A long running push for more choices in supportive housing in Nanaimo has reached a significant turning point. A new 50-unit housing project at 250 Bryden St., formerly known as 250 Terminal Ave., will now operate as recovery-oriented housing, giving people working to overcome substance use a place to live where drugs and alcohol are not part of the residential environment. For Karen Kuwica, president and founder of the Newcastle Community Association, the decision represents the culmination of years of advocacy. “The work has been gruelling,” Kuwica told CTV News. She said the idea of substance-free or “dry” housing was difficult to advance when the community first began pushing for it years ago. Now, she says, residents are being invited to help shape how the program will operate. That involvement is something Kuwica considers particularly important as the project moves forward. She also believes the change could have an effect beyond the walls of the building. “There’s a lot of procurement of substances in the surrounding community in Newcastle,” she said. With residents who are specifically seeking recovery now having another housing option, Kuwica expects some of that demand to disappear. “The customers are leaving,” she said. The provincial government says the project is intended for people who have experienced or been at risk of homelessness, need help remaining housed and want to limit their exposure to drugs and alcohol. Residents will still be able to use health and recovery services in the wider community. Housing staff will help connect residents with those services and co-ordinate their care. For Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, the announcement is also a recognition of the role local residents and elected officials played in pushing for a different approach. The 50-unit project was originally planned as supportive housing. But after years of advocacy from the neighbourhood and a June 22 council vote, the province agreed to change it to recovery-oriented housing, creating a substance-free environment for residents. Krog said the response from Housing and Municipal Affairs Minister Christine Boyle was welcome. “This is a morning of hope,” Krog told CTV News. He acknowledged that some people in the neighbourhood may have wanted a broader change, but said the decision is a meaningful step toward giving people more opportunities to build stability. Krog also put the announcement in the larger context of the province’s ongoing struggle with homelessness and addiction. He said communities across British Columbia are dealing with the consequences of decades of social and health policy decisions, making the issue much bigger than any single neighbourhood or housing project. The decision also reflects a change in how local officials view Nanaimo’s housing needs. Sheila Malcolmson, MLA for Nanaimo–Gabriola Island, said she would have approached the proposal differently several years ago. At that point, she said, Nanaimo needed more low-barrier supportive housing and did not have enough options to justify narrowing eligibility or creating a more specialized model. That landscape has since changed. With hundreds of supportive housing units now available in Nanaimo, Malcolmson said there is an opportunity to offer different types of housing based on where people are in their recovery journey. “That was the foundation of my support for council’s proposal,” she said. Kuwica said that broader continuum is essential. Not everyone who needs housing is at the same point in their recovery, she said, and people who are actively seeking to avoid substances need an environment that supports that goal. She described recovery as a lifelong journey and said people need different levels of support along the way. The province says more than 11,000 supportive homes are now open or underway across B.C. since 2017, including 550 in Nanaimo. The change at 250 Bryden St. means Nanaimo will add another type of option to that system, rather than relying on a single model to serve people with very different needs. Construction and implementation details for the recovery-oriented operation will continue to be worked out with the community. For those who have spent years calling for the change, the next phase is about making sure the vision works in practice. Kuwica said the Newcastle Community Association is ready to remain involved as those details take shape. And after years of pushing for the concept, she said the community finally has something tangible to look forward to.
