded items. May & June saw the finish of some projects, resulting in the return of several areas to general operation, while several other projects began. Installing Air Handling Units (AHU) began as they were hoisted up to the roof on in early May. Work began on the 3rd Floor washroom & other areas. This resulted in some inconvenience in the cafeteria, where areas below the 3rd floor had to be sealed off — lasting until the end of May — while work progressed on the washroom area above. By end of June the hoarding in the cafeteria was removed though ceiling tiles remain to be attached to the framing, installed in May. As May ended tiles were applied to the Inner Lobby around the elevator area. May 23rdsaw the opening of the Chapel & the return of Front Desk staff to the Lobby office, reaching a milestone in our renovation pro-ject. Shortly thereafter programs AA & Celebrate Recovery meetings returned to the Chapel soon. The Mezzanine Boardroom came into service in early June. We returned the Front Desk Office — our new “Bubble” — to the now renovated Lobby entrance area at 13:00, a

process lasting well into the following day. Our residents now enter & leave the ARC through the Johnson Street lobby with access to offices, public amenities & the Chapel, controlled from the Front Desk “bubble”. The ARC will be available to the public the week days (Monday to Friday 07:00 am to5:00 pm) & announced public events. Desk Staff can site the front door & communicate via intercom with people at the front & rear doors as neces-sary. Additional secure door controls came online soon after in June, in-cluding elevator controls & fob distribution, while keys still work in all the same doors to access the areas required. On June 2nda Celebration of the Renovation was held at the ARC a public event organized by Divisional PRD to show off the newly minted ARC & welcome the public to see what we have been up to over the last number of months. Work continued our 3rd floor common washroom on a few single wash-rooms through the building, meaning the disruption to the 2nd floor cafete-ria continued into early June.

Main Lobby and Front Desk area Photo Lyle Smith

CHATTEL CITY LIFE

may have gone to Beacon Hill Park. I don’t imagine that it went away, it probably can’t. Mid June, the weather is still unseasonably cool. The occasional tent tarp construction appears along the edge of Reeson Park, a statement of a new mindset, demanding to be noticed. The Tents are creeping back, & some residents with a continuing emotional commitment aren’t ready to leave. As of the end of June, it’s a cadence with police still doing the morning wake up. People still pack up the park, stacking up their belongings by the Tourist sign & the benches on Wharf Street & we still get them for meals in Community Dining, 4 days a week.

Web links Reeson Park in the News Reeson Park Walk Score Chattel City Redux Chattel Tent City and Housing The Future of Reeson Park Homeless Hub

With the beginning of Spring now, it’s warmer & with longer days, though not warm enough. As a daily routine, the Dandelion Society with Reverend Al showed up in the mornings. By 07:00 the citizens of Chattel City, woke up, having to pack up & join the world. We have Community Dining meals in our building at noontime 4 days a week where they come to eat. We’re only across the street but its worlds away hoping to be a temporary staging point & better answer for the rest of their life. In late May, we had a visitor from across the street with a neck wound. Jamieson, our ARC staff gave first aid & called 911. Paramedics & Vic Pd shortly after. We used to not see this much, now it happens all the time. It comes with being a refuge from the worlds ills, I suppose. When Reeson Park facilities are built, this will all change, but this demographic battle will likely surface again elsewhere. There aren’t many people in Reeson Park on the mornings of late May any more. Victoria police and workers come by to help t the remain few to pack up & remain within bylaw compliance. Rumor has it that the problem