If you're coming to Victoria, I suggest you plan in advance how you're going to deal with panhandlers, because you will encounter them. We have a significant homelessness problem, as well a number of people with mental illness and addiction, and they find their way to the streets.
If you're the kind of person who doesn't mind sharing the wealth in this manner, by all means bring a couple of rolls of quarters. You'll have plenty of opportunities to give them away. Personally, my policy is look panhandlers in the eye, say "hello" pleasantly and keep walking. Others choose to ignore them completely, but in my view everyone deserves to have his or her humanity acknowledged, so I do what I do. I've never been hassled.
Victoria also has buskers, some of whom are quite talented, and I think they deserve a little something if you stop and listen, and maybe even if you don't. They add something positive to the city, and I think we should encourage them.
And on the topic of addiction, you might well observe people nodding out, sleeping in doorways or even using hard drugs in broad daylight. It's sad, but it has to be admitted. The best I can say is you don't need to worry about your safety ... although be aware that abandoned needles are not an altogether uncommon sight downtown.
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