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Your dedication to supporting homeless, impoverished, and marginalized individuals by contributing to emergency food packages, clothing, and other provisions makes our work possible. Thanks to you, our generous donors whom perhaps we have never met, we are able to distribute essential clothing items like coats, socks, underwear, toques (hats), and gloves during these months to help those in need to stay warm.   As fall transitions to colder weather, your support is making a direct impact! Your donations of clean, gently used clothing, including winter items like good clean winter coats, as well as food, bikes, funds, and supplies is vital to the well-being of our less fortunate neighbours. We are so grateful for your generosity!      If you are someone who is still unsure about how you can help, would like to get involved or wish to arrange a donation, please call: 250-248-0845 Thanks for all your love! Blessings, Robin Campbell

As the leaves turn golden and families in Parksville and Qualicum gather to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Manna Homeless Society invites our community to pause and reflect on the challenges faced by those without a place to call home. This season of gratitude reminds us to extend compassion and support to our neighbours experiencing homelessness, who face unique struggles every day. In our picturesque coastal towns, homelessness often remains hidden but is no less real. The individuals we serve at Manna Homeless Society confront daily hardships that many of us can scarcely imagine. Harsh weather, lack of safe shelter, and limited access to basic necessities like food, hygiene facilities, and medical care are constant realities. For many, the absence of stable housing creates barriers to employment, mental health support, and social connection, perpetuating a cycle of vulnerability. As we sit down to warm meals and share laughter with loved ones this Thanksgiving, let’s acknowledge those in our community who lack these comforts and work together to make a difference. The challenges are immense. Rising living costs in Parksville and Qualicum have made affordable housing scarce, pushing more individuals and families to the margins. Many of those we support face mental health struggles or addiction, often compounded by trauma and systemic barriers. The stigma of homelessness can isolate them further, making it harder to access services or feel part of the community. Yet, despite these obstacles, the resilience and humanity of these individuals shine through. They are our neighbours, each with a story, dreams, and the right to dignity. At Manna Homeless Society, we are committed to providing practical support—foot care, bicycles, food, warm clothing, hygiene supplies, tents, tarps, sleeping bags, and a compassionate ear. Our outreach programs aim to meet people where they are, offering not just material aid but also hope and connection. This Thanksgiving, we are grateful for the volunteers, donors, and community partners who make this work possible. Your generosity allows us to serve food, distribute sleeping bags, blankets, and provide essential resources that bring comfort and stability to those in need. As we give thanks, we invite you to join us in extending a hand to those experiencing homelessness. Your support can change lives. To Donate to Manna Homeless Society, please: - send an e-transfer to Mannaparksville@gmail.com or - mail cheques to Manna Homeless Society Box 389 Errington BC V0R 1V0 Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us provide vital services and reminds those we serve that they are seen and valued. This Thanksgiving, let’s come together as a community to share not just our tables but our hearts. On behalf of Manna Homeless Society, I extend my deepest thanks for your love and support. Together, we can build a more compassionate Parksville and Qualicum, where everyone has a place to belong. With gratitude, Robin Campbell Manna Homeless Society

Donations quietly roll in, literally, from generous individuals parting with their travel trailers and motorhomes. No public accolades or fanfare is made for these members of our community who see the importance of helping out their fellow neighbours who have fallen upon hard times. But the life-changing effects of providing a home to a family, couple or individual cannot be understated! No one plans to lose their home. And the circumstances under which this happens can be gut wrenching, frustrating and shocking to say the least. To the silent donors, Manna thanks you. To those considering a donation of your well-loved holiday vehicle, don't hesitate to inquire about how your amazing donation can help change lives! Contact Robin Campbell of the Manna Homeless Society to find out how to donate or get more information: 250.248.0845 oceansidemanna@gmail.com

Thanks to donations from our community, two more families are moving out of tents and into a trailer and a motorhome. One home gets a new wheel and then it's on its way to its new location. A second home on wheels for a family in our community...

Whenever Manna has requested free mattresses, M&N Mattress and Sofa company has always come through! Their support for the less fortunate in our community is just amazing! We join them in celebrating their 25th Anniversary for selling Canadian-made products in Parksville. Congratulations! And Thank You for all you do for the Manna Homeless Society!

