Welcome to the Oaklands Park Residents Association!
Recent media coverage:
About us:
We are a collective of reluctant current and former unhoused residents of Oaklands Park in Victoria, helping each other survive until the last of us moves up the social ladder into housing. In the meantime we ask for little more than to get along with our neighbours rather than fight prejudice by people who, just like we once did, believe homelessness only happens to other people.
Demands:
- We need housing and shelter: Every one of us wants a roof over our head and vital space to call our own. If we had somewhere better to go, we would gladly move on.
- We need to stay warm: At the time of this writing, winter is coming. We park residents risk hypothermia, frostbite, and sickness. Bylaw officers need to stop confiscating our propane tanks and taking away our tents, especially during emergency weather alerts.
- We need hot showers: You think we could use some hygiene? We agree. The park has showers we are dying to use for this very purpose, the city just needs to reopen them.
- We need access to services: This park lies in the middle of a residential area, far from any accommodations, let alone the services we need to survive, and some of us cannot commute with the downtown core on a daily basis. We need services, especially medical assistance, to come to us instead.
- We deserve dignity and respect: Neighbours need to look at the person beneath the grime and stigma. We were once like you, until ill fortune struck, and are struggling to get back on our feet. Please help us out of this park instead of kicking us down!
Donations wish list:
- Warm clothing, blankets, sleeping bags
- Food (especially hot food!)
- Hand warmers
- Tents (bylaw officers keep taking them!)
- Harm reduction supplies
- Wooden pallets (to keep tents off the ground)
Above all, we need YOU to support us!
In the end, we don’t need pity, or charity. We need you to advocate for us. Tell the City of Victoria to stop displacing us to nowhere!
See also: Evicted CRAB Park tenants don’t need charity—they need justice. An excellent article by a fellow unhoused person from Vancouver, published by the Georgia Strait.
Send correspondence to info@oaklandsparkresidentsassociation.org.