Feeding the homeless of Victoria on Christmas Day - "The greatest gift they'll get this year is Love!"

 Originally posted December 26, 2010.

"Can someone help me please, I need a friend." The homeless we met all have one thing in common - a simple wish - they want someone to help them. We spent Christmas Day feeding the homeless of Victoria giving the best gift of all: Love.

This year, we chose to spend the money on food for the homeless instead of spending it on a Christmas tree for our family; Gerry, my husband and I, did not exchange any gifts - times are tough this year. BUT, we are very fortunate, we have a great life together and the future is bright.

It was our life's dream to move to BC, and for the past three years we have tried to stay afloat working for ourselves in Victoria. We are finding it very hard to earn an adequate living in this very expensive city, especially competing with the "cash jobs" . Decent pet friendly rentals are almost non existent and finding a reasonably priced home for us has proven to be a challenge difficult to overcome. Our present accommodations are affordable but there is always a trade off, it seems. It is the best we can find and at least our family is together and we are managing by ourselves.

We also saw many homeless that now call the streets home - those that have given up. We saw people feed themselves out of garbage cans, sleep in large metal garbage containers, and make shelters of just cardboard and pieces of plastic. We saw people who just drink all day long because they have no hope left at all. Most of these people never thought this would happen to them, it is not the life they envisioned for themselves. Most of them are here because of circumstances that are of no fault of their own. Every one of these poor souls that we talked to had a story and a wish. They just want help, someone to care. Most of the people we met want to do better and be better they just don't know how and need someone to take them by the hand and help them. They need guidance. Most probably because they never had that in their life.  The only difference between them and you is a lack of support - they do not have anyone they can turn to for help and so they are outcasts.

So, instead of spending Christmas alone just the three of us, we decided to cook extra Christmas meals and bring them to the less fortunate. We wanted them to know that: Someone still cared about them. It's the most important thing - to feel loved - it gives hope. We observed people shop at the malls, we saw them buy useless and stupid gifts. People were too busy to notice or care about the homeless and the poor. Shopping was so important; we saw people laden down with packages look down on the begger and tell him to go get a job. We remembered how easy it is to get carried away with the season and forget about the less fortunate. We fell into that trap in the past, we overspent on Christmas and indebted ourselves also - no more of that.

It cost us so little to prepare a few hot meals to bring to the hungry. We bought an extra turkey to cook, not a huge one either, an 11 pounder. We made mash potatoes, corn, gravy, stove top stuffing (never made real stuffing and did not want to kill anyone!), pillsbury croissants and sugar cookies and a couple of candy canes, a can of soda, and VOILA: spread the Christmas Joy. We bought a few containers to serve the food in and we hauled the food in warmed coolers to keep it nice and hot for the folks to enjoy. We made 15 hot home cooked meals at a cost of approximately $40 (at the most) - and we changed the lives of 15 people a little for the better - if only for a day.   With the help of our wonderful 16 year old daughter, the turkey, potatoes and corn were all cooked up in short time.  Croissants and cookies were baked with love.  Our girl willingly and lovingly helped us prepare meals for the homeless.  She was very proud of all of our efforts.  We are extremely proud of her for helping out!

Once we had the coolers loaded in the VW, we headed for downtown Victoria to find some people needing some Christmas cheer . We saw a man lying on the ground at the entrance of the Swiss Chalet, he had a pile of stuff beside him. I get shy, it's hard to ask if someone needs help - you don't want to insult people and I get afraid of being told to mind your business. But that's never happened. Gerry, my husband, offers: "Hey Buddy - I have hot meals for the homeless, are you hungry?" The man groggily shifts himself and slowly gets up. "Ya, ya man, thank you, thank you, I am hungry. This is a good place", he says, "lots of hot meals in the dumpster in the back - they throw alot of good food out a night". Gerry introduced himself and asked the man his name. Mark. Mark was very proud to show us a little shot size bottle (like you get on the airplanes) of Baileys Irish Cream that a stranger had given him for Christmas. He had also gotten a pair of socks. He was very pleased to receive these things and was very very appreciative. When Gerry asked him if he had anything to say to the world, if he had a wish what would it be, he answered: "Why does it have to be Christmas only that makes people come out and help him", he wondered why on any other day, he did not matter. Mark was quick to say that he was really really happy for the help today though. He could not thank us enough, and a pattern would start - we got many, many thanks - for the food, but mostly the thanks was for us CARING ABOUT THEM. Gerry asked if Mark had a wish what would that be? Mark's wish was to have a friend. Gerry and Mark shook hands and wished each other a merry Christmas.

