Happy birthday to this guy here, who is turning 32 today. Michael’s birthday wish: an ongoing dialogue among people living homeless around their rights to stand up to City of Victoria bylaw raids, which have rapidly gained a reputation among those on the receiving end as calculatedly cruel (taking away tent poles and leaving the fabric, taking food and medications) and relentless. “The biggest thing I see us needing is to have a group that gets together with someone who is on our side and knows the law. I’d say maybe one per cent of us truly know our rights. That doesn’t leave us with enough courage to stand up to police and bylaw.” Michael has lived with a brain injury since age 4 and the hard legacy of teenage years in government care after his mom died and his dad gave him up. He has cycled through prison, homelessness and short stints in assisted care for the last 10 years.