Metro Vancouver and the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association are on the hunt for volunteers to help with the 2017 Homeless Count.
While the majority of the 1,200 volunteer spaces have already been filled, volunteers are still needed in a number of communities: New Westminster – 30; Burnaby – 30; North Shore – 30; and Surrey – 120.
The count, taking place over a 24-hour period on March 7 and 8, aims to represent a conservative, point-in-time snapshot of people who are homeless on a given day in Metro Vancouver. The count takes place every three years.
According to a press release from the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association and Metro Vancouver, the count has three main goals:
* To estimate the number of people who are homeless, including drawing upon existing data sources such as shelters, census, hospitals, jails and housing data;
* To obtain a demographic profile of people through the count survey; and
* To identify long-term trends in the number and profile of people who are homeless.
For more information or to volunteer, visit www.bcnpha.ca/call-volunteers/.
Reconciling the truth
The Community Stories of Truth and Reconciliation is raising awareness about the atrocities of colonialism – and lending a helping hand along the way.
Hayley Sinclair, membership services coordinator of Community Volunteer Connections, recently presented Christina Coad, executive director of the Spirit of the Children Society, with funds donated by attendees of the Community Stories of Truth and Reconciliation panel at Anvil Centre in January.
“The panel was free to attend, but we encouraged donations. We raised $600 for Spirit of the Children, New Westminster's local First Nations support and healing organization,” she said in an email to the Record. “This money will be spent at their discretion in the spirit of reconciliation.”
Community Volunteer Connections partnered with the New Westminster Arts Council, the city’s museum and heritage and art services, the New Westminster Public Library, Northern Engagement and Truth and Reconciliation on the project. The group will make a presentation to New Westminster City Council in April.
“The panel was very successful and there were four subsequent 'kitchen table style' discussions that were held in various venues in the city. All very well attended and insightful,” Sinclair said. “There are five recommendations from Truth and Reconciliation Canada that will be put forward to council along with some specific feedback.”
