Vancouver's eighth annual Homeless Action Week started on Sunday, October 13, and runs to the 19th. With the Thanksgiving long weekend, HAW 2013 really started Tuesday, October 15 -- so how will the City of Vancouver be using these next five days to raise the issues of homelessness?This year's HAW is focused on the "invisible homeless," what physicists call "Transient Dark Matter." HAW organizers describe the "invisibly homeless" as people who have a shelter but not a home. They say the solution to homelessness starts with a home. This is so trite that it's easy to forget that it is exactly true
The city awarded grants to 18 groups to put on events designed to raise awareness, and engage the public, including a week-long story contest, a week-long exhibit of some sort, a film night, a dance night, and other events. Here's the City's HAW 2013 calendar of events. The majority of the week's events are taking place in the Downtown Eastside. There appear to be three kinds of events: helping, raising awareness, and discussing the issues around homelessness. Topics include:
- Health and the Lived Environment
- Art as a Catalyst for Change
- Dialogue to Reduce Homelessness
- Forum on access to public transit
- Working Together to Promote Healthy, Safe, and Affordable Independent Living
- An evening of art, film, and dialogue about youth homelessness
- Kitchen Tables Project Food Jeopardy Game
Helping
There are five neighborhood "Homeless Connect" events, what the city calls "service fairs," offering the marginalized, disadvantaged, and homeless, free food, and access to health services, and goods, plus information and advocacy services from social service agencies.
- Gathering Place Homeless Connect -- Wednesday, Oct. 16, 11 am to 2 pm
- Vancouver Homeless Connect -- Friday, Oct. 18, 6 pm to 9 pm
- Marpole Homeless Connect -- Friday, Oct. 18, 6 pm to 9 pm
- Kensington-Cedar Cottage Homeless Connect -- Saturday, Oct. 19, Noon to 1:30 pm
- Under One Umbrella Homeless Connect-- Sunday, Oct. 20, 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
There are three "Beauty Nights" offering "wellness life-skills development and makeover programs to build self-esteem and change lives." Open to homeless and low-income aboriginal women and their children.
- Beauty Night, Downtown Eastside Women's Centre -- Tuesday, Oct. 15, 5 pm to 8 pm
- Beauty Night, Raincity Triage -- Wednesday, Oct. 16, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- Beauty Night, Aboriginal Mothers’ Centre -- Thursday, Oct. 17, 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
There are four neighbourhood seminars giving information of Vancouver's Rent Bank program, and other local and provincial housing support programs. I'll have to read up on this as I've never heard of it.
- Vancouver Rent Bank Information Session: Britannia -- Tuesday, Oct. 15, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
- Vancouver Rent Bank Information Session: Champlain Heights -- Wednesday, Oct. 16, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm
- Vancouver Rent Bank Information Session: Marpole -- Thursday, Oct. 17, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
- Vancouver Rent Bank Information Session: West End -- Thursday, Oct. 17, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
There is one neighbourhood event called Take a Bite out of Winter. People in need in Kerrisdale and Marpole are invited to come by and pick up winter clothing at no charge, and enjoy a hot meal. -- Oct. 19 2013, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
I don't see much point, personally for the public education component -- it'll all be over before the general public even knows it's happening. I do really like the assistance, and empowerment events I see here, such as the service fairs, Rent Bank seminars, and beauty nights. These are great, and just make good sense -- bring the basic services to the people who need them, and while you're got their attention, educate them about the services they might not know about. Can't have too much of that. The rest of it gives service providers, and frontline workers a chance to compare notes, and network, and that's good also.
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...HAW organizers describe the “invisibly homeless” as people who have a shelter but not a home...
I've never been able to figure out the difference between a shelter and a home. But that probably says more about me than it does about the issue.
In common internet syntax: Positive Steps Are Positive.
Despite the PR, I wasn't able to pinpoint any actual HAW 2013 events which spoke to the issue of "invisible homeless." In fact, we all are -- we're surrounded with one of Doug Adams Somebody Else's Problem field. Personally, I'd prefer society first helped -- really helped -- the super-visible homeless: The mentally ill, the massively drug-addicted, the elderly, who don't have friends or family to fall back on. If people are capable enough to be invisibly homeless, they can wait.
I absolutely agree.
It's the same everywhere else in the First World I think. It certainly is here.
Have you seen Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry's BBC TV series "Neverwhere"? It's quite apropos. Gaiman's later novel of the thing is very good too. All of this stuff with a dark surreal and fantastic twist that still manages not to be sugar coated.