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New Fountain Shelter in Vancouver Downtown Eastside is threatened with closure, Please write a letter of support
From New Fountain Shelter Staff:
PLEASE READ URGENT!
Hello friends,
I am contacting you about something urgent to the daily lives of many downtown Vancouver residents. The shelter I work at is being threatened with closure. It will close, and leave about 45 people completely homeless and without the support of the shelter staff, food and services.
Please write us a letter of support to help us stay open. Please consider writing your letter soon as we need to get them by the end of the month.
Here is the statement
As some of you may know, the New Fountain Shelter is currently fighting to stay open. Our shelter is full nightly with approximately 45 homeless people. We feed, provide support in a person’s search for housing, distribute clothing donations and of course provide shelter for those who have none.
We are collecting letters of support. They can be simple or complex. They could express a personal experience at the New Fountain Shelter, or they could generally address the positive impact of shelters on our community.
If each of you takes the time to write and send even a small paragraph it will have a major impact.
Please send letters of support to: jakeh@phs.ca and jessicaj@phs.ca.
Thank you, we are depending on your support!
New Fountain Shelter Staff
“With Glowing Hearts” – Screening this Saturday Feb 12, 2011
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This Saturday, the Wait is Over!Though it’s doubtful that any of you have been waiting as long for this day as Andrew and I, we hope that you’re equally excited. We can’t wait to finally present the film to everyone and have been overwhelmed by the amount of interest we’ve had so far since announcing the screening a few weeks ago. If you’ve already signed up on our Eventbrite page, great, but if you haven’t don’t despair because you might still be able to get in just by showing up (or join us for the afterparty at W2). We know that there are lots of other great Olympic related events going on that day, but we hope that you’ll include us in your schedule. Here are the details:
We’ll also be hosting our friends from W2, Hope in Shadows, Megaphone Magazine and OpenMedia.ca, as well as raising money for the construction of a wireless mesh network in the DTES Reserved tickets will be held until 15 minutes before showtime and then released on a first come – first served basis. If you miss this screening, keep your ears open for other opportunities throughout the coming year, and we’ll keep you posted as well |
UGM to host 70th Annual Christmas Dinner for over 3,000 homeless and struggling people
What: UGM will host its 70th annual scrumptious Christmas dinner for the hungry, hurting and homeless of the Downtown Eastside, New Westminster, and Mission.
When: Saturday, December 11, from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Where: Union Gospel Mission, 616 East Cordova Street
OTHER LOCATIONS:
– New Westminster Drop-in: 658 Clarkson Street (doors open at noon)
– Mission Drop-in: 33071 Railway Ave (doors open at 11:00am)
About the Event
Planned in coordination with other service providers, Union Gospel Mission serves its Christmas meal early in the month so as to not conflict with other community meals. UGM will utilize the help of about 300 volunteers to serve over 3,000 people at several locations.
Second Christmas Meal – A Table for 2000
Thanks to the generosity of The Glowbal Restaurant Group, Union Gospel Mission will host a second Christmas meal on Thursday, December 23. Again this year, Glowbal Group chefs and staff will be on hand to serve a Christmas dinner for up to two thousand Downtown Eastside residents. More details about this meal to follow in the coming weeks
AHA MEDIA at Sox in the City 2010 launch at Vancouver City Hall
Tenth year of Sox in the City celebrated today at Vancouver City Hall!
Vancouver, BC – Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), in partnership with PHS Community Services launched the annual Sox in the City campaign today at Vancouver City Hall. The campaign which is celebrating its 10 year, gathers and distributes new or gently used socks to people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Mayor Gregor Robertson, VCH’s Betheny Jeal, PHS Community Services Society’s Liz Evans and London Drugs’ Dave Woogman kicked off the 2010 Sox in the City Campaign.
“The Sox in the City campaign is an important addition to the other initiatives underway in Vancouver to help people who are homeless,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “The City is now opening temporary winter shelter and the people at those shelters and on the street will benefit greatly from new socks and other cold weather necessities”
Warm dry feet are a must for the many homeless people in Vancouver who walk as many as 20 miles every day in ill-fitting shoes and no socks. Even a small blister can trigger serious blood and bone infections that can lead to long hospital stays. These ailments can be prevented with a pair of clean dry socks.
“Something as simple as pair of clean, dry socks can ward off a wide range of health problems, especially for people with diabetes or those battling serious infections” said Bethany Jeal, Clinical Coordinator, VCH. “Socks are not an accessory items for many residents of the Downtown Eastside – they are a necessity. Without them, people can develop sores, lesions and other wounds that are tough to heal and, in some cases, can result in death”
The socks collected this year will be distributed by the PHS LifeSkills Centre, a member-run community and support centre located in the heart of the Downtown Eastside, which will use the socks in its foot health program.
“The gift of a clean new pair of socks on a wet winter day goes a long way,” said PHS LifeSkills Project Director Coco Culbertson. “It’s not just a critical health intervention, it’s also an opportunity to engage these folks in a hot meal, a foot soak, and friendly conversation which, in turn, could lead them to additional support, such as housing.”
Typically a clean, new pair of socks will last a homeless person just three days. In order to address this critical need, the 2010 campaign goal is to collect 20,000 socks for distribution.
This year’s Sox in the City campaign has the full support of London Drugs.
“London Drugs is thrilled to be participating in the Sox in the City Campaign, ” said Wynne Powell, president and CEO of London Drugs. “To help kick-start the campaign, London Drugs is donating 1,000 pairs of socks and we are also offering a 5-pack ladies socks for $1 at all of our Vancouver London Drugs stores.”
Vancouver City Hall and the Vancouver Police Department are also supporting the campaign by hosting SoxBoxes.
To donate socks, please drop off new or gently used (ideally white cotton adult sports-type socks) in the big red SoxBoxes at the following locations:
All Vancouver London Drugs stores:
- Georgia & Granville: 710 Granville Street
- Broadway & Cambie: 525 West Broadway
- East Hastings: 2585 East Hastings
- Kerrisdale: 2091 West 42nd Ave
- Robson: 1187 Robson Street
- Kingsway: 3328 Kingsway
- Davie Street: 1650 Davie Street
- Victoria Square: 5639 Victoria Drive
- Broadway & Vine: 2230 West Broadway
- Woodwards: 351 Abbott Street
Vancouver City Hall, 453 West 12 Avenue
Grandview-Woodland Policing Centre 1977 Commercial Drive
For more information on Sox in the City, and to find out how you or your organization can donate socks, please visit http://www.vch.ca and click on the Sox in the City icon.
Sox in the City runs until January 31, 2011
Below is Mirae, Shawn, Tony and Rocky D of LifeSkills Centre who would appreciate some clean, dry socks from Sox in the City
AHA MEDIA at Gentrification meeting of Vancouver Downtown Eastside hosted by CCAP – Carnegie Community Action Project
75 + people attended the Gentrification meeting of the Vancouver Downtown Eastside at Carnegie Centre hosted by CCAP – Carnegie Community Action Project
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