The owner of a downtown Victoria fitness gym is raising funds to help SOLID Outreach expand their capacity at the Dowler Place transitional housing facility.
Originally, the Victoria Housing Crowdfund was launched in February by Mylan Clairmont, owner of Clairmont Conditioning, in order to raise $300,000 to build a brand new transitional housing facility, but has since pivoted to helping out SOLID.
Clairmont says that this pivot came as a result of conversations he had with community members and learning about SOLID’s funding needs.
Now, the fundraiser is seeking to garner $100,000, which will go directly to helping SOLID renovate the upper floor at their Dowler Place facility, which would allow between eight and 10 beds to be added.
“Originally, our goal was to raise enough for a downpayment on a new space, but SOLID has seen that they can add eight to 10 beds in their current spot, so they wouldn’t have to find a new spot, rezone and go through all that,” Clairmont told Victoria Buzz.
He says that so far, the fundraiser has had just over $18,000 in donations, which has already gone to SOLID to help with paying for building materials for the renovation.
“It’s nice to see it actually happening,” Clairmont added.
The Victoria Housing Crowdfund is crucial for the renovations of the Dowler Place facility because the City of Victoria is no longer providing the site with funding. All other grants and government funding is to be spent solely on programming.
Recently, SOLID Outreach secured just over $2 million in funding from Health Canada’s Emergency Treatment Fund, which is intended to provide rapid responses to emergent critical needs related to substance use and the overdose crisis.
This funding will allow Dowler Place to continue operating out of Dowler Place until the end of June 2026, but can only be used for day-to-day operations.
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Clairmont says that if someone is having a hard time wrapping their heads around why this funding is important, to him, if SOLID has more beds and can help more people, that translates directly to reducing the number of tents and unhoused people living on Pandora Avenue.
Those who wish to donate or learn more about the Victoria Housing Crowdfund can do so via their website.
SOLID’s work through Dowler Place
Though SOLID Outreach’s Dowler Place transitional housing facility was the focal point of controversy in Victoria for some time after it was announced, the site has been operating seamlessly since January.
As a transitional housing site, 2155 Dowler Place prohibits drug use and is meant to help those in need of housing and a support system when they leave detox.
SOLID’s clients at Dowler Place have access to daily recovery programming, a case worker who will help them achieve personalized goals and staff to help them find work, as well as more permanent housing so they do not end up on the street repeating old patterns.
“It’s a place for people to stay while they’re getting set up, back on their feet,” said Clairmont.
“This place offers them three meals a day, a place to sleep, structure, supervision, programming… When they’re at a place where they are stable, set up with a bank account and they have an address they can start receiving mail, things like that, SOLID has connections with a bunch of landlords in town so they find a place for that person, and keep tabs on them.”
Additionally, not all clients of SOLID’s Dowler Place facility struggle with substance use. One past client, and success story of Dowler Place, is a man who was struck by a vehicle and lost his leg, leaving him unable to work and vulnerable.
Since SOLID started operating out of Dowler Place in January, there has been no influx in crime in North Park.
Furthermore, clients have been actively contributing to the neighbourhood by cleaning up garbage off the street and SOLID’s programming at Dowler Place has helped over 75 people achieve their sobriety goals and get off the streets.
