It’s the time for giving, but Victoria charities reliant on public donations are struggling this season and there appears to be one common denominator.
“Unfortunately, tent city really focused on the really lowest barrier of people we look after,” Our Place Society Communication Director Grant McKenzie said. “So I think a lot of people got donor fatigue. They got tired of seeing homelessness in their face every day and I think a lot of the times they got a little fed up with it.
“We’re down a quarter-million dollars on the budget this year,” he added.
Jack Knox, a columnist for the Victoria Times Colonist, said the violence, theft, drug use and squalor that took place at the encampment on the Victoria courthouse lawn showcased the least sympathetic face of poverty and now all impoverished people are paying for it.
“What about the single mother of a child who is confined to a wheelchair, what about the seniors who simply don’t have enough money to buy food?,” Knox said. “What about somebody who is recovering from mental illness or dealing with a head injury. Those people are all losing out because of the way Tent City dragged on and on.”
Kait Morrison is a client at Our Place Society where she finds everything from meals to haircuts. For the mother of two, the thought of those needs not being met due to lack of support is, in a word, scary.
“People should come and check out what is provided here so that they know,” Morrison said. “They can see where their money is going.”
Or, in the case of The Mustard Seed, their food. The charity is at the tail end of their inventory and is feeling the pinch.
“We expect to see a huge amount of donations over November and December,” The Mustard Seed’s Allan Lingwood said. “We just haven’t seen them yet.”
Of the roughly 5,000 people the charity feeds each month, the overwhelming majority are the working poor. Lingwood remains hopeful hearts and wallets will open up.
“We are going into this season with faith that the community really steps up to the plate and supports all of our neighbours in our community.”
Comments