Making a case

You really need to read this if you have been or will be approached by BC Housing to announce plans to build a HEARTH facility near you, especially in Nanaimo. Or, if you plan to buy a house near a facility such as this, because the realtors probably don’t know how disruptive it is to neighbours. Also watch for rezoning applications in your area that would allow them to build there.

My suggestion

They need to move this facility now before they build something worse next door, like a detox centre because HEARTH is here, which is the fear. Let the city cancel the lease and move it to a more appropriate area that is a bigger street and purely industrial-zoned.

And, no, it’s not about NIMBYism; it’s about common sense practicality and personal safety that says this type of facility does not belong on this street and why.

This is my story

Other neighbours have their own stories, but this is mine. What HEARTH did is bring all of their tenants’ problems to my front doorstep. They brought a constant state of emergency to my otherwise peaceful street with many instances of toxic activity. The worst is I can’t not see or hear this because it’s right outside the window where I work and the EMS sirens are deafening.

They knew this would happen

They never told us what to expect or we would have been more adamant against them building here. That would be lies and misrepresentation on their part, along with many bait and switches. Very political tactics that only benefit a certain few.

Nor did they advise the city planners, which is very important for several reasons, especially traffic. This is what they won’t tell you about that will happen if you allow them to set up camp on your street.

• Excessive road, foot & bike traffic
• Multiple EMS calls weekly up to 5 in one day
• People yelling angrily
• Domestic disturbances
• Vagrancy
• Alcohol & drug use

Creating public awareness

For those unfamiliar with HEARTH, it’s a program that provides housing and services for homeless and at risk people. This is all fine and dandy, and long overdue, but when they bring it right to your front doorstep it’s a whole different story that is more like a nightmare. I’m talking less than 100 feet away and in your face every day.

I am writing this to not only create public awareness around the badly chosen location at 1030 Old Victoria Road in Nanaimo, but to warn others of how disruptive this will be to their otherwise peaceful home environment. Also, to tell them the time to stop it is from the very first letter from BC Housing addressed Dear Neighbour or Owner/Occupant where they mention the proposed location.

About HEARTH

HEARTH (Homeless Encampment Action Response Temporary Housing) is a government program run by BC Housing and this particular location is managed by VIHMS (Vancouver Island Mental Health Society). Others are managed by Pacifica Housing and Connective Support Society.

Perhaps therein lies the difference. Mental health issues. Got that? They would put a mental heath facility on a tiny residential street? Where there are children?

You can ignore the paragraph that says, “BC Housing & VIHMS are committed to being a good neighbour”. Why? Because they and their tenants will take over your street to the point you’ll be forced to move.

What it’s really like

What you need to ask yourself before this is outside your front door is:

• Would you want this type of activity in your face every day? OR
• Would you want this type of activity around your children? AND
• At what point would you start complaining? AND
• At what point would your health be affected by these stressors? AND
• At what point would you stop feeling safe? AND
• At what point would you feel you had to move?

You can already guess my answers that have nothing to do with NIMBYism, but first hand experience. This type of facility does not belong on this street…period. I cannot stress it enough! How they were able to build here is because of the zoning, but therein lies another problem. Plus, they made the excuse they would lose their funding if they didn’t choose a location quickly. LIES! We’re expected to put up and shut up because they are more important than the rest of us…and we pay for for that.

• My residence is zoned R4 – duplex residential
• The HEARTH facility is zoned I3 – High Tech Industrial

They use my residential street to access their industrial property that now has 30-50 times more traffic in a day than it did in the previous nine years I’ve lived here. Only one lot has been developed so far that houses 58 people and it’s ludicrous because McKenzie Road cannot handle this volume of traffic!

That also raises the issue of TRAP, a complex mixture of gases and particles originating from vehicle exhaust, tire/brake wear, and resuspended road dust. It is linked to asthma, reduced lung function, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

Road dust billows up every time a vehicle drives on this street in dry months, which is also damaging to electronics.

My complaints

I’d already voiced my concerns before they started about the darkness of this area along with the heavy traffic. Plus, they have already saturated the south area with these types of facilities and should build north of town. They ignored me, but I had no idea what problems it would create nor to the extent it would affect my life and my health. They did know and they didn’t give a rat’s ass then and still don’t!

