Aboriginal Homeless Outreach Program
The Aboriginal Homeless Outreach Program directly engages Indigenous individuals and families who are homeless and offers assistance in the following ways:
- Connecting to community resources such as income assistance, rental assistance and help filling out subsidized housing applications.
- Advocacy related to tenancy and assistance in applying for dispute resolution.
- Address immediate physical and safety needs such as food, warm clothing and a place to stay.
- Advocating for individuals and families with employment and assistance workers, landlords, hotel managers and others as required.
- Support during the housing search process including connecting to landlords and resources.
- Assistance with the Dispute Resolution process with the Residential Tenancy Office.
Steps to Finding Housing:
- Use all of the resources available: Look online, in the newspaper, on message boards in coffee shops and grocery stores in the areas you want to live in.
- Computers with internet are available at the Friendship Centre.
- Create a short term plan and a long term plan. Motels, transition houses and temporary accommodations can give you time to search for permanent housing.
- Make sure you are on both the BC Housing and M’akola Housing lists, if you qualify.Make phone calls everyday. Looking for housing is just like looking for a job!
- Ensure you have enough for a damage deposit and know where your first month’s rent will come from. The Ministry can sometimes help with the damage deposit. You will have to re-pay this, $20 each month.
- Be on time for appointments and ask a lot of questions. Find out which utilities are included and which are not. Get any agreements about utilities, laundry, rent etc. in writing and make sure they are in the tenancy agreement.
- Don’t be afraid to follow up if you haven’t heard back from a landlord. This shows you are interested in the place.
Know Your Rights:
- You have a right not to be evicted, harassed or refused tenancy by a landlord based on what you look like (race), whether you have children, an addiction or are on welfare or disability.
- You have a right to have your damage deposit returned to you when you move. An inspection must occur at the beginning of tenancy in order for the landlord to keep the deposit. You must give an address for it to be mailed to.
- You have a right to live in a home that meets minimum health, safety and housing standards.
- You have the right to privacy and freedom from disturbance by a landlord in your unit. Except in emergency or if you give permission, 24-hour notice of entry must be given.
- You have a right not to be charged guest fees.
- You have a right to proper notice if you are to be evicted. You have a right to fight that eviction notice. The eviction notice must be served on a 2-page form from the Residential Tenancy Branch.
Housing Resources
Housing Websites:
Craigslist
www.Victoria.craigslist.org/apa/
Used Victoria
www.usedvictoria.com/classifieds/apartment-rentals
Victoria Times Colonist
www.househunting.ca
Brown Bros. Property Management
www.brownbrosrentals.com/vacancy_search.html
Cornerstone Properties
www.cornerstoneproperties.bc.ca
Devon Properties
www.devonprop.com
Quadra Pacific Properties
www.quadrapacific.ca/vacant.html
David Burr
www.davidburr.com
Proline Property Managers
www.property-managers.net/availability.php
Pemberton Holmes
www.pembertonresidential.com/Rental.Property_Management.html
Tenant Support & Advocacy:
Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC)
www.tenants.bc.ca
1-800-665-1185
BC Residential Tenancy Office
www.rto.gov.bc.ca
Victoria Native Friendship Centre
250-384-3211
The Aboriginal Homeless Outreach Program aims to provide a linkage to the necessary support services to address individuals’ or families’ housing, health and cultural needs.
