Victoria shipping container shelters deemed success by residents, staff and neighbours
CTV
An innovative shelter space made out of converted shipping containers in Victoria, B.C. is being heralded as a success by the community.
Hank Munro, who is living in the Tiny Homes Village in the North Park neighbourhood, used to live in a doorway on Douglas Street.
"Communications I had with people consisted of, 'Can I have? Thank you. Goodbye,'" he said. "It didn’t go beyond that."
But now Munro says he's found a sense of place at the temporary sheltering site.
"Family is what you make of it, and for me, yeah, it's been the community," he said.
In May, 30 people who'd been living in parks around the city moved in to the converted shipping containers, which offer round-the-clock supports.
"When you have 100 residents as opposed to 30 residents, you don’t have as many opportunities for connection," said Beck Carlow, site supervisor for the Tiny Homes Village.
"It really goes a long way to create a feeling of, 'You're welcome here,'" she said.
Staff say the village sets a good example for future developments.
