Ricky’s Story

For Ricky, Our Place Community Centre is more than a place he visits. It is somewhere he can come almost every day, sit with people, share a meal, listen to conversations and simply be part of a community.

“I just like being here,” he says.

Ricky has been coming to Our Place for almost 10 years. Over that time, the Community Centre has become a familiar part of his life – one that has offered friendship, connection and, at times, a place to turn when life has been difficult.

Ricky’s story began far from Victoria. After his parents separated when he was young, his father brought him to Vancouver Island. He grew up carrying connections to his Inuit heritage, including memories of the traditions and ways of life passed down through his family.

Some of his earliest memories are connected to the land and the sea.

“When I was young, my family hunted,” he recalls.

He remembers eating walrus, whale and seal as a child, and learning about the fishing and hunting traditions that were part of his Inuit heritage. His family’s connection to the land and sea gave him an appreciation for the skills and traditions passed down through generations.

Today, Ricky wishes more people understood the importance of these traditions and the connection Indigenous peoples have to hunting, fishing and the land.

Those memories remain part of who he is, even though much of his childhood is now many years behind him.

Finding community at Our Place

Ricky eventually found his way to Our Place after losing his housing. He had helped another person who was experiencing homelessness, an experience that ultimately contributed to him losing his own place to live.

That was when Our Place became part of his journey.

Over the years, Ricky has accessed different supports, including the Community Centre and, at times, emergency shelter. He is also working toward finding permanent housing.

But some of the most meaningful things he has found at Our Place cannot be measured by a service or a program.

They are the people.

“Our Place helped bring a lot of girlfriends into my life,” he says with a smile, referring to the friendships he has formed in the community.

At the 55+ Club, he especially enjoys “the food and the people.” Sometimes he joins in the conversation; other times, he simply sits back and listens.

For Ricky, both have value.

He says his years at Our Place have come with “ups and downs,” but they have also been a learning experience. He has learned to better himself and become more talkative.

Sometimes, he says, it can be difficult to find the right words.

“You ever get that feeling where you wanted to say something, and it came out different?” he asks. “And then we think, ‘Oh, I should have said that.’ But then we learn. We learn from those moments.”

That simple reflection carries a powerful connection to reconciliation: acknowledging what has happened, learning from it and finding a way to move forward.

When asked what reconciliation means to him, he puts it simply:

“To fix what’s broken.”

It is a simple thought, but one that speaks to the heart of reconciliation.

On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Ricky’s story invites us to do just that: listen, learn, remember and keep working toward a stronger sense of connection and community