At the corner of Cook St. and View St. we saw a man and woman and wondered if we should approach them, he looked like he may be homeless while she did not. Gerry stopped the van, got out and said: "I have hot meals for the homeless, are you hungry?" They immediately jumped up to their feet and happily came to get a meal. They asked if we had a third meal and invited their shy friend to join them. Gerry asked them if we could take their photo (we want to spread the word that people need and deserve help and we want to raise funds to help those in need). The men agreed have their photo taken (photo at top page). Gerry asked if they had a wish what would it be. The older gentleman was something of a celebrity and had been in the papers 4 times before - he wished for world peace. The younger shy friend only wanted to get back on his feet - such a touching wish.... The woman preferred not to have her picture taken, it looked like she and I could just switch places, she looked like she could be a nurse or an office worker, she wanted a job, as her wish.

We fed a young man with long blond hair walking alone with his belongings on his back in a backpack. He was very high on something. When we asked him if he wanted a hot meal, his eyes showed signs of life and he stopped and gladly took our offerings. He did not speak to us. He walked away and started singing: "Merry Christmas to me, merry Christmas to me" in the tune of happy birthday. We silently wished him a better life.

In the back alleys behind the Bay Center in downtown Victoria we came up on two young men smoking a joint. We stopped and asked if they needed a hot meal. They were very surprised we were talking to them but gladly accepted the hot meal. It seemed to be awhile ago since they had seen a square meal. "Awesome, thanks alot".

It was early afternoon when we came upon a woman dancing by herself on the sidewalk. She was very disoriented and had no clue what was going on around her. She could barely hold the container of food as she swaggered around in her sad condition. "Thank you very much", she managed in a slurred speech. Hopefully the hot meal would help her regain some of her senses. What's happened to her in her life, to send her on such a path?

The last man we helped yesterday was named Ron. Ron had been on the streets 61 days and told us of this trials and tribulations. He spoke of 2 former wives and "wished he could do it again and get it right this time". He spoke of this 3 daughters and how he missed his family in Quebec - he had not seen his 2 sisters in Montreal in 30 years - how he wished he could see them again. He felt like he was not a good example to his daughters - the father is the only one on the streets.... You could tell Ron was a good man, with a huge heart - he talked and talked - for over a half hour Gerry stood on the sidewalk and listened to this poor man talk about his life. Ron wanted what every single person we met yesterday wanted most: a friend to talk to.

Ron had alot of good things to say to us and the funny thing is we probably needed to talk to Ron as much as he needed to talk to us. He said alot of things we needed to hear. Funny how life is sometimes.

We all need people in our life, and we all need help sometimes.  You can make a difference, a significant difference in someone's life.  Give a little, give a lot.  Don't be afraid to reach out and help someone,  the world will be a better place because you did.  Be the change you want to see in the world...

Sometimes people need a friend, sometimes they need hope. No matter how rich or how poor YOU are, you can always give someone HOPE.

Wishing all our new friends all the best!

Celine and Gerry

We may be contacted at celinegerry@gmail.com .

Kayaking in Victoria on New Year's Day

On New Year's Day 2011 in Victoria, British Columbia the sun was shining bright and we could not resist the urge to take our kayaks out to the Gorge in Esquimalt.  Victoria is such a vibrant city, there were people everywhere enjoying the crisp sunny day. 

