'Broken promises': Residents fear imminent closure of shelter in Parksville
Diverging stories are coming from a temporary housing shelter in Parksville, B.C., that's closing at the end of the month.
BC Housing says all tenants of the building will be given new accommodations, but people living at the site say that's not the case.
The VIP Motel, also know as Ocean Place, opened as a temporary housing shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
BC Housing says it reached an agreement with the City of Parksville on Oct. 5 to close the shelter on March 31.
That closure date is fast approaching, and residents are getting nervous about what comes next.
"They're all broken promises," said resident Rodd Nall. "I've tried to keep my cool, you know, these people have been fighting for our lives."
Nall has been living at the shelter since the start of the pandemic. He and his wife are among those facing eviction and who say they have nowhere else to go.
"My wife, what are you going to do? Like, I'm supposed to put a tent over her wheelchair?" he said. "She's bedbound."
In a statement Tuesday, the province said all residents would be offered new housing.
"In partnership with non-profit housing providers, BC Housing has offered new, safe, indoor accommodations to all remaining shelter guests," reads the statement.
Due to privacy concerns, BC Housing says it's unable to say where the tenants will be going, but residents tell CTV News that they were promised housing in Parksville close to the services they currently use.
"This is not the case," said Kelly Morris, a recovery coach at the VIP Motel.
"They've moved nine people out already to Nanaimo against their will," she said. "They've also, it's been disclosed to me, that the rest of them they're not working with."
On Wednesday, a representative from BC Housing arrived at the motel to hold a meeting with staff looking after the facility.
"We have 24-hour staff. Two staff during the day, two staff during the evening," said Paula Miles, manager of the VIP Motel.
"We also have an executive director now and we walk alongside the residents and work with the goals they have in mind," she said.
Miles has managed the motel for the past five months and says the program is working and needs to stay.
"There is no place for these people to go but out on the street," she said. "So we're looking at close to 18 to 20 people could end up on the street."
BC Housing says it has opened 52 supportive homes in Parksville since 2018 and is working to provide more housing options and supports.
These tenants say they would love to get into some of those locations, but fear that on March 31 they will be on the streets or living in vehicles.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Angst and calls for resting places as Surrey, B.C., pet cemetery development continues
A single headstone is all that remains of dozens of markers for long-buried pets in a subdivision in Surrey’s Newton neighbourhood, where a half-acre parcel bears a large sign announcing the proposed construction of new homes.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.