HOMELESS SURVEY MEANS WORKING IN FREAKED-OUT WORLD OF DESPAIR

Shouts fill the night air on Cormorant Street.

Another clash outside AIDS Vancouver Island's needle exchange.

Two men, angry and threatening, chase each other down the grottiest
block in downtown Victoria. Derek Book steps out of their way.
Formerly homeless and now an outreach worker at AVI, he has learned
to give these desperate people lots of space.

"There's a lot of drama happening," says Book. "There's a drug
influence here. There's lots of crisis. People are emotionally upset
about a lot of things."

His job this night, as a volunteer with the 2007 Homeless Needs
Survey, is to try to help those who inhabit this shadowy, freaked-out
world of despair.

His team has brought the Salvation Army's Beacon Bus to Cormorant
Street so those who are reluctant to go to shelters can take part in
the region's second homeless count. Volunteers Alan Bodin and
Christiane Allard will help the homeless complete a survey, answering
questions about their experience of being homeless.

"Whether or not we can reach the people on Cormorant Street is
anybody's guess," says Book.

He glances down the street at people squatting in doorways and along
the sidewalk. The glow from a crack pipe briefly illuminates the
wrought-iron gates blocking every driveway and alley.

"We want to ask them 'What would make you feel comfortable? What is
it you need?' Likely it will be some addiction-support services, safe
injection sites, maybe wet housing, needle drop-offs."

For this group, the drugs of choice are cocaine and heroin, mixed
together in a speedball. Crystal meth is cut into everything.

"As far as addiction goes, homelessness is the biggest issue without
a doubt," said Book. "So many people want to go into detox -- at
least 20 of the 45 people on Cormorant -- but people don't have homes
to go to when they get out, so there's no point. They'd just be back
on the street. Without a home, you're still part of the street scene.
And when you're part of the street scene, it's really hard to stay clean."

Amberly waits for her turn to board the bus. She's 27, homeless for
the first time. She had a job, got fired, partied too much, then her
landlady kicked her out. Amberly smokes a little weed but mostly she
hangs out at the needle exchange because she looks after her sister,
who uses much harder drugs.

"It's kind of hard," says Amberly. "I'm sleeping anywhere and
everywhere. Last night, I was lucky. I stayed with a friend."

Her sister walks by, wired. She wears her drug addiction on her scarred face.

An older, homeless man limps by with a cane. He doesn't want to do
the survey. Book hands him a resource pack with socks, mitts,
toothpaste, snacks and a card listing services offered by social
agencies. He eats the Nutri-Grain bar and walks away.

With short hair, head scarf and long chain belt, Randy swaggers up
and down the street looking like the rapper Eminem. Bristling with
anger and tough-guy attitude, Randy doesn't get on the bus. Book has
known him a long time. He says Randy has never been violent.

"There's a lot of street face involved in this," he explains. "If you
don't have a street face, you don't have anything."

Mark, 37, is thin and worn. His eyes are half-closed when he steps
off the bus. He filled out the survey because he wants better
resources for the homeless at night.

"I've been sleeping outside at a church for a couple of years," he
says. "They leave me alone because I don't s--t in my own backyard. I
can even leave my stuff there during the day."

Buzz wants a backpack. The 40-year-old says she's been on the street
for five years. She also says she's renting an apartment. One thing
is sure -- she has been interviewed before about life on the street.

"It's difficult for people like us to be interviewed," says Buzz. "We
go through survey, after survey, after survey, and nothing ever
happens to put us in our home. There's no affordable housing."

A young couple walk toward the bus. Nicole's pulling a cart filled
with bottles. August, wearing a camouflage-pattern cowboy hat,
carries a suitcase. She's 16. He's 20. She says they've been married
for two years. They moved from Duncan six months ago.

Nicole is a tiny brunette with freckles splashed across her face.
She's drinking Boost meal replacement and wearing a coat that's much
too big for her. She says she got kicked out of her home for getting
pregnant, then had a miscarriage

"I don't like it here," she says. "I get, like, beaten up."

Inside the bus, her face lights up like Christmas when Christiane
hands her a resource pack.

Book gets a bed for August at Streetlink emergency shelter. But
Nicole doesn't want to split up. They head to the Out of the Rain
youth shelter, pulling their cart behind them.

"There are a lot of people here who have wonderful hearts and minds,"
says the outreach worker. "We have to let them know the whole
community is concerned. Everyone wants to get them housed, but we're
not going to get anywhere without their trust."

Time to ease off, says Book. And the Beacon Bus rumbles away. During
the week, teams aboard the bus would search out more homeless people,
hidden away in other areas of the capital region. The survey wraps up
this weekend.

What They're Trying To Do

The week-long Homeless Needs Survey wraps up this weekend. It aims to
document the extent of homelessness and those at risk of being
homeless in the capital region in order to improve housing and services.

- - Survey began Feb. 5 with volunteers and social services agencies
counting the number of people in shelters, transition houses,
hospitals and police ce lls

- - Feb. 6-9 volunteers looked in 40 different locations for anyone overlooked

- - Salvation Army Beacon Bus used during the week to visit outdoor locations

- - Homeless people asked to answer a 15-minute questionnaire about
their housing issues

- - About 1,000 people expected to covered by survey

- - Preliminary results may be released by the month's end

- - Youth data will be released next week

- - Full results will be released at end of March

- - Survey was organized by the Cool Aid Society