Neighbourhood Solidarity with Unhoused Neighbours (NSUN) nominated by Susan Martin, Component 1, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research
Neighbourhood Solidarity with Unhoused Neighbours (NSUN) formed in the fall of 2020 when housed neighbours, mostly from Fairfield and Gonzales neighbourhoods, coalesced to offer support in a more coordinated way to unhoused neighbours sheltering in Victoria parks including, but not limited to, Beacon Hill Park, Hollywood Park and Gonzales. We met on Zoom and went in person to the parks to deliver donations, see what people needed and to establish relationships – many of which continue to this day some three years later. Our stated purpose is to actualize housing justice and inclusive communities throughout Greater Victoria through solidarity, mutual aid, providing basic humanitarian aid, and centering the right to housing. In June 2021 we welcomed members from other neighbourhoods in the city and became NSUN – a name we agreed to that summer as a group.
Since our beginning we have supplied material support like tents, sleeping bags and warm clothing to unhoused folks throughout Greater Victoria. From November 2022 to March 2023 we ran a breakfast program where we provided hot breakfast sandwiches and coffee to those sheltering in Topaz and Stadacona Parks every Sunday (including Christmas and New Years day). Through the spring and summer of this year we participated in a project that saw NSUN, along with the Backpack Project and LLEOHN, collect submissions about the experience of being homeless/living in encampments in Greater Victoria from over 150 participants. These submissions were for the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate who will be using them, along with another ~150 from 3 other locations across Canada (yes, we collected close to half of the national submissions right here in Victoria!), to prepare a report for the Federal Housing Minister around improving conditions for those living in encampments. You can learn more about NSUN on our website (nsun.ca).