These are my complaints since June 2025 when they opened, some of which have been resolved and some sadly still unresolved. There is no doubt this is a very toxic situation that needs attention from the partners. This is no way to live.

• Illegally placed road bollards blocking half the entrance/exit at Old Victoria Road congesting this one-block no-exit one-lane street. Although they applied to have them placed, they went beyond the agreed area and were supposed to move them. The city engineer agreed with me that this is a traffic hazard.
• Multiple EMS calls bringing firetrucks often accompanied by ambulances every week up to 5 times in one day along with police interventions and arrests. I kept a log for several months & it’s outrageous. It got so depressing I had to stop, but the problem didn’t.
• I suggested to VIHMS back in Sep 2025 that they train the staff & provide the equipment to reduce dependence on our emergency services. The contact said she would bring it up to the partners at the next board meeting, but nothing happened.
• Heavy vehicle & foot traffic including food & pharmacy delivery, courier, private garbage trucks, taxis, community workers, staff and tenants coming and going all day driving, walking, biking & riding scooters. The food & garbage trucks have to honk their horn so they will open the gate.
• They are allowed pets there and guy started howling with his dog – emailed VIHMS
• Tenant was using my driveway as a dropoff point for his taxi. I emailed VIHMS and she passed it on to them.
• Tenant sauntered over to our property, nosed around the carport next door and hid around the side of the building when I told her it was private property. I emailed VIHMS & posted Private Property signs at both driveways.
• People smoking, dropping garbage & cigarette butts & spitting outside the fence & on the roadside
• Domestic disturbances
• Drinking
• Vagrancy
• Loitering
• People wandering around as if they’re lost
• Loud yelling day & night, often angry
• Police calls & arrests
• Drug dealing
• Urination
• Robbery planning
• Sex workers

There are now 58 tenants there and no matter how many times I emailed Sheila Malcolmson and the city council, nothing has changed to stop this circus from happening. Plus, they installed a street lamp just for them but won’t lift a finger for the dangerous goat path we have to walk on further down the street.

It’s like a glorified tent city but with staff and we’re supposed to just put up and shut up so they can tout about how great the program is and everyone’s all happy and welcoming. Bullshit! This is short-term housing for people with serious mental health issues and/or drug addictions that has a turnover. It does not belong on this street!

The public needs to know about this

My cousin asked me if I felt scared and I answered, “Yes, as a matter of fact I do.” It’s like being in a constant state of emergency waiting for an accident to happen, and I’m trying to warn people, but no one cares. Plus, I’m afraid to have courier deliveries to my home anymore or have my grandkids play in the yard when they sleepover.

And then there’s Sheila Malcolmson who is supposed to be interested in how these facilities affect the neighbours as Minister of Social Development & Poverty Reduction in BC. More Bullshit!

Forget them! I’m presenting this on my own to everyone who will listen in hopes of preventing further bullying by these systems before others are made to suffer, too. And when I can afford to move, I will make sure this never, ever happens again near me. I will also check to ensure no plans for these have been started near wherever I move to.

Every department I’ve talked to seems like they have to pander to the outrageous demands of these facilities just because they say they are ‘helping’. Define ‘helping’! It’s one thing to help others, but it’s another to do it at the cost of another’s suffering as if they don’t matter. It is very haphazard in the way it’s ‘managed’ and needs way more intelligent planning.

A change for the worse

This is the new norm on McKenzie Road now less than 100 feet away from my front door. Traffic has increased 30-50 fold on this sorry little one-block, dead-end, single-lane street.

April 2026

• My contact at city engineering got back to me about the road bollards I complained about last year and said they won’t be moved, but they are going to build a sidewalk now. How is that going to help anything? They won’t even put in a proper sidewalk for the rest of us on a dangerous corner further down the road where we have to use a goat path or risk being smushed by traffic.
• There is also now a street lamp put up just for them that should have been put up for the rest of us years ago. Plus they have their own lights on the fence posts that shine into my bedroom window at night.
• On the other side of my building is a nuisance barking dog that now barks non-stop because of all the foot and bike traffic coming and going just from that place alone.