My husband, Gerry and I brought along our little dog, Nounour (french for Teddy Bear) - our beloved sable fox pomeranian.  He could not wait to get out in the kayaks, on shore he proudly pranced in his yellow lifejacket. Once boarded in Gerry's kayak, Nounour made himself comfortable and watched the world around him.  He is such a special little dog, he calmly enjoys the ride, not surprising really, the gorge must seem pretty calm to him after all the trips he has been on - no white water today!

Originally from Ottawa, I had called my Dad earlier in that morning to wish him a Happy New Year and I wasn't surprised to hear that it was raining in our Nation's capital - the snow is almost all gone!  My Dad was saying that everyone he was talking to was digusted with this "Victoria weather" and how we could just take it back.  No problem, mild winters suit me just fine!  Ottawa, as far as I can remember, always had very unpredictable winters: snowy, cold, rainy, freezing rain - just a mixed bag of whatever mother nature wants to dish out. 

I have been in Victoria three years now, and, I admit, I do miss the snow sometimes but I just have to drive north a little to find it.  One thing, I must say though, is I cannot compare the lifestyles of both these capitals' residents.  Victorian's get out and enjoy their beautiful city so much more than what folks back home did.

We had so much fun yesterday, kayaking, and we met alot of wonderful and happy people.  Everywhere folks were out with their dogs and their families enjoying the sunshine.  The sdiewalks were brimming with people out walking.  We saw a group of four kayakers who enjoyed a picnic in the parc, before continuing their trip.   A couple was out playing with their cute little trick kayaks, another couple left a private club with their canoe for afternoon paddle.  Kayaking is relaxing, fun and a greatly disguised excerise - you get a work out without noticing really.  A beautiful excursion becomes a healthy outing.

It was a special treat to watch all the old cars as they paraded down Gorge Road, from Model T's purring along to roaring hot rods - the chrome glistened like sparkling diamonds.  One after the other, these restored beauties took our breath away as we watched them from our unique vantage point.

In fact we had so much fun yesterday, we did not unload the kayaks and we are going back to do it all over again today!

I faught back against my landlord and won

I fought back against my landlord and won

Over a year ago I responded to an ad for an apartment for rent “in a unique setting”. I have learnt important lessons in the past year and I feel compelled to share my experience in hopes of saving others some of the problems I have faced. I have also learnt that just because it says Saint – it doesn’t mean you won’t get lied to and just because someone works for a “not for profit society” doesn’t mean they won’t try to take advantage of you. Even though I felt I had asked all the right questions before signing any lease I should have been even more careful and less trusting.  Not all the people running this organization were honestly representing or living up to the Society's good name.

Get everything in writing, get signed original copies and take any offers of employment or work related matters to a lawyer to make a binding legal contract – work related issues cannot just be added as an addendum to a residential lease. Make sure you protect yourself; do not trust what your potential landlord says. There is nothing wrong with trusting someone – if they are telling the truth, they won’t mind putting it in writing and they won’t mind if you bring it a lawyer.

Long story short: My husband and I are self employed, we work as a team, tiling and doing small renovations. We rented a small two bedroom apartment on the second floor of Abbeyfield House St. Peter’s Society: a senior residence on Reynolds road in Saanich. We moved here with our teenage daughter and our little dog. We were led to believe that there would be a lot of work for us; we were told we “would do very well here”. Prior to us signing a lease, we were shown several rooms which needed to be renovated at Abbeyfield including the kitchen and bathroom of our own unit. Many projects were discussed – now, in retrospect, it is clear we were lured here under false pretences.

The apartment we rented used to belong to a den mother – a resident caretaker for the seniors – she used to receive a modest salary along with this unit as compensation. Abbeyfield no longer employed a resident manager, however, it became clear to us pretty quickly, the society that run this place do very little around here and we were expected to do more than just pay rent. It even took months to have repairs made to our unit – repairs that should have been made prior to us moving in. The worst part is we were told we would be hired provide repairs and renovations to the building. Most of the work talked about when we first came to see if we would move here never materialised.

