Longer day begins at Our Place

In today's Times Colonist (www.timescolonist.com):

Our Place will open its doors at 7 a.m. Monday morning, marking the beginning of the drop-in shelter’s extended hours.

The Pandora Avenue facility will open weekdays at 7 a.m. rather than 9 a.m. It will still close at 5 p.m.

Executive director Rev. Al Tysick has long fought for Our Place to be open earlier in the morning so that Victoria’s street population can have a place of refuge after a long night on the streets.

In early January, Mayor Dean Fortin announced the City of Victoria would dedicate $120,000 to accommodate that. The provincial government also has kicked in $30,000.

The decision was prompted by an incident on Jan. 8 in which a pedestrian was struck by a car as he crossed Pandora Street on the way to Our Place. Fortin said homeless people should have a warm place to go before the busy morning commute.

Tysickhopes that the shelter will eventually open 12 hours a day, but said that can’t happen without more funding.

Fortin and Coun. Charlayne Thornton-Joe will join Tysick at Our Place Monday morning to hand out coffee, tea and food to the homeless population.
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