As the crisp autumn air gives way to the relentless chill of Vancouver Island winters, the community of Parksville & Qualicum Beach face a stark reality: homelessness is not just a personal crisis—it’s a communal one. With temperatures poised to plummet and no guaranteed winter shelters in sight, the failure of local leaders to prioritize those at risk and the unhoused threatens not only individual lives but the very social and economic fabric of these tight-knit Oceanside towns. The numbers paint a grim picture. In British Columbia, deaths among people experiencing homelessness have nearly tripled since 2020, surging from 152 in that year to at least 458 in 2023 alone—a 23% jump from the previous year. Vancouver Island bore the brunt of this rise, recording the province’s highest year-over-year increase in such fatalities. Toxic drugs, exposure to the elements, and untreated health issues are the deadly culprits, but experts point to systemic neglect as the root cause. In the Parksville-Qualicum Beach area, a Point-in-Time (PIT) Homelessness Count conducted in April 2025 revealed the scale of the problem, with volunteers surveying those in need at sites like the SOS Community Services Centre’s Friendship Garden.  These counts, part of a province-wide effort from October 2024 through April 2025, underscore a hidden epidemic: dozens, if not hundreds, of locals — many working poor, seniors on fixed incomes, or those fleeing domestic violence — are teetering on the edge of the streets. When community leaders deprioritize this issue, the ripple effects touch every corner of life in these rural and semi-rural enclaves. Start with public health: Emergency rooms in Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, the nearest major facility, overflow with hypothermia cases, infections from unsanitary encampments, and overdoses exacerbated by isolation.  In Errington and Whiskey Creek, where dense forests offer precarious shelter, the lack of outreach means preventable illnesses spread unchecked, straining volunteer groups like Manna Homelessness Society in the Oceanside area.  “We’re seeing more families showing up for food  because they’re one missed rent payment away from joining the line,” says Shayla Day, chair of the newly reformed Oceanside Homelessness Task Force, which relaunched in August 2025 after the previous iteration disbanded in May. This task force, a fragile beacon of hope, coordinates referrals for essentials and housing from Nanoose to Qualicum Bay. But without municipal buy-in, it’s a band-aid on a gaping wound. Economically, the cost is staggering. Encampments along Highway 19A in Parksville and Qualicum Beach deter tourists—the lifeblood of these beach-side economies—while cleanup efforts drain municipal budgets. Property values dip as residents in Whiskey Creek and Errington report rising petty thefts linked to desperation, fostering a climate of fear that erodes the “small-town charm” these areas pride themselves on. "When we ignore the unhoused, we’re all paying the price—in taxes, in safety, in lost productivity,” Day warns. Socially, the divide deepens. Protests erupted outside Parksville City Hall last October, with over 30 residents demanding an overnight winter shelter after the previous season’s failures left dozens exposed to sub-zero winds.  Echoes of that urgency persist on social media, where locals vent frustration: “Winter extreme weather shelter demanded but no zoned locations exist,” one user posted, highlighting the bureaucratic roadblocks that doom good intentions.  In Qualicum Bay, where retirees outnumber youth, the sight of tents in community parks sows seeds of resentment, pitting “us” against “them” in a zero-sum game where no one wins. But the true tragedy unfolds in the shadows of winter’s grip. Last February, unhoused individuals in the Parksville area shivered through nights without consistent shelter, a repeat of heart-wrenching patterns that claimed lives of individuals province-wide.  Flash back to November 2020 in Whiskey Creek where three people perished in a burned trailer amid a remote encampment—victims of fire, drugs, and isolation after being pushed out of town cores.  Such stories aren’t relics; they’re harbingers. With 2023’s toll hitting 458 across BC and Island numbers climbing fastest, experts predict another deadly season unless action is swift.  A homeless advocate who tried to aid that Whiskey Creek camp was warned away the night of the deaths, underscoring how stigma and neglect compound the peril. As frost etches the windows of cozy homes from Nanoose to Qualicum Bay, the question hangs heavy: Will leaders finally heed the call? The Oceanside Task Force urges immediate zoning for shelters, expanded outreach, and provincial funding ties. Residents, too, can amplify voices through petitions and council meetings. In these communities, where neighbors once rallied for beach cleanups and summer fairs, the real test of character comes not in sunshine, but in the storm. Ignore the homeless at our peril—for their tragedy becomes ours, etched in the ice of inaction. Manna Homeless Society remains committed to providing foot care, food, tents , tarps, sleeping bag, clothing, bicycles, and sometimes donated trailers and motorhomes to those in need. We are bracing for a tough winter and ask for your continued support to help those without shelter your donations make a difference. Thank you for your love and support! Robin Campbell Manna Homeless Society Donations can be made by e-transfer to: MannaParksville@gmail.com   Or  cheques can be sent to: Manna Homeless Society P.O.  Box  389 Errington BC VOR 1VO

