It’s the little touches that let you know that a house is a home. Flowering African violets, a fridge full of food, a shelf full of do-it-yourself books and a kitten named Scoop are all homey touches of one Streets to Homes participant. “Without Streets to Homes, I wouldn’t be here,” Mike says.

“I had lost my memory. I was 110 pounds. I looked in the mirror, then dreamt that I was plump and fit,” Chris says. “I was sick of going to the hospital. It was time for a change.”

When you don’t have a home, it takes a lot of work to just sleep and eat. Joanne* moved between the shelter, couch surfing and sleeping outside for a full year. When she could save enough from her disability allowance, she could stay in a motel for two weeks.

“When I moved into my apartment, I cried,” she says. “I don’t have to get woken up at 7:15, get my clothes stolen, see people doing crack in the shelter rooms. This is my haven.”

Rick Sanderson is a member of The Downtown Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team, a clinical team that provides access to services in a community setting for clients suffering from mental illnesses and/or addictions. With funding the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) and coordinated with the Greater Victoria Coalition to End Homelessness, the Downtown ACT Team, along with three similar outreach teams, has been able to care for significantly more clients and connect them with services that include stable housing, addictions services, and vocational supports. Here, Rick shares two ‘success stories’ that would not otherwise have occurred had it not been for the Coalition’s initiatives.

Streetlink is operated by the Victoria Cool Aid Society and provides 95 beds of emergency shelter for temporarily or chronically homeless adults. Client Services Workers (CSWs) coordinate referrals, hygiene services, mental health services, housing advocacy, community liaison, and crisis and life skills counseling. Marilynn Quigley is a CSW at Streetlink, and recounts the inspirational story of a former client named “John”.