On crutches and living beneath a tarp on Lewis Street, a North Cowichan senior who spent 44 years roofing is among roughly 50 people who have been camped there for years, saying he never imagined he’d end up unhoused in his retirement.
“I’m 66 years old, no safety net; 44 years, and this is what I have for that,” said Stephen Ruben.
The street has become the epicentre of the housing and addictions crisis in the region. It’s one of the reasons, that North Cowichan wants the old Cowichan Hospital turned into an treatment facility, once it closes in 2027.
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Other residents have suggested the now closed and empty old Cowichan Secondary School. But Thursday, Cowichan School District Assistant Superintendent Jeff Rowan told CHEK News, after looking into it, the district determined the vacant school is not a fit, for that purpose.
“There’s a lot of deferred maintenance that would have to take place, just to bring the building into shape, plus the seismic,” said Rowan.
Contractor Kirk Wilson, said Lewis Street needs to be resolved urgently.
“I am desperate to get this dealt with now,” said Wilson.
The contractor is finishing a 33-suite apartment block with rentals starting at $950, to open by Christmas, but said since the building is located on Lewis Street, people are afraid to move in.
“This is not safe, this is not healthy. They don’t even have a bathroom,” said Wilson.
“I think we have to have the most horrific tragedy possible to happen before anything happens and that is a sad statement,” said Ruben.
Yet local housing and addictions treatment advocates told CHEK News Thursday, that they have a solution that could be rolled out right now.
“This is possible, it can be almost immediate, it’s not a huge cost,” said Cindy Lise, a facilitator with the Cowichan Community Action Team.
The project is called The Village, and is located on Duncan’s Trunk Road. According to supporters, it is already showing success with the unhoused who have moved into its 34 modular units, yet they are struggling to get more people off the streets, because of funding.
“Residents can lock their doors, be safe, be dry. They receive their meals in a day,” said Lise.
“Its made all the difference in the world to me,” said John Pickles who lived unhoused on Lewis Street for seven years, and moved into The Village seven months ago.
“When you don’t have a place for seven years, and you get a shack that looks hokey, it really is a gift,” said Pickles.
“When we look at how it has changed lives and changed neighbourhoods, it’s crazy to think that we couldn’t do better,” said Lise.
The Village has applied for federal funding for six more units, and advocates want seven villages built around the Cowichan Valley, urgently to meet the crisis.