Sooke Homelessness Coordination Project Receives $413,412 Through UBCM Strengthening Communities’ Services Program

Monday, August 16, 2021 – The province has announced that Sooke is one of 48 communities across British Columbia that will benefit from the Strengthening Communities’ Services Program. The Sooke Homelessness Coordination Project is receiving $413,412 through the program.

Collaborating partners include Sooke Shelter Society, Sooke Homelessness Coalition, and AVI Health, Community Services Society, and the District of Sooke. Together, this project will work to improve coordination among services in the Sooke area, develop community capacity to understand and address homelessness and support the identification and transition of people who are homeless into sheltered locations and supportive housing.

Through this project, the Transition Outreach Team will provide integrated care, counselling, and harm reduction services, as well as life skills training for those transitioning to the Sooke Shelter.

Sooke has been calling on the province to provide assistance in supporting our most vulnerable. Program partners welcome this response and the opportunity to better support the community through the implementation of the Sooke Homelessness Coordination Project.

Quotes:

Sherry Thompson, Executive Director, Sooke Shelter Society –

“Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. This funding will provide our community with much-needed resources supporting those who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. This will improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable people in our community and give everyone an equal chance at success. Community care improves everyone’s well-being.”

Jeff Bateman, Sooke Homelessness Coalition –

“The Sooke Shelter Society has made truly phenomenal progress since its foundation four short years ago. This essential UBCM grant will allow the Society to continue its vital work, not least its ongoing collaboration with the Sooke Homelessness Coalition in developing and enacting a strategic plan to address homelessness in the Sooke region.”

AVI Health and Community Services Society –

The Westshore AVI Health Centre has been providing outreach services to low-income residents of Sooke for the past three and a half years. During the pandemic, we were given more funding to provide outreach nursing and social work services in addition to outreach to this underserved community. After that funding completed we began exploring new opportunities for our work in the community to continue. We are grateful the UBCM will be funding this work and limit service disruption for the folks most impacted by service closures during the pandemic.

Maja Tait, Mayor, District of Sooke –

“The UBCM Strengthening Communities’ Services Program is responding to our call for support with homelessness. During the pandemic, we were asked to assist – which we did as a caring and compassionate community – but without additional resources. This funding provides a significant step forward for Sooke, as a community, to support unsheltered populations and address related community impacts.”

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Contact:
Christina Moog, Communications Coordinatoror
250.642.1634, ext. 678
cmoog@sooke.ca