News
You’re 64 and you’ve spent half your life incarcerated. Where can you call home?
Capital Daily spent a year following a “lifer” as he navigated the subsidized housing system in BC
Anna J. James·Monday, November 30, 2020·8 min
Capital Daily author
Anna J. James
25 articles in the archive.
News
North Island ski hill documentary, Frozen in Time, a tale of community when we need it most
Open two days a week and run by volunteers, Mt. Cain is still ripping ahead despite COVID losses
Anna J. James·Thursday, November 26, 2020·3 min
News
The devastating effect Victoria's hotel-shelters have had on surrounding businesses
“The main problem is that they [BC Housing] did not ask anyone before they bought these hotels,” furniture retailer Gordy Dodd told Capital Daily
Anna J. James·Wednesday, November 11, 2020·4 min
News
The secret blacklist intended to keep Victoria sex workers safe
As many as 1,000 adults offer sexual services in the BC capital
Anna J. James·Tuesday, November 3, 2020·6 min
News
“It’s a slum”: Residents at Victoria's hotel-shelters describe hotbeds of crime, disorder
One resident of the Howard Johnson tells Capital Daily “it's getting taken over by people selling dope”
Anna J. James·Monday, October 26, 2020·4 min
News
“Everything will be okay as long as I don’t turn myself into a victim": New series checking in on Victoria's homeless
For the next year, Capital Daily will be regularly profiling the same four people experiencing homelessness or on the brink of it
Anna J. James·Thursday, October 15, 2020·6 min
News
“It’s only … in jail that he sees a doctor”: Parents of homeless Victorians speak
Even a dedicated support network cannot be enough to keep a severely mentally ill son off the streets
Anna J. James·Tuesday, October 6, 2020·5 min
News
Inside Victoria’s newest tent city
With 112 tents and counting, park behind Crystal Pool becomes latest stop on merry-go-round of Victoria tent encampments
Anna J. James·Wednesday, September 30, 2020·3 min
News
PHOTOS: Inside the tenting community at Beacon Hill Park
We recently spent time in the park and spoke to campers.
Anna J. James·Monday, September 7, 2020·2 min
Politics
Meet the Rig Diggers: Current and former addicts who collect used needles in Victoria
They usually find eight per shift. Last week they broke a record.
Anna J. James·Tuesday, September 1, 2020·5 min
News
How a Victoria nonprofit obtained Canada's first medical exemption for magic mushrooms
Psilocybin, the active ingredient in "magic" mushrooms, has been banned in Canada since 1974
Anna J. James·Wednesday, August 26, 2020·3 min
News
Should our waters have all these American yachts in them?
At any one time, there’s usually a boat or two in the Inside Passage flying the stars and stripes
Anna J. James·Monday, August 17, 2020·4 min
News
What are street checks, the thing Victoria just voted to ban?
They're much different than the more controversial practices of "carding" or "stop and frisk"
Anna J. James·Thursday, August 13, 2020·4 min
Politics
Where are Victoria's homeless coming from?
“Most of the people we see are from somewhere else,” an outreach worker told The Capital
Anna J. James·Monday, August 10, 2020·4 min
News
Inside Victoria's bike theft underground
One trick involves thieves hacking into condo security systems to gain access to bike storage lockers
Anna J. James·Monday, August 3, 2020·5 min
News
Inside the City of Victoria’s case against the Beacon Hill tenters
It took a city audit, drone surveys and hundreds of pages of legal documents to move 60 campers from one part of Beacon Hill Park to another part
Anna J. James·Wednesday, July 29, 2020·6 min
News
Are Victoria police chasing a sex trafficking ring that doesn't exist?
An operation seemingly built on a hunch, VicPD’s Project No More did not find any evidence of sex trafficking but did incense many of the city's sex workers, who insist they are working by choice
Anna J. James·Thursday, July 9, 2020·5 min
News
Can Victoria fix homelessness without a return to institutionalization?
Only four hospital beds exist in Victoria for people presenting with an emergency mental health issue. If you’re non-violent but experiencing a severe psychiatric crisis in Victoria, there’s basically nowhere to go
Anna J. James·Friday, July 3, 2020·7 min
News
Why BC Homeless Communities Were Spared By COVID-19
Despite fears they would be among the hardest hit by the pandemic, North America’s street communities emerged relatively unscathed
Anna J. James·Wednesday, June 10, 2020·5 min
Housing
Inside Victoria’s New Temporary Hotels for the Homeless
Clean rooms, round-the-clock outreach workers, and semi-regular fires
Anna J. James·Wednesday, June 3, 2020·3 min
News
Province-Backed Anti-Overdose App Criticized As Out-Of-Touch
As one recovering addict told The Capital, when you’re looking to inject drugs “it’s not like you’ll look around for Wi-Fi”
Anna J. James·Thursday, May 21, 2020·5 min
Housing
As Victoria’s Tent Cities are Dismantled, A New Neighbourhood Braces for the Consequences
Topaz Park immediately became an epicentre of crime and disorder, and Burnside-Gorge now fears the same fate will befall them
Anna J. James·Saturday, May 16, 2020·4 min
News
How Victoria’s Topaz COVID-19 Homeless Camp Went So Horribly Wrong
The camp site was designed to safely accommodate the vulnerable during the pandemic. Instead, it became a hotbed of crime, anarchy, and death.
Anna J. James·Friday, May 1, 2020·4 min
News
What COVID-19 Could Do to Victoria's Homeless
The street population could be among the hardest hit by the virus. What is being done to protect them?
Anna J. James·Tuesday, March 17, 2020·4 min