One excellent example of the established working relationships this quarter was with a person in the community who was living in an RV.  They were at risk of losing their RV when the truck needed to go in for repairs and they were unable to move the RV.  Bylaw contacted Island Health outreach teams for assistance as they were going to have to impound the RV due to it being parked in a public parking lot.  Island Health outreach workers contacted the coordinator for support.  As a team they were able to secure a spot - for this RV and homelessness funds were used to have the RV towed to the new location.

As most of the homelessness services in our region are delivered by outreach teams in the community, the Oceanside Homelessness Project was able to provide a formalized access point where individuals could connect to services as well as provide communication support between clients and outreach teams.  A new relationship was formed this quarter with the private contractor that operated one of the two emergency warming centers.  Existing relationships were strengthened with the local Public Health Nurse’s outreach team during the emergency weather response, as the coordinator connected with them to provide them with emergency supplies.  The coordinator has also recruited their support and participation in the Point in Time Homelessness count for the first time.  The count will take place on April 29.

The coordination of supplies, communications and support for the emergency warming centers this quarter was a great success.  Individuals who would otherwise have been out in the cold were provided a warm place to shelter and receive warm food and clothing.  Clients and local outreach teams were able to access additional survival supplies such as hand and foot warmers, toques, warm socks, blankets, gloves, and base layer clothing through the coordinator at Society of Organized Services (SOS).