A Vancouver Island war museum says it is being forced to move due to problems associated with a neighbouring homeless shelter.
Courtenay’s HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial pays tribute to the 59 men who died when their battleship, the Corvette HMCS Alberni, was sunk off the English Coast during the Second World War.
The museum is located inside a small mall on Cliffe Avenue next to the Connect Temporary Shelter and Service Hub.
The building that was leased from the city was intended as a temporary space for the area’s homeless population, but that was five years ago.
“Our visitor numbers dropped severely, Lewis Bartholomew, HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial founder, told Global News. “They are equal to the COVID closures.
“Because the visitors don’t want to come down to this part of town.”
The museum operators say they know there is a need for housing, but the expectation when Connect moved in was that it would be there for six to 12 months before a new location would be found.
Get daily National news
While BC Housing has now identified a new permanent location, completion of the building is at least three years away.
“The expectation at the time was six to 12 months for a new location that was more permanent and more purpose-built would be located,” Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells told Global News.
“Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”
The three staff members left at the museum, who have been putting in their own money to keep things up and running, say it is now too late.
“We’ve had three deaths of people who have overdosed on probably fentanyl,” Bartholomew said.
“We’ve had feces in our hallways and also at our gates that have to be cleaned up.
“One woman parked three blocks away and called my cellphone and asked if I would escort her down here to the mall.”
The museum is now looking for another location and has found a property across the highway in Cumberland, but it’s expensive.
“We’re penniless,” Bartholomew said.
“We would like donations or a donor who would support the museum, or who would sponsor the museum, by helping us purchase this building.”
The only other option is to close down for good.
The museum’s lease expires in October.
