News & Events

Tony’s Story

The one word that has followed Tony around for his entire life is ‘Trouble’. He doesn’t know if his birth parents loved him — or even wanted him. He only knows that he was given up for adoption at 21/2 years old. That abandonment by his birth family ingrained in him that even at such […]

Forest’s Story

Without a lone moment of kindness, Forest may have fallen deeper into the depths of addiction. After moving to Vancouver from Victoria with a girlfriend at the age of 18, Forest dipped his* toe into the heroin scene as a rite of passage to becoming a writer. The authors he admired (Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, […]

Therapeutic Recovery Community Opens Wider

Tim Dafoe never thought he could have a new start, nor if he was even worth it.  Between the ages of 10 and 21, Tim spent 9 years inside one institution or another, learning not how to live in society, but how to hide from it. “I went through a lot of trauma at a […]

Benoit’s Story

“It’s a blessing to be able to help the person I used to be.” — Benoit Growing up in Montreal, Benoit had a very typical Canadian childhood until he became a teenager. That was when a predatory member of his extended family turned Benoit’s world into one of shame, anger and despair. “I left home […]

CEO Julian Daly Welcome

It seems there is no place quite like Our Place, and I feel truly blessed to have the chance to work alongside such dedicated and compassionate people. When I first came to Canada — from Ireland via the UK — 15 years ago, I debated at length whether to make a life in Victoria or […]

On the Frontlines – Jordan Cooper

Ever since he was a teenager, Jordan Cooper has been working on the frontlines of poverty, homelessness, addiction, and the unpredictability of severe mental illness. With no other place to go, the people who huddle on the sidewalks and boulevards in front of Our Place on Pandora can be easy to dismiss as beyond our […]

A Changing Landscape

A Changing Landscape By Grant McKenzie Our Place is not the same today as it was the day before, and it won’t be the same tomorrow. In this strange and difficult time, my heart breaks with sorrow at the vulnerable people struggling to survive with yet another obstacle in their path, but my heart also […]

Our Place response to COVID-19 Pandemic

A Changing Landscape by Grant McKenzie Our Place is not the same today as it was the day before, and it won’t be the same tomorrow. In this strange and difficult time, my heart breaks with sorrow at the vulnerable people struggling to survive with yet another obstacle in their path, but my heart also […]

Stingrays Story

At 63, Stingray is finally finding a measure of peace in his life. A violent childhood led to a violent adulthood, but he has discovered a new purpose in giving back to those still suffering from addiction. “The addicts listen to me,” he says, “because I’ve been there. I know exactly what damage drugs can […]