Emmanuel’s road to stability in Canada had a rocky start. He arrived in Vancouver as a refugee and soon found himself living in a shelter and relying on a local church for food.
“It was stressful to go to the refugee hearings with the uncertainty of it all,” says Emmanuel.
When he decided to move to Winnipeg to be closer to his family and take an employment opportunity, he met with Caroline Bognar, coordinator for the Homeward Bound initiative and Community Integration Specialist at the Ministry of Social Development & Poverty Reduction (SDPR).
Homeward Bound brings together organizations doing similar work of reuniting individuals with loved ones in another community – bringing together limited resources, added flexibility, and broadening the eligibility for the program.
“Caroline was amazing – she helped me to stand on my own two feet, even when I was struggling in my new community,” he says.
Emmanuel has since returned to Vancouver and gotten off social assistance. He has also found a life partner and married this year.
“I love helping others. I hope that when others ask me for advice, I’ll be able to help them find their path and reconnect with their loved ones and community.”
Kevin Falcon has been a community leader in both the public and private sectors, serving in various senior cabinet positions in the BC government and as the VP of Anthem Properties. He joined the Streetohome Board six years ago, providing a broad perspective of the public and private sectors, honing in on their weaknesses and strengths to complement each other.
“What I loved about Streetohome is that it’s a place where all the parties involved can come together to share ideas,” says Kevin. “The opportunity to have private sector input into some of these social policy challenges is really helpful.”
“Streetohome ensures that the solutions we put forward are grounded in facts and science and can be implemented quickly and efficiently to make the greatest impact,” he says.
The San Francisco-based Delancey Street Foundation model is one such solution. The peer-led, self-help model is a long-term recovery pathway that combines housing with life skills development, education, and employment training to support vulnerable individuals transitioning out of the corrections system.
“There’s nothing more satisfying than to go see firsthand … the workers there who have turned their lives around and are working in the [Delancey Street] restaurant,” says Kevin. “You won’t find a finer group of people.”
Homelessness is often closer to home than we may think.
“There are a lot of people out there who are literally one rent cheque away from being homeless,” says Alan Peretz, Partner at KPMG and Streetohome Board Member.
Streetohome’s homelessness prevention initiatives focus on creating multiple exit pathways out of homelessness, and work to create a flow through within the homelessness housing continuum.
The Vancouver Rent Bank and Streetohome’s employment initiative, WorkWithUs, both help vulnerable individuals at-risk of homelessness or with lived experience of homelessness create economic stability in their lives by providing an interest-free loan to help with rent and/or utility payments, and flexible employment that meets the unique needs and preferences of individuals.
Supporting Tenants, Enabling Pathways (STEP) and Homeward Bound support individuals through the housing continuum in moving on from supportive housing to affordable independent housing of their choice (when they’re ready), and supporting others in their move to a chosen community where they have a verified support system available to them.
Streetohome is also working on a Smart Cities – Life Intentions digital app that promotes a best-fit service match for individuals’ life goals in housing; employment & volunteering; learning, training & skills; health & wellness; legal & advocacy; and community & belonging domains while identifying personal strengths and tracking goal progress.
“If we can help them out with that rent payment, or more solid housing, or employment that has more certainty to it for them, we can bring them from a situation month after month, day after day, feeling as though they’re right on that edge. The feeling as though they have the stability in the life that they want and that they deserve,” says Alan.
"The Navigation Centre is a place to help navigate individuals to services… in the least intrusive way possible, so that individuals can get the help they need,” says Alan Peretz, Partner at KPMG and Streetohome Board Member.
Alan and his team of consultants have been instrumental in bringing multiple solutions to homelessness to life in Vancouver, building business cases of support for many of Streetohome’s innovative initiatives. The Navigation Centre is no exception, with a business case completed in summer 2020 that identified how a model could be set up to help improve service connections and navigation for vulnerable individuals. The centre would make readily available a variety of successful exit pathways that would meet varied needs and preferences, and divert individuals from preventable and unnecessary entrenchment in the homelessness services system.
