How We Help
Our Place Society is a community service provider for the poor, disadvantaged, and homeless of Greater Victoria. From its Pandora Avenue location, Our Place Society runs a variety of life transforming services, including meals, housing, health and wellness, education, and practical care.
We serve over 1,400 nutritious meals each day while providing a safe and dignified environment for people to shower, receive clean clothing, find their place in the community, and connect with experienced, professional support staff.
All of our services offer hope and belonging for the most vulnerable citizens of Greater Victoria.
Because of you, we are able to offer:
Transitional Housing & Shelter
Our Place at 919 Pandora has 45 transitional housing units for the hardest to house in our region. The majority of people move directly from living on the streets into one of our units where they may stay for upwards of three years. Tenants receive the support of a housing team, which includes a mental health and addictions counsellor. The 15 units on our fifth floor are focused on those who are actively engaged in their recovery from addiction. Many tenants move up to the fifth floor as the final step on their journey into permanent housing.
My Place Transitional Shelter on Yates Street is a 24/7 transitional housing facility for up to 50 residents. Our Place has transformed the former Boys & Girls Club into 50 bunks complete with professional support staff and nutritious meals, counselling.
First Met Shelter at 932 Balmoral Rd is a seasonal nightly shelter that can accommodate up to 60 people. Utilizing the gymnasium of First Met United Church, staff provide sleeping mats and blankets to people without anywhere else to sleep. This shelter opens at 7 p.m. each night and accepts singles, couples and people with pets.
Drop-In Centre
Serving between 600 to 800 people per day, the Drop-In Centre is a sanctuary and community gathering place. Our Nutrition Bar is open between our scheduled hot meals, and serves coffee, tea and baked goods. While the Nutrition Bar is staffed by friendly volunteers, our professional staff of Outreach Workers are there to connect and assist people with their daily needs. Our Message & Mail Centre allows more than 400 people with no fixed address to receive mail and phone messages. Other services include access to computers, clothing, games, library, and more.
Outreach
Our Place Outreach Workers meet people where they are at, building trust with a vulnerable population that has often felt at odds with mainstream society. The team provides Advocacy, Financial Crisis Support, Field Trips, Hope Fund, Interventions, Sports, Hair Cuts, Showers, Access Pro Bono Legal Services, Overdose Prevention Site, Income Tax, Counselling, Aboriginal Housing Advocacy, Referrals to Employment, Housing, Government Agencies, Medical, Detox & Treatment Services.
Meals
We serve over 1,200 nutritious meals and 1,000 snacks per day. Breakfast is served every morning from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.; Lunch is Noon to 1 p.m.; Dinner is 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. In 2018, we served nearly 1,000,000 meals and snacks through the Nutrition Bar and Dining Room.
Education
Our Place partners with community groups and volunteers to provide a vast array of opportunities to enrich intellect, develop personal insight, unleash creativity and learn practical skills. Volunteers provide programs in the areas of: Art Group, Art Therapy, Library, Choir, Computer Training, Gardening, Story Collective, Job Skills, Literacy, Knitting, Financial Planning, Math Class, Bike Maintenance, and more.
Health
Our Place believes in bringing as many services as we can directly to the people we serve. To that end, the transformation of a washroom closet into a Medical Room delivers nurses, doctors and paramedics directly into the Drop-In Centre. Other health services provided by volunteers includes: Acupuncture, Acupressure, Chiropractic, Craniosacral Therapy, Massage, Therapy Dog, Dental Hygiene, First Aid, Foot Care, Hearing Clinics, Mayfair Optometric Clinic, Doctors, Nurses, Mental Health and Addiction Counselling, Reiki, Reflexology, Showers, and a Smart Recovery Program.
Employment
A percentage of Our Place staff at 919 Pandora Avenue have first-hand experience with needing to access the services and supports of our organization. Many of our employees join us through a Hand-Up Program that aims to hire people struggling with employment due to issues surrounding poverty, addiction and mental illness. To assist the working poor, we also offer free Bus Tickets, Skills Training & Upgrading, and Bagged Lunches. Many of our “family” volunteers also receive a small stipend through our Peers Helping Peers program.
New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community
A unique therapeutic recovery community in View Royal that is dedicated to ending the cycle of substance use disorder, criminality and homelessness. It is a positive, peer-led treatment environment that encourages appropriate behaviour through reinforcement and accountability.
Dandelion Street Outreach
To reach those who are hunkered down in isolated spots around the Greater Victoria area, Our Place has launched a new program: Dandelion Street Outreach at Our Place. Two outreach workers hit the streets at 6:30 every morning and make their rounds to check up on people who are living in doorways, under hedges, and other isolated spots around the Capital Regional District. Along with health checks, the outreach team delivers hot coffee, snacks, socks, underwear, rain gear, and other necessities. But it also gives isolated people rides to medical appointments, laundry facilities, and other service providers.
Due to COVID-19, many of the participatory programs are on hold. Meals, showers, and foot care, however, are available and we are slowly opening other services. (The New Roads Therapeutic Recovery Community remains in operation as usual.) Phone for the latest information: 250-388-7112.
Our People