Dear Friends,   As fall settles in, the nights in Oceanside and Parksville grow colder, bringing harsh realities for the homeless and at-risk individuals in our communities. The arrival of coughs, colds, and flu underscores the urgent need for shelters and warming stations, which remain absent. People are left to face the elements, with damp clothing and inadequate shelter making the cold even more unbearable. It’s heartbreaking and unnecessary, especially when empty buildings sit unused, and leadership lacks the will to act. At Manna Homeless Society, we see the toll this takes—seniors living in cars, makeshift shelters, or on the streets, with no clear reason why society allows this neglect. As economic challenges loom, both globally and locally, the lack of preparation is glaring. Unrest grows when basic needs go unmet, and change is needed—leaders who see the reality and are willing to act. Until then, Manna Homeless Society remains committed to providing foot care, food, tents, tarps, sleeping bags, and clothing bicycles, and sometimes donated trailers and motorhomes to those in need. We brace for a tough winter and ask for your continued support to help those without shelter. Your donations make a difference. E-transfer donations: MannaParksville@gmail.com   Mail donations or cheques to: Manna Homeless Society P.O.  Box  389 Errington BC VOR 1VO Thank you for your love and support, Robin Campbell Manna Homeless Society

To Whom It May Concern, I write to you with a heavy heart, compelled to expose the humanitarian and spiritual catastrophe unraveling in the streets of Oceanside, particularly around Parksville. This is not a distant threat—it is a present, suffocating darkness that chokes the life from our most vulnerable neighbours. The question is no longer whether this crisis will worsen, but how much more suffering we will allow before we act. I beg you to hear this desperate plea, not just for the homeless and less fortunate who are at risk, but for the soul of our community. Let me tell you about a woman I met on the Parksville waterfront. She  is 42, though her weathered face and hollow eyes make her look decades older. Once a nurse’s aide, she lost her job during the pandemic, then her apartment, and finally her hope. Now, she sleeps in a tattered sleeping bag behind a dumpster and other unsafe areas, her only shelter from the elements.  She has an untreated infection in her foot, swollen and oozing, and no access to a doctor. She told me, while great pain, "I just want to feel human again.” She is not alone—hundreds of people at risk who live in their vehicles or shacks or on the streets like her roam Oceanside, trapped in a cycle of neglect, despair, and systemic failure that feels engineered to break them. This crisis is a humanitarian failure of staggering proportions. The homeless in Oceanside are denied the most basic necessities: washrooms , clean water, decent food, a safe place to sleep, or even rudimentary medical care. The streets are awash with dangerous drugs—fentanyl, meth, and worse—while access to rehabilitation, job training, or mental health support is virtually nonexistent. Shelters are absent, leaving people exposed to the elements and vulnerable to violence. This is not mere oversight; it feels deliberate, as if designed to crush the spirit of those already on their knees. The result is a Third World-like wasteland in the heart of our community, where hope is a luxury and survival is a daily battle. Consider the stark hypocrisy of our priorities. In British Columbia, plastic straws are banned to “protect the environment,” yet the government turns a blind eye to the flood of deadly drugs that destroy lives. Worse, some leaders seem complicit, allowing policies that perpetuate addiction over recovery. In Oceanside, the conditions are not just deplorable—they are apocalyptic. People like this lady suffer from untreated illnesses, from festering wounds to chronic diseases, with no hope of care. The lack of shelter leaves citizens at the mercy of extreme heat in the summer , torrential rains in the winter or freezing nights. The easy availability of drugs, coupled with the absence of meaningful support, creates a perfect storm for failure—One that our leaders have allowed to rage unchecked. This is more than a policy failure; it is a spiritual assault. By stripping the homeless and people at risk of dignity and basic care, those in power have opened the door to darkness. They retreat to their comfortable homes, insulated from the chaos they’ve enabled, while the streets become a battleground where the vulnerable fight impossible odds. The victory, for now, belongs to neglect and apathy—but it is a shameful one, built on the broken bodies and spirits of people like this lady. Here are further examples of this engineered catastrophe: •  Untreated Medical Crises: Beyond her infected foot, countless others suffer in silence. I’ve seen people with heart disease and diabetes without insulin, women with untreated mental health disorders spiraling into despair, and a large number of people with untreated respiratory infections. The absence of basic healthcare or even first aid ensures physical deterioration, eroding the will to persevere. •  Abandonment of Shelter Solutions: There are no meaningful efforts to provide safe, stable housing or even temporary shelters. People sleep in doorways, under bridges, or in makeshift camps, exposed to theft, assault, and exploitation. The city and RDN spend thousands to “clear” these encampments, only to push people into new areas where the cycle of destruction and filth begins anew. Without shelter, there is no stability, no safety, no hope. •  Proliferation of Drugs Over Dignity: The availability of hard drugs far outstrips any attempt at redemption. Rehabilitation programs are underfunded or nonexistent, job training is a pipe dream, and mental health support is a cruel joke. This imbalance is a choice—one that prioritizes addiction over recovery, death over life. •  Erosion of Community Safety: The chaos in the streets doesn’t just harm the homeless—it poisons everyone. Families avoid downtown Parksville, where needles can be found on the streets and the sidewalks and in our public parks. Businesses struggle as customers stay away. The social fabric frays, yet no comprehensive plan emerges to restore order or compassion. •  Dehumanization Through Neglect: By treating the homeless like animals—shuffling them from one area to another without addressing their needs—we dehumanize them. This approach hasn’t worked; it only deepens the crisis. We spend more on policing and cleanup than we would on shelters or support, perpetuating a vicious cycle of suffering. This cannot continue. The leaders of Oceanside must be held accountable for creating an environment where failure is not just possible but inevitable. Their inaction—or worse, their complicity—has allowed this darkness to spread, and it is the most vulnerable who pay the price. I implore you to act, to shine a light on this crisis, and to demand change before the situation becomes irreparable. The homeless and those at risk deserve care, dignity, and hope. They are not animals to be herded or problems to be swept away—they are human beings, created in the image of the Creator crying out for compassion. Without immediate action, the darkness will deepen. We risk not just a humanitarian disaster but a moral collapse. Oceanside could become a place where hope is extinguished, where families are lost forever, where the fire of neglect consumes our safe community. I beg you—do not let this happen.  Create shelters, expand healthcare access, prioritize recovery over addiction, and restore dignity to those who have been stripped of it. Act now, before the light fades entirely. Robin Campbell Manna Homeless Society Donations can be made by e-transfer to: MannaParksville@gmail.com   Or  cheques can be sent to: Manna Homeless Society P.O.  Box  389 Errington BC VOR 1VO Thanks for your donation!

