The drop-in Hub along Nanaimo's Victoria Rd. will continue operating until at least the start of spring, with the City planning to find a new location amid continuous social disorder concerns from neighbours. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

community concerns

‘A total degradation of our neighbourhood:’ new location sought for downtown Nanaimo drop-in Hub

Jul 17, 2025 | 5:26 AM

NANAIMO — A drop-in Hub in the city’s downtown will continue to be funded until the spring, but finding a new location for the services is also being explored.

The Hub drop-in service for those living on the street at 55 Victoria Rd., with access of Nicol St. opened its doors at the start of the year, providing a variety of supports related to health and housing.

However, people who live near the site continue to be impacted by those accessing services, with residents detailing their experiences at the Wednesday, July 16, finance and audit committee meeting.

“A total degradation of our neighbourhood,” south end resident Ruth Taylor said. “It’s a certain level of acceptance of some of the most egregious behaviours, that it’s ok in this neighbourhood. This is how these systems become so entrenched and these areas became so ghettoized…it cannot be rescued.”

The Hub is operated by two organizations, with Island Crisis Care Society providing basic needs and health-related services during the day, while the Nanaimo Family Life Association operates the overnight shelter from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily.

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Multiple other local agencies also provide regular onsite services, including the 7-10 Club Society, Island Health Complex Care Housing Team, and Snuneymuxw First Nation Outreach.

Seven community delegates expressed their concern with what they say is anti-social behaviour, open drug use, loitering, and violence surrounding the Hub.

“When I hear these folks (service providers) talking about the community and how [they] want to help the community, your clients and guests are not this community. They are a small part of this community. A highly dysfunctional, anti-social at times, part of this community,” Taylor said.

Fellow south end resident Gin Lum also expressed her concerns about loitering around the site.

“You have three there, and the next thing there’s three more, and before you know it there’s 12, and they stay there overnight. The CSOs (Community Safety Officers) they’re good people, they try to move them along, but when there’s no one up there, they’re all there gathering and sleeping overnight.

She added fights and abusive language are also common in the area.

Multiple people can be regularly seen outside the Nicol St. entrance to the Hub, which does valuable work in connecting people to healthcare and housing supports, but has also had its challenges with social disorder. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

A City staff report said CSOs responded to 117 calls for service to the Hub from January 1 to June 15, 2025, with the majority of calls related to assisting other agencies like the RCMP, BC Ambulance or Island Health.

Meanwhile, the RCMP were taked with 503 calls for service in the area of the Hub, as well as the 100 block of Victoria Rd and the 100 block of Nicol St. from January 2024 to June 11, 2025.

Many of the delegates who spoke wanted the Hub closed as soon as possible find an alternate location away from residents.

However, finding a new location for the Hub would be difficult, explained manager of social planning Christy Wood.

She said they’ll look at available spaces located throughout the city which would suit their needs, but they expect to run into similar challenges they faced when trying to find the initial location.

“Many of the spaces that we think would be more appropriate are for sale, not for lease, and they’re found throughout the city. We’re limited to what is available, and where leases are available, and that typically tends to be in the south part of the city, so mid to south, that’s kind of what we noticed.”

Wood said having a suitable building is one thing, but the location must also be in a place where those who need the services can easily access them, usually by walking.

“We know the Hub has impacted the neighbourhood, and these issues will remain in the general neighbourhood without these types of services. However, the impacts would manifest in different ways.”

She said using transit to move people to those services was seen last winter, where a shelter was set up at Beban Park and clients had to be bussed in, mainly from the downtown area, during a time of extreme cold conditions.

Providing such a service regularly would also be incredibly costly, said Wood.

The committee unanimously supported allocation of $125,000 to keep the Hub open until March 31, 2026, while City Staff will work with the Hub’s service providers to find another location which works for them and their neighbours.

According to a City report on the Hub, they have supported 314 unique individuals to date, an average of 77 visits per day. Their 20-bed overnight shelter is at 93 per cent capacity since opening in January.

Sixty-four additional shelter beds were included over the winter, ending on April 30, with the Hub operating at full capacity since then, turning away an average of 10 people per night.

The City allocated $584,257 to fund the Hub’s daytime services in 2025, the only daily drop-in service in Nanaimo.

Plans are in the works to move the main entrance of the Hub from Nicol St. to the Victoria Rd side, with multiple concerns heard from residents of people falling or walking on the busy Nicol St. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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