Shipping-container village housing homeless in Victoria given extension

The Tiny Homes Village in Victoria's North Park neighbourhood has been given the go-ahead to continue operating a little longer.

The shipping container village, also known as "Tiny Town," was built for people living in parks during the pandemic, and was originally scheduled to close this summer.

Instead, according to Our Place Society, which manages the facility, the village will remain open until the end of March.

Our Place says Victoria City Council approved the extension because permanent housing for the residents, which is under construction, has been delayed by supply chain issues.

Tiny Town resident Amy MacNeil-Wells said living there has been transformational, and she hopes to see the project replicated elsewhere.

"It'll also give people it houses a chance to be integrated back into society, in a sense, right?" MacNeil-Wells said. "Going from, you know, off the streets to in a home is a little bit of a hard transition, but if you have something like this, it helps people work into getting back into housing."

Transitioning residents to permanent housing has always been the goal, according to Our Place, which says the extension gives BC Housing some breathing room to finish building permanent units.

"This is all about transitioning people, getting them off the street and getting them ready to move into permanent housing," said Our Place spokesperson Grant McKenzie.

"And I think the community would agree that the residents here have been just part of the community. You know, there hasn't been a lot of problems, and that's what happens when you stabilize people."

Roughly 30 people live in the village, where support staff are available around the clock.