The Navigation Centre concept originated in the U.S. with the aim of helping large unsheltered homeless populations living in city encampments, while maintaining the ability to have a space that will include pets, partners or groups of friends, and possessions (including vehicles), thereby limiting common obstacles to entering many shelters.
“Through the facility, these individuals will hopefully have the really great outcome of getting back into the workforce, back into their own home, and carrying on the life that they would like to carry on.”
Critical partnerships make the greatest difference in creating transformational change, says Sherri Magee, Streetohome Board Member and Co-chair of the Promising Approaches Committee.
“Streetohome puts together some of the key partners – BC Housing, City of Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health and the Vancouver Police Department, alongside the private sector – to develop comprehensive strategies and have a greater impact.”
The most comprehensive strategy is looking at the upstream drivers and how homelessness can be prevented says Sherri. “As John McLernon first said, ‘we can’t build ourselves out of homelessness – housing is only one piece of the puzzle.’”
“We need to look at the health and wellness needs, employment, skills and training, legal and social needs of these individuals. How can we give them a sense of belonging and meaning in the community?”
Sherri attended a Streetohome study trip to the Recovery Café in Seattle, an identified best practice, evidence-based model, and is proud that Streetohome is bringing the Recovery Café to Vancouver in 2021.
“Café members are supported in an environment where they’re in the community, they have a place to go back to everyday, and they’re able to keep on track in working towards their goals,” she describes.
“You need to give them an opportunity and a sense of meaning, and then move them through the (housing) continuum into independent living so that they can follow their own life path.”
Streetohome began its journey in 2008, with Board Chair John McLernon leading the way. $32 million has been raised to leverage building supportive housing and implementing homelessness prevention initiatives over the last 10 years.
Realizing that employment, and mental health and substance use challenges are root causes of homelessness, Streetohome shifted its thinking to focus on prevention in 2018, and with support from KPMG, completed two business cases that would build a case of support in adapting two evidence-based models to Vancouver – the Addiction Recovery Community Housing model and Delancey Street Vancouver model.
“We’ve moved our dialogue from supportive housing to prevention, but this was still a part of our original 2008 strategy,” says John. “The private sector and public sector came together and worked hard to put together a strategic plan and we really took a long-term view. Homelessness and individuals with lived experience are a very important cause, and hopefully, the people are living a better life because of what we’re doing.”
The first homeless count in 2008 counted about 1700 people, of which 75% were unsheltered and on the street John explains. Today, the numbers are around 2,100, with only 30% on the street, and the 2020 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver Preliminary Data Report showed that there has been a slight decrease in the amount of individuals experiencing homelessness in the city of Vancouver in the past year.
“We haven’t eliminated it, but I think we have a better handle on it and are slowing the progression of it.
“There’s no silver bullet solution to homelessness, but we are getting somewhere. lf some of these programs blossom how we think they will, we should at least stabilize the situation.”
The YWCA is launching a new, free IT/tech support service for vulnerable Vancouver community members August 31st.
YWCA TechLink will support youth at risk, seniors, single mothers, and other vulnerable individuals with general IT and technology questions and issues, including how to set up devices, create email accounts, make video calls online, etc.
If you or someone you know has questions around using tech devices or services, get free, friendly support by calling 1-833-386-4129, emailing [email protected] or filling out the form at https://ywcavan.org/techlink-support!
To ensure the safety of community members, all appointments will be over the phone or conducted virtually. IT support is provided by participants of the YWCA TechLink employment program, who are all Lower Mainland residents with backgrounds/qualifications in IT.
FAQS
What is it?
- If you have general questions or need help using IT and tech devices or services
Cost?
- Free!
Who is it for?
- Youth at risk, seniors, single mothers, and other vulnerable individuals in the Metro Vancouver Area
What can they help with?
- Setting up devices
- Making video calls
- Setting up email accounts
- How to access government services (limited details so as to not expose personal details such as passwords)
- Accessing the internet
- And more!
How to access?
