Covenant House Vancouver

When we think of homeless and weather we generally worry about it being too cold not too hot but summer weather can have a negative impact on the homeless as well. Homeless people often lack places to get fresh water and areas to stay cool. Following the death of Curtis Brick a homeless man that died last summer due to issues caused by heat, Vancouver has put in place an extreme-heat strategy.

At Covenant House Vancouver we also prepare for the heat and make sure our youth that are living outside have proper supplies. We provide water bottles and water, sunscreen, cool clothing and remind them to take it easy and seek shade when it is hot.

If you want to help homeless youth this summer here are a few things we always need: water bottles, sunscreen, bathing suites, flip flops and summer clothing. Also when you are out and about this summer keep an eye on all people and check in with them if they are looking ill.

When we work together as a community we can all have a happy, fun and safe summer!

Do you have any tips or ideas to stay cool? If so please share them with us.

The "Health of the Homeless" summit was held at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue on Tuesday. It featured speakers such as Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and other experts from the housing, health, academic, government, non-profit, homeless advocacy and police sectors. The main purpose of the summit was to discuss ways to improve the health of those who are homeless in Vancouver.

The Province's Ethan Baron submitted the article "Compassion key to rebuilding homeless lives" in response to the summit. The Vancouver Sun also published an article and both are worth a read.

The Tyee's Monte Paulsen wrote a brilliant article about mental health and homelessness. It discusses how so many have suffered from trauma and illness before they were homeless. The article also asks the question what comes first: mental health concerns or homelessness.

What are your feelings regarding health and homelessness? Do you have any ideas? Solutions? Complaints?

Please feel free to share your thoughts with us.

We often get asked about our pet policy as many homeless youth have pets, everything from rats and cats to dogs, and it is not surprising. Being homeless is often a lonely life and all people need companionship and something to love. Pets do not judge you if you smell or are dirty; they love you unconditionally. In turn, homeless youth love their pets unconditionally and will often give up things for themselves for their animals, surrendering food, blankets and shelter to care for their pets.

Not everyone agrees that homeless people should have pets, feeling that if someone can't house or take care of themselves, they are incapable of taking care of animals. In some cases this can be true though the same can be said for those who have a house and ownsa pet; having a place to live doesn't guarantee a person is a responsible pet owner. Many of our youth adopt stray pets that no one else wants and would be otherwise but left to fend for themselves.

Imagine a young woman, working hard but still living pay cheque to pay cheque and then a recession, and you're laid off and your car is stolen.

This is exactly what happened to Shay Kelley.

Although this story takes place in the United States, it could easily have taken place anywhere in Canada. So many people live pay cheque to pay cheque and if something were to happen, an illness, a job loss they could easily be homeless. It has been said, that many people in Canada are just two pay cheques away from homelessness.  Many of us are blessed with family and friends who would help but some people are not that fortunate.

I hope this story inspires you to look at homeless people differently and with compassion because we rarely know the whole story behind the person on the street and what brought them there.

 

Homelessness and poverty is a major concern in Vancouver and its surrounding communities. Individuals, couples and families often to struggle to get by even with decent jobs. The ever increasing cost of living and the high rent in Vancouver makes in very hard for people to get ahead. Many people live pay cheque to pay cheque and are a job loss or illness away from the streets. Please have a read of this article featured in The Tyee called "Welcome to the 'Burbs, Meet the New Homeless" by Monte Paulsen to learn more about this issue.

The DTES (Downtown Eastside) Connect will bring together several lower mainalnd NGOs who serve homeless and street involved people in Vancouver.  A media resource centre, the DTES Connect will provide access to organizations and their spokespeople/clients to the international media during the month of February.  For more information, contact DTES Connect.

Click here to read the Tyee article on the Streetohome Foundation's plan to raise private dollars to end homelessness in Vancouver.

What do you think of their plan?

 

On any given night across Canada, 65,000 youth are without a place to call home. A new report, Youth Homelessness in Canada: The Road to Solutions, authored by Raising the Roof, offers recommendations for a national strategy to deal with the issue of youth homelessness.

In order to identify the key challenges facing youth on the street, the authors of the report interviewed 700 homeless youth. "Canada desperately needs a national strategy to truly support our country's homeless and disenfranchised young people," says Sean Gadon, president of Raising the Roof. "Our young people have told us they want and expect to be part of the solution in working with government, community and private sector partners. We all have a responsibility and a part to play in implementing solutions."

For more information, and to download the full report, click here

Let us know what you think of the report.

Our young people tell us frequently about the dangers of living on the streets:  getting robbed while you're sleeping (sometimes even having shoes removed in the middle of the night) or getting assaulted is commonplace.  Street youth say it's difficult to focus on bigger health issues when you're just trying to find your next meal.  This Tyee article shines a light on the sheer danger of trying to survive on the streets.