Abbeyfield needs a resident manager; since we moved in the staff, visitors and the residents have been led to believe that we were getting a special deal on rent in exchange for “helping out around here”. We have had so many interruptions to our personal and business lives. We were pretty much forced to be on call – it was our door that was pounded on when something came up (i.e.: no cook coming in, emergency water leaks, unannounced sprinkler and alarm checks, need help moving furniture – I could go on and on….)

The 12 seniors that live here are not all capable of living on their own, some are wheelchair bound, others are hard of hearing and some have poor mental health. Abbeyfield falsely advertises that a resident manager lives on site to help and take care of the seniors. The only staff here is a cook that comes in from approximately 10am to 6pm and a cleaning lady comes in once a week. Residents do get visits from aides but are left alone most of the time. Many of the residents need to be placed in a nursing home as their mobility and/or alertness is not what it used to be.

We have had several meetings with Barbara Walker, chair of Abbeyfield St. Peter’s Society over the period of a year to try and resolve the many issues which kept arising. We finally got tired of being strung along – all the work that Abbeyfield supposedly had just wasn’t materialising and we were tired of submitting quotes that would take months and months to get approved, if at all. We asked for a rent reduction retroactive for the last year due to untimely repairs, lack of privacy, lack of quiet enjoyment, imposed resident manager duties, misrepresentation and other valid reasons… Ms. Walker responded to us: “that Abbeyfield does not fall under the RTA (Residential Tenancy Act), that if we were not happy with the rent to move out” and then she served us with an eviction notice, and while we waited for a dispute resolution hearing, she served us with another and another. I responded by filing for a dispute resolution hearing. At first the dispute resolution officer was going to throw out the case because Ms. Walker had not followed proper procedures, but in the interest of expediency, I wanted the matter resolved. My husband and I are very happy with the dispute resolution officer’s ruling: we got a few months free rent as compensation. The landlord, Ms. Walker, wanted to have the judge throw us out immediately. Barb Walker, the Chair of Abbeyfield St. Peter’s Society House is the person from whom we rented this apartment over a year ago, she has lied to us and she violated our rights. We stood up for them and we won, that doesn’t happen very often and it feels really good! Someone in charge of a not for profit, government assisted senior’s residence should not be able to just do and say what they want. The constant delays and all the hassles made our lives miserable. It also affected our business.

Now I see where my tax dollars are going. By doing whatever they want and by not following the rules, this society wastes so much money. They approved a $14,000 illegal porch addition without taking a building permit and got caught by Saanich and then needed to pay more to take it down. What a waste of money and material. This mismanagement of our tax dollars should not be permitted. Someone should be held accountable.

This low income senior’s residence receives funding by the BC Government. It is run by a board of directors, many of whom have parents or relatives living here. Here are links to their websites: http://www.salescene.com/abbeyfieldhouse.html and http://www.abbeyfield.ca/ It would be more reassuring to know to know that places like this are inspected more often to make sure that the residents that live here don’t require to be placed in a nursing home and that the administrators are qualified and capable of ensuring the safety and well being of all the residents. Maintaining the buildings in adequate state of repairs should be the responsibility of qualified agencies. It should not be left to societies who fix things with duct tape and silicone….

Lastly, I would like to add that it is not always easy to stand and fight for your rights and the rights of others; it would make life easier and less complicated to just walk away and put things behind you. It’s very important to KNOW your rights and more important to stand up for them. This has been quite unpleasant and very hard to deal with; it took me a long time to get ready for the hearing with the RTA and I didn’t even know if this was under their jurisdiction (Barb’s lies). I took the time to write this article as I feel that, we, as a society (excuse the pun!) are going the wrong way, we need to become more involved and we need to help each other. We need to speak up and make things public, especially when our tax dollars are being mismanaged.

As we are leaving at the end of this month and Abbeyfield is looking to rent the apartment to someone else, I also wanted to warn the next guy. 