For Cameron LeBlanc, a B.C. government order to clear three homeless encampments – two in Victoria, one in Vancouver – brought a profound change to his life, which he says had gone off track. When the order came on April 24, Mr. LeBlanc was living in Victoria’s Topaz Park, where city officials had approved a tent site that was supposed to provide a safe place for people to live as other facilities were closed because of COVID-19 precautions. Read the rest of this article at The Globe and Mail…
“It has significantly changed my life, it made me kind of nervous and seemed too good to be true,” Mr. LeBlanc told The Globe and Mail in an interview outside the building. He said he has been homeless for about five years, which he attributes to struggles with drug use and depression. For the first time in a while, he feels hopeful about his future. “I’m eating a lot better, taking better care of myself. I have more of a sense of responsibility. There’s a lot of familiar faces here; it’s like a family.”
Image: Cameron LeBlanc, 37, had been homeless for five years and had spent nearly two months at Topaz Park before the opportunity to move into a Travelodge came his way, part of an effort by B.C.’s government to get people off the streets amid the pandemic. He says it has ‘significantly changed’ his life. Chad Hipolito/The Globe and Mail