Champion for residential school survivors flooded out of Victoria home

Victoria -

Feeling at home is sacred to Eddy Charlie. It’s a feeling that was ripped away from him when his basement suite flooded in B.C.’s historic storm.

As a residential school survivor, Charlie says the thought of moving makes his stomach churn, bringing back feelings of displacement and identity loss.

"When I was a child, I was removed from my home forcibly," said Charlie, one of the organizers of Victoria Orange Shirt Day.

"If I were to leave this neighbourhood again, I would feel that same sense of loss that I experienced as a child," he said.

Repairing his suite in Fairfield could take months.

Charlie is a familiar face in the neighbourhood. He’s been drumming on his driveway every night since March 2020 in support of healthcare workers during the pandemic.

"The drumming that I do has brought the community back together, not just drawn to me, but they’re drawn to each other now," he said.

"I’m scared that if I stop drumming here, people will go back to the way they were before, ignoring each other," said Charlie. "I want to be able to gift them with something that’s permanent."

Charlie doesn’t want to leave the community he helped create. It’s been his home for two years — a place where the neighbourhood kids recognize him and the adults often stop to chat.

Kristin Spray, Charlie’s friend and co-organizer of Victoria Orange Shirt Day, hopes someone has a place available in Fairfield.

"There are a lot of triggers and fears just in starting over and being in a place where he doesn’t know people and necessarily feel safe," Spray said.

"I would love to see Eddy in a bright, spacious home," she said.

Charlie is staying in an AirBnB until the end of December.

If you or someone you know has a rental in Fairfield within walking distance of downtown, contact Victoria Orange Shirt Day at [e-mail].