Toward a World that Works for Everyone
Community leaders partner with Built for Zero to develop the first definition for making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring — for all. What does it mean to achieve functional zero for all populations? By Anna Kim, Community Solutions, June 9, 2022 https://community.solutions/what-does-it-mean-to-achieve-functional-zero-for-all-populations-and-how-was-the-definition-developed In 2017, Rockford, Illinois, first pushed the boundaries of what was understood to […]
I’ve never had it easy, but now, I’ve lost everything By Willi Boepple, Broadview, November 25, 2021 https://broadview.org/willi Over the course of 2021, Willi Boepple sent more than a dozen emails to Broadview magazine. The letters told of life in homeless shelters and the people she encountered. Then, as the letters progressed, she shared stories of […]
By Andy Corbley, Goood News Network, October 18, 2021 https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/non-profits-build-tiny-homes A pair of non-profits are housing homeless people in tiny sustainable homes in the backyards of charitable volunteers who decide to host them. The Seattle-born partnership hopes to replicate the “cultural shift” brought about by Airbnb to tackle the homelessness epidemic in the Pacific Northwest, […]
With more military-style evictions predicted for the Moss Park, Parkdale, and Cherry Beach encampments, it has been heartening to see so many neighbours turning up to support the unhoused and putting pressure on all levels of government to expedite the plans for long-term housing and social supports. By Alexa Gilmour, Broadview, June 30, 2021 https://broadview.org/trinity-bellwoods-encampment/ The […]
Community Solutions Newsletter https://community.solutions/8-lessons-from-communities-that-have-functionally-ended-veteran-homelessness/ Homelessness is solvable — nowhere has that been demonstrated more clearly than in the progress to end veteran homelessness. Twelve communities across the country have reached and sustained a measurable end to veteran homelessness called functional zero. Here’s what we can learn from their progress. 1. A by-name list of […]
A 100-unit housing project with prefabricated, renewable materials is coming to Vancouver Called the Vienna House, the project is part of a collaboration between the City of Vancouver and the City of Vienna, Austria By Cameron Thomson, Vancouver, May 10th, 2021 https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/vancouver-news/a-100-unit-housing-project-with-prefabricated-renewable-materials-is-coming-to-vancouver-3762395 Coming soon to Vancouver is an innovative and international housing pilot project tackling […]
The number of hungry Americans has tripled in one year. . . the pandemic has exacerbated this. There are whole communities that are starved: A New $100 Million Fund Aims to End Homelessness. Building Housing is Only Part of It By Nate Berg, Fast Company, April 13th, 2021 https://www.fastcompany.com/90623844/a-new-100-million-fund-aims-to-end-homelessness-building-housing-is-only-part-of-it Building housing is […]
City of Vancouver website: https://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/rezoning-for-new-indigenous-led-housing-project-approved-by-council.aspx Proposal addresses urgent need for urban Indigenous-led and managed new permanent social and supportive housing, and shelter beds in the Downtown Eastside. We are pleased to be working alongside the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society and BC Housing to put reconciliation into action. ~ Mayor Kennedy Stewart, February 17 2021 […]
How One Interior Designer is Helping — with Her Invoices Interior designers typically serve the 1%. Jessica Helgerson wants to turn that on its head. By Aimee Rawlins, Fast Company, February 10th, 2021 https://www.fastcompany.com/90602613/how-one-interior-designer-is-fighting-homelessness-with-her-invoices “The one percent” is most often used as a pejorative, shorthand for elite, out-of-touch vultures who prey on the working class. […]
Daphne Bramham: The solution to homelessness, DTES chaos and disorder has been known for years Opinion: It’s hard not to think that our governments are throwing good money after bad when policy-makers ignore both the evidence and the experts By Daphne Bramham, The Vancouver Sun, January 28, 2021 https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/daphne-bramham-the-solution-to-homelessness-dtes-chaos-and-disorder-has-been-known-for-years-just-not-acted-upon VANCOUVER, In 2008 — the same […]
With thanks to Sitara. From the Foundations for Social Change website: In 2015, then Environmental Consultant Claire Elizabeth Williams returned to Canada from a six-month trip to India seeking a new direction. After volunteering with a non-profit organization there, she was compelled to pursue work that would make a real difference here at home, in […]
From 2019. ‘It’s a Miracle’: Helsinki’s Radical Solution to Homelessness Finland is the only EU country where homelessness is falling. Its secret? Giving people homes as soon as they need them – unconditionally. Jon Henley, The Guardian, June 23, 2019 https://getpocket.com/explore/item/it-s-a-miracle-helsinki-s-radical-solution-to-homelessness?utm_source=pocket-newtab Tatu Ainesmaa just turned 32, and for the first time in more than a […]
Vancouver City Council approves plan to acquire $1 billion of SROs for the homeless Kenneth Chan, Daily Hive, October 20, 2020 https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-sro-properties-homeless-acquisition In a meeting last Thursday, Vancouver City Council approved city staff’s plan to partner with the provincial and federal governments on acquiring thousands of single-room occupancy (SRO) properties for an estimated $1 billion […]
A B.C. research project gave homeless people $7,500 each — the results were ‘beautifully surprising’ Participants found housing faster, boosted food security and reduced spending on substances, study found Bridgette Watson · CBC News · Oct 07, 2020 (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/new-leaf-project-results-1.5752714) The results of a B.C. research project that gave thousands of dollars to homeless people are in and, […]
(Continued from Part 1, yesterday.) The point I wanted to make however is: what do we do in the face of this constant change to maintain our equilibrium, our balance? Things are going faster than I can keep up with. What do we do? I can only say what I do, which I’ve been doing […]
