SECA in ongoing talks with BC Housing and City of Nanaimo over supportive housing in south end

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Covid update

There are 58 new cases of COVID 19 confirmed in BC today, and one more death. There were no new cases in the Island Health region.

Ladysmith grieves, and raises money for victim of hit and run

Ladysmith residents, grieving the loss of a 35-year-old woman who was killed in a car accident last weekend, have contributed more than $86,000 dollars to a GoFundMe campaign. Katie Blogg died early Saturday morning after her SUV was hit head on by a Ford pickup truck that drove over a center median and into her northbound lane. She is survived by her husband and a young son and daughter. The fundraiser is intended to create a memorial tribute to Katie and an education fund for her children. Police say the suspect driver left the scene after allegedly stealing a nearby vehicle. RCMP say the man is known to them and although he promised to turn himself in, so far, he has not done so.

South End Community Association of Nanaimo seeks to work with BC Housing, City of Nanaimo, and RCMP in regards to announced supported housing

South end residents are taking steps to ensure they can peacefully co-exist with two recently announced supportive housing projects. The province intends to build space and provide support for more than 100 hard to house people at two locations on Nicol Street. The chair of the South End Community Association says tomorrow night's meeting will update ongoing talks with BC Housing, the city and social services. Sydney Robertson says her community could be a model for how neighbourhoods and governments can resolve social housing issues before they become problems.

"Southenders are really good at making the best of things. We're compassionate but we're not naive. We want to talk about the nitty gritty details that will hopefully help these buildings to integrate into the neighbourhood and not overwhelm their neighbours."—Sydney Robertson, Chair of the South End Community Association.

Robertson says her group wants a seat on the project's Community Advisory Council, made up of BC Housing, the city, the RCMP, Island Health and the service provider. She says some residents have also volunteered to help design a site plan that will discourage crime and social disorder. The group also wants to find a way to ensure future social housing projects are dispersed throughout the city.

Hunger strike ends for hotel workers

Laid-off hotel workers have ended their hunger strike, claiming victory in their fight to get their jobs back. Members of Unite Here Local 40 began their campaign three weeks ago, on the lawn of the legislature. They said their recall rights were about to expire and called on the Minister of Labour to extend those rights for two more years. Yesterday, the Minister rejected that option. However, Harry Bains announced that any economic recovery package offered to the hospitality sector must contain a pledge for employers to offer jobs to existing employees when work resumes.