Karyn French of Pacifica Housing is interviewed for Focus Magazine

French has been helping other people put down their own roots — for the past five and a half as Executive Director of Pacifica Housing Advisory Association, a non-profit that owns and manages affordable housing complexes for low-income families and people with disabilities in Victoria and Nanaimo.

Pacifica also offers housing outreach and support services for the “hard to house” or “homeless at risk.” Their support programs teach the basic life skills — budgeting and tenancy, for instance — that many people take for granted, the lack of which cause major barriers to stable housing. Other projects like community gardens build pride and foster skills, independence and interaction, and Pacifica is constantly striving to expand and continue these programs...