- Call 1-833-386-4129, email [email protected]or fill out the form at https://ywcavan.org/techlink-support
The Canucks for Kids Fund will be running a 50/50 raffle during all Vancouver Canucks games during the 2019/20 return to play season. The funds raised will support the Canucks Autism Network, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, which continue to be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and are adapting to this new world and how they provide the vital care and programs that kids and families depend on.
For more information on how to purchase a ticket, please visit https://www.nhl.com/canucks/fans/5050. Tickets can be purchased online only by anyone 19+ and located within BC’s borders.
"Streetohome’s success relies on three key things: finding promising models from other jurisdictions; adapting them to fill gaps in Vancouver’s Homelessness Services System; and demonstrating that such enhancements contribute to the robustness of supports and improve outcomes for vulnerable individuals and communities. Our donors count on this kaleidoscope of constant change,” says Streetohome Foundation Board Chair, John McLernon.
“It’s important to workshop different models and invite a thinktank of varied expertise, including those with lived experience, to poke holes and suggest how any given model can be adapted and improved,” says John. “These individuals need to be able to take in a lot of information with an open mind and be prepared to test different ways to help. You also need a good team that can move quickly and change directions, and a board that supports continuous learning and a constantly improving landscape of supports.”
With his ability to bring people of varying perspectives together and have them work cohesively as a team, John was recruited to lead the Vancouver Foundation’s work with youth homelessness. As the Vancouver Foundation further explored homelessness, they incubated Streetohome Foundation, a private-public organization model, and asked John to become Founding Chair and pull together a strong board to govern the new organization.
“We took the time to understand everyone’s line of thinking and created a 10-year strategy,” says John. “But we wanted to be known as doers, not just planners, and so we started providing capital for a few fast, smart projects from the get-go. People could see we were putting our money where our mouth was – supportive housing projects were going up and getting done.”
Since 2008, Streetohome has brokered and leveraged 24 buildings that have provided almost 1400 homes, helping approximately 2046 individuals experiencing homelessness or at-risk of homelessness. In 2015, we shifted our focus to developing a comprehensive approach to homelessness prevention and, with 11 projects to date, have contributed to the housing stability of an additional 2361 vulnerable individuals – a greater impact than we have had through building housing.
“While both strategies are value-add, it has become clear we needed to better understand the root causes of homelessness and where these individuals wanted to go with their lives,” says John. “This could include a variety of goals such as resolving legal issues, getting vocational training, moving on from supportive to independent housing, addressing their substance use, seeking employment or returning to a home community.”
“We’re not afraid to say that we are not only about supportive housing. Our main game is to broker and leverage enhanced supports that help individuals move along their preferred life path and towards the degree of self-sufficiency they are comfortable with. The homelessness initiatives underway are making a difference in peoples’ lives and ensuring that increasingly, more individuals are able to leave homelessness behind them.”
Five years ago, Dan left Ontario to begin a new chapter in Vancouver with his girlfriend. Things didn’t work out, and he soon found himself homeless and making a decision between sleeping on the street, or in a shelter.
Now, Dan no longer needs to make that choice – he traveled back to his family in Ontario through Homeward Bound. This newly launched program helps individuals with lived and living experience of homelessness return to their chosen community where housing and supports are available to them.
“I saw Homeward Bound as an opportunity to change my life,” says Dan. “I wanted to get away from the drugs surrounding me here, and get away from the streets. I could have my old life back.” Dan says moving back to his home and family has made him a happier person. He lives with his mother, stepdad and brother, and enjoys being able to visit his cousin and grandmother, who frequently called his family to ask how he was doing while he was living in Vancouver.
“My grandmother is so happy I’m back. My family wanted to bring me home, but weren’t able to afford it,” says Dan. “Homeward Bound made things a lot easier because they were able to cover the travel costs.”
Now that’s he’s settled back into his home and community, Dan wants to continue working towards his goals.
“I want to start working again, start exercising and get a part-time job. I don’t want to be on disability for the rest of my life.”
