A local downtown business owner has launched a new initiative aimed at supporting the unhoused community in Victoria.
The project, Victoria Housing Crowdfund, allows Greater Victoria residents to donate to the cause which would see a new transitional housing space built in the region.
This endeavour was started by Mylan Clairmont, owner of Clairmont Conditioning where he trains Victorians from all walks of life—military members, police officers, social workers and mutual aid activists.
Clairmont said that through conversations he has had with his clientele and other downtown business owners, he discovered that no matter the political background these people had, they all want to help mitigate the number of unhoused people downtown in some way or another.
A common thread that tied all these people’s ideas together was that unhoused Victorians need more help.
Around the same time as he started having these conversations, the City of Victoria announced their proposed property tax increases, which had Clairmont curious as to what amount of funding was going towards actually aiding the unhoused community of the city.
“Victoria put out a notice that property taxes would go up by 12% and were asking for feedback,” Clairmont told Victoria Buzz.
“I scrolled through the budget and was listening to council meetings and I realized that I would be okay with a 30% or 50% increase in property tax if it actually did something or fixed something.”
These conversations and his research into the budget led Clairmont to start seriously looking at how exactly positive change and additional resources could come about, and if he could personally do anything to move the process forward.
The more he looked into it, the more he realized that a lot of the crises impacting the number of unhoused Victorians are not actually under the jurisdiction of the municipal government.
“Through talking to people, I realized there were lots of people who would also be willing to pay more if it actually solved something,” explained Clairmont
“If everyone chipped in a little, sort of like a self-imposed property tax, we could probably do something.”
Through talks with city councillors, community outreach organizations and regular residents of Victoria, he decided he could in fact bring the change all these people sought and he started the Victoria Housing Crowdfund.
Clairmont’s goal through the Victoria Housing Crowdfund initiative is to raise enough money for a down payment on a new transitional housing space in Victoria.
Although there is no specific location yet, he hopes to be able to raise $400,000 by the end of the year to put a downpayment on a space that could house between 20 and 25 unhoused folks.
The transitional housing would be intended for those needing shelter before going to treatment, as well as after treatment, until more permanent housing can be secured for them.
Clairmont says this would fill a critical gap in the system and help people who have taken that first step towards recovery from being right back on the street after treatment.
“To me the question is, ‘are these people in our community, and should we take care of people in our community?’ and to me the answers are yes and yes,” said Clairmont.
“This would provide a really low barrier option for those who have already taken the first step towards recovery and are going to detox.”
He added that by having more transitional housing, more people will be protected from “slipping through the cracks” and ending up back on the streets.
The plan is that once enough funding has been accrued and a space or location has been secured, Solid Outreach will step in to open and operate the facility.
Solid Outreach has been serving the street community and providing a myriad of outreach services since 2007.
The organization is an Indigenous led and focused organization that has over 100 employees who are all previous illicit drug users that have successfully sought treatment via transitional housing, like what Victoria Housing Crowdfund is trying to start.
“I talked to a lot of people to make sure that this was a group that I wanted to work with,” said Clairmont.
“From clients of mine who have worked alongside their support workers, to people who have done fundraisers with them, everybody I’ve talked to who have actually dealt with them have said they are a great group to work with.”
Clairmont conceded that he realizes some people might be afraid of or push back on the idea of transitional housing coming to their neighbourhoods.
But despite this, he says that transitional housing is something that will not bring crime into a neighbourhood, only progress as people from the unhoused community seek treatment and a road to a better life.
“I foresee some pushback, but I’m hoping that if we meet our goal, the support, the amount of donations and the amount of donors will be evidence this is a good thing for the loud people in the comment section,” he said.
Clairmont is spearheading this initiative by himself and is not putting any of the proceeds of donations towards running the initiative. All the money that he is putting into the Victoria Housing Crowdfund is coming out of his pocket.
So in an effort to be as transparent as possible, his pitch to donors is that with the exception of transaction fees, all donations go straight towards capital investment in low barrier housing in Victoria. No donations go to marketing, admin costs or the cost of running the website.
Thus far, Clairmont has garnered over $11,200 for the cause and hopes that Victoria residents will be able to chip in whatever they can, be it $5 or $1,000.
Additionally, up until April 1st, all donors will be entered to win two passes to Ritual Nordic Spa.
To donate to Victoria Housing Crowdfund, or find out more about the initiative, click here.
