Non-profit groups are named as operators for two new social housing projects in Nanaimo, but will controversy fade?
Pacifica Housing and Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, in partnership with Columbian Centre Society and Haven Society, have been selected as the successful non-profit providers to develop, manage and operate two new supportive housing developments for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Nanaimo. The announcement came from B.C. Housing on November 30th. (more…)
Ruth Ruth Stackhouse, a Mad Pride pioneer, is recognized by the City of Toronto for her outstanding work
Ruth Ruth Stackhouse is a proud member of the psychiatric survivor community and a long-standing social and health activist. Her extensive community work includes organizing Mad Pride, establishing The Friendly Spike Theatre Band, working with anti-violence education, and academic research work on a project about the exploitation of mental hospital patient labour called Out From Under. (more…)
In September 2011, a middle-aged British man burst into the home of a fellow online computer gamer, aged 13 years, and “throttled” him, according to news reports. The shocked teenager’s mother intervened and saved her gaming son.
The story doesn’t surprise Nanaimo resident and avid gamer Ronin Broad, who says that threats and arguments among competing online players are common. Whether online death threats are real or virtual might be the big question. The British incident occurred after the teenager “killed” the middle-aged man in the online game and then taunted him. The Daily Mail reported that the man who throttled the youth “had mental health issues.” (more…)
Columbian Centre and Haven Society will jointly operate a facility at 1612 Dufferin Crescent
Pacifica Housing and Nanaimo Affordable Housing Society, in partnership with Columbian Centre Society and Haven Society, have been selected as the successful non-profit providers to develop, manage and operate two new supportive housing developments for those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Nanaimo.
The societies were selected as the result of a Request for Proposal call issued in September, which included an extensive evaluation process carried out by a committee comprised of representatives from the two funding organizations – BC Housing and the City of Nanaimo. Read the story online. Read the Q&A document.
‘It’s different now,” a new social marketing campaign says, as warnings to ‘high-risk groups’ become yesterday’s news
This year’s 2011 World AIDS Day campaign is about “getting to zero”—zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths. The campaign is set to run until 2015.
An estimated 65,000 Canadians are living with HIV—with perhaps 26% of those people unaware of their HIV status. It’s one reason why Vancouver Coastal Health says that every adult who has not had an HIV test in the past year should have one the next time they have a blood test for any reason. (more…)
Judy Graves’ next fight will be to ensure that homeless people actually get into the housing that is built for them
The City of Vancouver’s advocate for homeless people, Judy Graves, recently warned the provincial government of the consequences of not providing sufficient emergency shelter beds in the face of worsening weather and ongoing need. Housing Minister Rich Coleman has now confirmed that the province will pay for a new 42-bed shelter in the Marble Arch Hotel on Richards Street. Ongoing news stories and comments from the city and the province suggest a tug-of-war has been going on with regard to homelessness, shelters, and money for dealing with continuing needs. All that new social housing must negate the need for emergency shelters—or so the province’s thinking seems to suggest. (more…)
