Awesome. We can use more of these. :)

I’m glad to see mixed use housing options, especially in Saanich!

To the post about a lottery ticket, yes it’s a lottery to get a unit no doubt, but isn’t life in general a lottery overall. You’re born into a family with supports or you aren’t.

I’ve been poor. I’ve experienced violence against me. I’ve witnessed domestic violence against my family. I know what it’s like to eat 30 cent ramen and discount bread for months on end.

A good day for me back then was a single lettuce or a single sliced tomato sandwich on Mayo. Not both, just one or other. No snack either, just a cheap sugar filled concentrated juice box. Hot Dog days at school? Can’t afford it. School trips? I took “sick day” day off to save embarrassment.

But my family got support from the community, even my school throughout it (my elementary & High school teachers were the best, they made sure I was included as much possible), so eventually we got out poverty and we kept working very, very hard to build our own supports.

Today, I’m a multi-unit landlord and a community leader. Politicians from all 3 levels of government know me, I’ve been asked to run for office several times. Old Money families lean on me for advice and guidance. And I enjoy Reddit way more than I should. :)

Moral of the story? I made sure my lottery ticket wasn’t set in stone by someone else, I made sure I rewrote own numbers...and I couldn’t print the ink on it if I didn’t have a home and if I didn’t have the community support throughout it.

Heck, we never get units like these back then, we stayed in some very shitty areas filled high crime, drugs, needles on the ground, and crazy dangerous neighbors with gang ties (read cheap, cheap rent), but we luckily got by and got the F out.

The hope is folks today can get a hand too, it’s not meant to be not a forever home, but if they to chose to be that way that’s up to them. At least they have a choice to swim or sail.

Me, I had nothing and we were drowning before someone pulled me up.

This is their chance to write their own numbers on that lottery ticket.

So yeah, my taxes are going towards it, but way better for this than a Insta-worthy, over budget slow opening short blue bridge frequently shut down by misinformed and misguided well to do demonstrators.

73 families get a leg up today, that’s awesome and that’s the story here. :)

Full Disclosure: Im involved by way of an organization tied to this project. We’re happy to support and create more housing opportunities.