Domestic disturbance

A domestic situation that required RCMP mediation ended with the guy dropping the girl’s clothes at our driveway and then honking impatiently for her to get them while he waited across the street on Old Vic Road.

• This guy in the white van with red plastic in the window continues to cruise this street.
• Today, May 14th there was some loud angry yelling after which I watched him smoke his tires and fishtail away from here. Now, I’ve called the non-emergency line of the RCMP and reported it. This guy is unhinged and becoming more angry, which means more dangerous.
• The RCMP called me back and the constable was very aware of how bad the situation is. He said I must be used to it by now. I said, “Are you kidding? You don’t get used to this! It’s wrong on so many levels.” I know how dangerous domestic disturbances can be from my years as auxiliary police, so I don’t take this lightly. He asked me to get the license number next time I see the van and also report these other infractions to non-emergency. Such as the drinking and vagrancy. So I will.
• May 2026 – the guy started parking at our driveway, so I got his license number while he was preoccupied with his phone. I called the officer who called him with a warning to not park there. The next time he parked on Old Vic and took his bike off the back of his van and rode that back and forth on the street. Someone else called the police that time.
• Jun 2026 – The girl is no longer there, so this problem is over. The people come and go, so who and what is next?

May 2026

• Ambulance waited on Old Victoria Road for RCMP backup before entering property suggesting it was dangerous for them to go in unescorted
• Beer drinking on roadside. Guy sat drinking beer, then poured out the last of it and left the can where he sat

• Vagrancy. Three guys sat with their phones all day and passed out. Then one person came later in the evening to talk with them. The next morning all their stuff was sitting outside the gate. This type of gathering has become a common scene.

• More domestic disturbance. From inside my house I heard a woman screaming hysterically and a man arguing. I took my phone to the edge of the driveway to record it and call the police if necessary. When they spotted me recording the guy started walking towards me and the women screamed at him to leave me alone.

• Both of these people are from HEARTH and the woman definitely should not be driving given her hysterics. She was begging him to leave there.

• Not 15 minutes after she dragged him away and they drove off a firetruck and ambulance arrived at HEARTH.

What about the treatment?

This is not a treatment facility as some people think.; it’s an outreach only for temporary housing. I want to know more about the inner workings of the HEARTH projects. Not that it makes my situation any more bearable, I’m just curious as to how it helps the people.

• Where is the page that describes the program in detail?
• What problems do these people have?
• What kinds of help are these people receiving?
• Does the help include real life coping skills?
• Where do they end up after?
• What is their turnover rate?
• What are the curriculum, rules, expectations, etc?

What am I doing in the meantime?

Some council members are apologetic, plus the city engineer at city hall, the police are very understanding, but their hands are tied by bureaucratic red tape. Mine are not. So, I’m dusting off my activist boots and kicking some bureaucratic butt while creating public awareness around this issue.

I know BC Housing has choices on where to build and the city council is a big part of that decision. There are plenty of industrial properties in this big city, so they don’t need to build across the street from private residences. We have rights, too. They’re called Noise, Nuisance and Unsightly Premises bylaws. Read them. Other activities fall under the Criminal Code. Read it.

At this point before they build on the adjacent lot, I suggest the city forgive the lease and move this facility elsewhere, because it will only get worse.

For the sake of my health and sanity, I will Reiki the crap out of this situation until I can get the eff outta here.

Update May 21

I emailed my very real concerns regarding the heavy traffic on McKenzie to the city engineer guy and he is taking it seriously. He has forwarded it to the right department, but it’s a FCFS type thing and it will be given a file number until they can review it.

As for the other issue with the goat path where we have to walk further south on Old Vic the engineering design team is “determining the next step”. It’s a start, but HEARTH gets more action from the city in a few months than the rest of us have in years. Something’s wrong there.

New information exposes dirty deal

Jun 2nd I sent an email to email every Neighbourhood Association contacts in the city to forewarn them lest BC Housing tries this again. The Newcastle Association is apparently very active with a huge FB following and the contact posted this page there.

One reader wrote the who and how this started, including who benefits.

