By Cathy Holmes, Regional Mentor for Vancouver Island Central & South
We are thrilled to welcome the Southern Vancouver Island LOVE Community Response Network (CRN), bringing the total number of LOVE CRNs on Vancouver Island to two and the provincial total to three.
This expansion marks an exciting milestone in BC CRN’s ongoing commitment to making communities safer, more inclusive, and welcoming for everyone.
LOVE (Living OUT and Visibly Engaged) CRNs work to strengthen awareness and connection, while supporting sexual and gender-diverse adults experiencing abuse, neglect, self-neglect, or isolation.
At the heart of LOVE CRNs are passionate advocates and community champions who believe everyone deserves to feel safe, respected, supported, and free to be themselves.
Christopher Bate has served as LOVE CRN Program Coordinator in Central Vancouver Island for several years, doing an outstanding job of advancing this work, strengthening relationships, and building awareness across communities. His dedication has helped move the initiative forward and create a strong foundation for continued growth.
Joining this next chapter is Zoe Wells, a longtime community advocate who brings years of experience, commitment, and community connections through her role as Program Coordinator for Victoria and the West Shore. Her leadership and understanding of the South Vancouver Island community make her an ideal addition to this growing initiative.
The growth of LOVE CRNs is also reflected on the mainland.
The Lower Mainland LOVE CRN, coordinated by Erin Obi, continues to foster awareness, inclusion, and community connections for 2SLGBTQIA+ older adults and other sexual and gender-diverse community members.
Together, the three LOVE CRNs are building safer, more inclusive communities across British Columbia. But this work did not start here.
Two longtime BC CRN mentors and friends, Jane Osborne and Horst Backé, were instrumental in building the foundation upon which LOVE CRN stands today. Their dedication, advocacy and hard work over more than a decade helped shape this initiative, and we cannot imagine being where we are today without them.
After a successful career in management technology and organizational development, Jane devoted the next chapter of her life to community development and restorative justice. Her 20 years of community work earned her Simon Fraser University’s Gerontology Research Centre Individual Elder Abuse Awareness to Action Award in 2016.
Jane remains actively involved in community initiatives, often lending her talents to boards and community partnerships.
Horst brought a wealth of experience in health-care leadership, 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy, and community development. He developed invaluable working documents that helped establish the foundations of this initiative and coordinated the LOVE CRN, working with local stakeholders to address abuse, neglect, and self-neglect affecting sexual and gender minority adults across Vancouver Island.
In 2025, he received the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the community.
Jane and Horst remind us that meaningful change takes time, persistence, and people who are willing to do the foundational work long before the results are visible. We are deeply grateful for their legacy.
As we celebrate this expansion, we also recognize the many volunteers, community partners, advocates, funders, and allies who continue to make this work possible.
LOVE CRNs exists because many 2SLGBTQIA+ people face barriers to services, experience isolation, and fear having to hide who they are, particularly as they age or enter care.
What’s more, we believe everyone deserves to know there’s a safe place to turn.
This initiative is one expression of the care that connects us, and BC CRN hopes to continue expanding this work across the province so that no one feels alone, unseen, or unsupported in their community.
