Homelessness Action Week (Metro Vancouver) October 10th–16th, 2011

Every year since I started blogging, I have written about Homelessness Action Week (which this year takes place from October 10th through 16th, 2011). This year is not the exception. Action on homelessness is an important policy issue of mine, and a few years ago I suggested (with no luck) that we should have a National Homelessness Policy Strategy for Canada. Frustrating that so many politicians take it as their “pet issue” yet very few have done anything effectively.

photo credit: Matthew Grapengieser

I’m always heartened by the actions taken by the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee to Stop Homelessness activities:

Highlights:
New this year
– a flash-mob style video launched for Homelessness Action Week imaging the story of homeless-to-housed, a people-powered message about healthy communities.
– How much do you know about homelessness? Take our Myth Busting Survey online.
– Do you want to volunteer? Use our online sign-up form and get connected to Homelessness Action Week organizers in your community.
– Watch for announcements throughout the week as we launch stories about what’s working – including what’s working for urban Aboriginals – and a special project to engage store-front businesses in solutions.

Yet there’s a lot of things we can do, and one of the most important is to raise awareness and engage in action. As a faculty member at one of the most prestigious universities in Canada, and in one of the best departments (Political Science) with some of the smartest and most engaged undergraduate students I have ever met, I take policy action and education on homelessness very seriously. This semester, I asked my students to undertake a quick 72 hour policy analysis to explore how to solve youth homelessness in the Metro Vancouver area.

For those of us (faculty members, educators and teachers) who are interested in this issue, there’s a Teacher’s Guide to Homelessness Issues in British Columbia.

More information about Homelessness Action Week 2011 can be found on their website.

Homelessness Action Week, is in its sixth year, and is organized by the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness. The week focuses on increasing awareness and action around homelessness and supports events for people who are homeless and general public around Metro Vancouver and many communities throughout BC and the Yukon.

And since today is Canadian Thanksgiving, do consider donating or doing something for those less fortunate than you, those who are on the streets and don’t have a warm meal to eat while you’re at home having a family feast. Because trust me, there are WAY more homeless people than the counts can yield.