In Parksville, where the skies turn gray, Raindrops fall in a mournful sway, Streets that sparkle with laughter and light, Hide the cold shadows that shun the night. The homeless wander, faces drawn tight, While warm homes glow, a comforting sight, Yet doors stay closed, and hearts turn cold, As innocence masks the stories untold. The rain pours down, a relentless theme, No shelter offered for those who dream, The community smiles, yet fails to see, The cruelty that grows, unfurling like a tree. Innocent blossoms, but roots intertwined, With neglect and decay that we leave behind, In Parksville's embrace, let kindness stir, For compassion is shelter, and love must occur.

Layne Collinson made and sold over $3,000.00 worth of Beautiful Glass Hearts to assist in the care and healing of people at risk in the Oceanside Community. This is the 9th consecutive year. Thanks 🙏 so much Layne From everyone at Manna Homeless Society ❤️

This winter, Parksville faced a critical challenge due to lack of an adequate weather shelter for our vulnerable residents. Manna Homeless Society recognized  the severe consequences of this ongoing issue: Increased Suffering and Insecurity:** Without a sufficient shelter, many individuals face threatening conditions, exacerbating their health and well-being during these harsh winter months. Escalating Mental Health Issues:** The prolonged exposure to the elements has led to a rise in anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges among those living on the streets. Strain on Community Resources:** Local organizations are overwhelmed this winter , struggling to provide emergency assistance and basic needs, which further complicates our community’s response to homelessness. Join us in our mission to bring warmth and dignity back to Parksville. Your voice matters! Robin Campbell Manna Homeless Society Donations can be made by e-transfer to: MannaParksville@gmail.com   Or  cheques can be sent to: Manna Homeless Society P.O.   Box  389 Errington BC VOR 1VO Thanks for your donation!