Homelessness can come in an instant for some people, or it can be a long, slow slide over 25 years, like it has been for Brianna. She has lived in many of the places that BC Housing has latched onto over the years as a solution of the moment – first Blanshard Court, then the place on Queen Street that got closed down, then City Centre, which got closed down too. Now they want to put Brianna in the Johnson building that used to be a seniors’ care home, but Brianna remembers that place from when she was a kid and her mom worked there. The building terrified her then, and still. “I just won’t do Johnson,” she says. “I’ve been out here since summer 2024, and everyone says to talk to BC Housing, but nothing ever happens.” Brianna and others out there note that for the first time in memory, food is getting harder to find in Victoria. “I’m 46. I’ve lost 150 pounds in the last year and a half because of my thyroid. I’m barred from one of the shelters with mats for fighting with a roommate. What’s going to happen to me?”