Covenant House Vancouver

Our H4H team is kicking its fundraising into high gear this fall, starting with a good ol' fashioned Yard Sale! It's gonna be packed with great goodies to be bought with all the proceeds going to Covenant House and Pivot Legal in our fight to end homelessness.

For those of you that don't already know, the Hike for Homelessness is a team of 6 of us that are raising funds and awareness for this raging issue that has torn apart this city. To end of our campaign, we will be venturing on a 10 day hike through Patagonia! Our trip is completely self-funded and up to this point we are excited to say with all of your help we have raised $8800 so far!

YARD SALE
Sunday October 2, 10am-2pm
2525 West 16th ave.

Please come out this Sunday to support our team and score some great finds!

If you are not able to come out this Sunday or wanted to support our cause but haven't got a chance to yet, please click on the link below and follow the instructions carefully to donate to one of our great charities.  Thank you so much.

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Please feel free to share the invite with friends.

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Last week we shared with you an interesting opinion piece that The Vancouver Sun published in response to Vancouver City’s Plan regarding sex trade and what the City's course of action will be in the coming years.

Daphne Bramham of The Vancouver Sun had this to say today in response to the plan, “Bureaucratic not brave, it's hard to see how this plan will prevent anyone from entering prostitution or make it safer for anyone regardless of whether they're providing sexual services by choice, coercion, or out of desperation.”

Be sure to read both opinion pieces and The City’s Plan and share your thoughts about this topic.

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Our H4H team is kicking its fundraising into high gear this fall, starting with a good ol' fashioned Yard Sale! It's gonna be packed with great goodies to be bought with all the proceeds going to Covenant House and Pivot Legal in our fight to end homelessness.

For those of you that don't already know, the Hike for Homelessness is a team of 6 of us that are raising funds and awareness for this raging issue that has torn apart this city. To end of our campaign, we will be venturing on a 10 day hike through Patagonia! Our trip is completely self-funded and up to this point we are excited to say with all of your help we have raised $8800 so far!

YARD SALE
Sunday Sept. 25th, 10-2pm
2525 West 16th ave.

Please come out this Sunday to support our team and score some great finds!

If you are not able to come out this Sunday or wanted to support our cause but haven't got a chance to yet, please click on the link below and follow the instructions carefully to donate to one of our great charities.  Thank you so much.
 

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Quite often, we have youth who comes to the shelter at the absolute perfect point in their life.  It is when a young person is motivated and willing to follow the structure of our program and find a better life for themselves that they really shine within our program.

Beth is one of these youth.  She is coming from a background of addiction, but she has a lot of experience successfully managing her addiction with the help of meetings and supports that she has in place.  She is even volunteering at a drop-in for others in recovery. Beth is very communicative and jovial with staff and is looking forward to applying to second stage housing to move on to another level in her recovery and secure more stable long term housing.

With hard work and the help of staff she has been able to secure safe, long term housing. The housing was a change from her initial plans that she had set up with her drug and alcohol counselor, but Beth felt that this place would be a better fit for her.

Today Beth moved on from our shelter.  It was good to see another one of youth move on to their next step in their life and secure stable housing.  So far this month, we have seen a number of youth secure stable housing outside of our crisis shelter.  Although it is hard to see them go, it is amazing to know that they are finding independence.

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Please watch the video below made in memory of Jack Windeler (www.TheJackProject.org). This is an amazing project aimed at reducing stigma around mental health issues and educating people on how to look for signs of mental health distress in young people. At Covenant House Vancouver we are lucky to have an amazing group of counselors and mental health clinicians to support our young people that have mental health concerns, and many of them do.

1 in 5 young adults will face a diagnosable mental health problem. – Canadian Mental Health Association

In Canada, suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth aged 15-24. For each completed suicide it is estimated that there are 100 attempts. – Statistics Canada

It is up to all of us to talk openly about mental health, when the stigma is reduced more people can reach out and get the help that they need.

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This past weekend I was out grocery shopping when a wonderful random act of kindness occurred. I was waiting in line to pay for my groceries and the lady in front of me was just finishing up checking out. The cashier said to her that because she had spent a certain amount, she was entitled to a free turkey. The lady said thanks, but that she already had her turkey ordered and didn’t need one. She then turned to me and asked if I wanted it. I was about to say no, (clearly I was having a duh moment) when I remembered where I work.

I said that it would be great and explained that I work for a non-profit that helps homeless youth. I told her I would take the turkey and donate it for her and that we could really use it especially with thanksgiving coming up. She was delighted and asked where I work and I told her Covenant House Vancouver. She knew who we were and what we did and had even donated to us before. I thanked her and we both left the grocery store feeling great. It is amazing what can happen when we act with kindness.

A big thank you to that wonderful lady, I know our youth will enjoy eating that turkey!

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“Les Kingsley is sixteen, skinny and scared. He spends his days trying to get through life while dodging bullies at work, school and home. Curiosity and kindness lead him to help a patient, who is not entirely what he seems to be. A friendship develops and Les discovers strength, courage and wealth that he never knew before. But, the new mentorship brings greater risks than high school bullies. Les soon becomes a target on both sides of the law and is forced to make hard decisions about right, wrong, family and loyalty.”

I wanted to share a great book with you it is called "Selo" by Doug Setter and it is about a young man dealing with bullying and the general struggles of being a teen (see blurb above).

I think this book would be a great tool for teachers or even parents/caregivers to start discussions about bullying. The simple down to earth language would be good for teenagers and is not too hard of a read. This would best for 13 and up as there is some strong language and scenes of violence.

Be sure to check out this relevant coming of age story.

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