STREET OUTREACH GROUP EVICTED BY VICTORIA CHURCH

Program That Helps Teens, Adults Couldn't Maintain Drug-Free Zone

A Victoria church, citing an increasing number of problems that
require calls to police, is evicting an outreach program that helps
street teens and adults.

StreetHope, a program run by the Canada-wide evangelistic group Church
Army, has leased a cottage at 930 Mason St. from St. John the Divine
Anglican church for the last decade.

But with increasing drug and criminal activities in the area,
StreetHope is being evicted on New Year's Eve.

Drug problems have increased dramatically over the last year since the
closing of the Cormorant Street needle exchange, said Rev. Harold Munn
of St. John the Divine.

Also, homeless people who had been congregating on a median on Pandora
Avenue are being moved away from there. The combination means many
with severe addiction problems have shifted to Mason Street.

"Our parish council can't turn a blind eye to the significant
increases in drug-related activity we're seeing around our church,"
Munn said.

Neighbours are faced with almost daily police visits because of drug
trafficking, violence or loud disturbances. StreetHope has not been
able to keep the area around the cottage a drug-free zone, which is
part of the St. John's good-neighbour policy.

The Cool Aid emergency shelter opened at the church last Sunday,
bringing more people into the area. So it was felt something had to be
done, even though the congregation of St. John's is known for its
social conscience, Munn said.

"This is not in any way the fault of the Church Army. It's an illusion
to think volunteers can deal with that extreme level of addiction," he
said.

"People with severe raging addictions are beyond the capacity of the
church and a volunteer congregation to respond to adequately, without
substantial government support."

A fixed-site needle exchange and supervised-injection site would steer
addicts toward the help they need, Munn said.

"Our congregation feels strongly these people suffer from a severe
medical condition. No one wakes up one day and says, 'I want to crawl
around in the gutter addicted.' We need a fixed needle exchange and
supervised consumption site."

Rick Sandberg, StreetHope outreach director, acknowledges street
problems have increased.

"There's been some social engineering, with people moving here from
the [closed] needle exchange," he said.

Also, StreetHope now provides soup, sandwiches and companionship to
adults as well as homeless youth.

"It was a natural thing. We started opening our doors to the adults
shooting up on our doorstep when we were giving lunch to teenagers,"
Sandberg said.

The number of adults has been increasing while the number of homeless
teens shrinks. Last year, StreetHope provided 1,200 lunches to teens
instead of the usual 2,000-plus.

Inside the cottage, the mood is usually calm, Sandberg said. "I don't
have global solutions, but we offer solutions to one person at a time."

StreetHope will search for another location, and that will not be
easy, Sandberg said. "We might have to be mobile for a while."

Bruce Smith, Church Army national director, said changing demographics
mean the outreach effort is attracting older people in need of help.
"We don't believe the issues are present because we are there. We are
there because the issues are present," Smith said.