Our Place temporarily closes drop-in service due to safety concerns
Our Place Society in Victoria, which offers supports to homeless and vulnerable people, suspended its drop-in service on Thursday due to safety concerns.
Our Place director of services, Jordan Cooper, says the drop-in service was closed for the day due to "hostile behaviour" at the community centre on Wednesday.
"After some conversations yesterday, some tough conversations, we decided it would be prudent to shut down our drop-in space for the day, today," he told CTV News on Thursday.
"We've been facing a bit of an uptick in hostile behaviour, some violence towards staff, so we really thought we needed to take a minute to just see how we were doing things operationally at the drop-in," he said.
Cooper added that the centre was looking at ways "to make sure that it's a safe and healthy place for people coming to access services."
He says there's no one reason why things feel increasingly unsafe at the community centre, though the COVID-19 pandemic and a lack of supports elsewhere are likely contributing factors.
"We've done a good job recently of getting people housed, but there's still lots of people here who still aren't housed who have very complex needs and they're left to kind of fend for themselves," he said.
"There's a lot more desperation out there right now, I believe," he added.
One of the ways Our Place is looking at improve drop-in safety is by updating its walk-in policy, Cooper says.
Previously, Our Place had a "wide open" door for anyone who wanted to use its courtyard or indoor drop-in services. Now, the centre may scale back that policy and have "more of a secure entry," said Cooper.
Other services at Our Place remain open Thursday, such as washroom and shower facilities, and meals, including breakfast, lunch and dinner that can be picked up at the building's gate.
The drop-in service is expected to reopen on Friday morning.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.