Another reader contacted me who turned out to be a neighbour down the road. She told me some unethical details about how this facility got pushed through. I don’t recall seeing the warning she refers to, but my landlady who lived next door would have been a big part of it. Sadly, she died just before the HEARTH facility opened and I learned she had been very sick up until then.

I’m both appalled and disappointed, but for some reason not surprised because I have suspected corruption from certain city council members. To the degree they would go to puff themselves up, or more likely their bank account, is incomprehensible to people who aren’t greedy. We have no defense when these deals are done in secret and with non-disclosure agreements.

I’m aware of other dirty people in this town and the one message I can share with certainty from this experience is that we need a new mayor.

Update Jun 3

I will be meeting with several people this month, starting with my neighbours who are already working together with a higher government official.

Update Jun 8

I sent an email to all the realtor companies I could find advising them to inform new buyers of these situations. One responded back saying she sold three homes on one street because of another shelter in town. She said the owners were all sick of having crime, fires, and people high on their streets. She didn’t say whether she warned the new owners or not, but I believe realtors should be partly responsible for that as well.

People really need to do their due diligence when buying a house specifically for the reasons on this page.

Jun 18 – More domestic turbulence

Couple loudly yelling obscenities at each other just outside the fence at HEARTH directly across from my driveway. The girl then went in and I didn’t see where the guy went.

Jun 18 – More police presence

In the past couple of weeks the police have been driving past the HEARTH building to keep watch for criminal activity. This is good, but their timing is a bit off.

Jun 23 – Drinking & littering at bus stop

While walking back from a neighbour’s a woman sat here and drank beer at the bus stop across the street. This is what she left.

Jun 24 – Fistfight averted on the street

Angry yelling prompted me to look and see one guy picking a fight with another guy on the street. They dropped their fists when staff came out and warned them she would have to call the police if they didn’t stop.

Fire at HEARTH

More fire truck sirens in the middle of the night, but this time I learned there were three for a 3:00am fire that happened at the facility itself. That is one thing I have feared would happen, and now it has.

Jun 30 – Making headway of sorts

This is public information that anyone can get by calling VIHMS as they manage the HEARTH facility at 1030 Old Victoria Road. I spoke on the phone with the executive director and this is what she told me. Some changes have been made in the last few weeks.

• There are currently 58 tenants (they’re allowed 59)
• There is no drug use allowed inside, but there are two designated places outside & the tenants bring them in
• This is housing so there are no programs per se as there is no space; it’s an outreach model
• Community teams come in daily to offer support services, but the tenants are not obligated to get help
• The tenants are responsible for being good neighbours
• Most stay a few months
• They now have cameras outside – that’s a biggie
• They now have teams check the outer area and pick up garbage

In the next while I will be meeting them in person at the facility to discuss things further and I now I now have a number to call for disruptive activities as they are happening. The staff will then then deal directly with the troublemakers or call the police. The thing is I can’t NOT see all this going on because of the close proximity to my front door and it being right outside the window where I work.

July – New problems, more criminality

Just when I thought my list of complaints was long enough, more of the nightmare that is HEARTH gets crammed down my throat.

Tenants fighting in the street

This first weekend in July reflected more of the danger that lingers on my street when a fist fight was brewing where I later learned one guy held a knife and another held a pipe. According to the witness who called the police the men were caught and let go.

When saw it start I immediately called the facility for the first time and told them I was going to call the police and they were just about to. Clearly, the cameras have not been a deterrent in this instance and I should have just call the police myself.

Saturday night four cop cars raced to the facility and one officer rushed around the side of the building, so something was happening inside that next night.

Imagine what this feels like with your grandkids sitting next to you!

Discerning causes & seeking solutions

To get to the root cause of homelessness, it’s fair to say drug addiction, mental health issues and high cost of housing are the main contributing factors. At the same time drug addictions and mental health go hand-in-hand, and some homeless people actually choose the street.

My solution is simple

Build one big ‘wet’ facility far from town on crown land where ALL of these problems are contained. Let the HEARTH facilities be dry treatment centers for those who want to move on from there and integrate back into society.

Get the city the city to pick them up off the street and take them there like Vancouver does during big events.