People First Media program archive
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From the streets to a home and a new life

March 21st, 2013 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on From the streets to a home and a new life)

Housing First approaches prove to be effective and can change lives

picture 466A three-year-long intensive multi-city study looking into the effectiveness of Housing First approaches is due to end on March 31, 2013. The federal government funded the research through its Mental Health Commission of Canada initiative. The At Home/Chez Soi project has proven—in interim results [opens to PDF]—to (1) improve the lives of those who are homeless and have a mental illness; (2) make better use of public dollars-especially for those who are high service users; (3) be able to be implemented across Canada; and (4) demonstrate that a cross ministry approach that combines health, housing, social services with non profit and private sector partners is required to solve chronic homelessness. (more…)

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Black fathers can face challenging issues

March 7th, 2013 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Black fathers can face challenging issues)

But there’s next-to-no Canadian data on black fathers. The founder of the Black Daddies Club support group intends to change that with a research project.

picture 459The Black Daddies Club was founded in 2007 by Brandon Hay in response to the lack of forums and spaces for Black men to discuss parenting issues as well as the issues facing the Black Community as a whole. Brandon told Notable.ca that the Black Daddies Club “creates safe spaces for black fathers for us to speak about our challenges as well as victories as parents, also to work with the media to create an alternate, more positive image of black fathers.” (more…)

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“No justification” for tobacco

February 21st, 2013 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on “No justification” for tobacco)

Errol Povah’s long struggle for a tobacco-free world

picture 454Several years ago, Errol Povah crossed Canada on a “journey for a tobacco-free world“–which he also described as a “cross-Canada shore-to-shore ‘run, walk or crawl’ awareness and fund-raising event.” It wasn’t the beginning of his anti-tobacco activism, but represented an escalation of his almost life-long advocacy and activism to end the damages associated with tobacco. (more…)

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High profile visit shines a spotlight on youth issues

February 21st, 2013 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on High profile visit shines a spotlight on youth issues)

Laureen Harper, wife of Canada’s prime minister, and Ottawa city councillor Allan Hubley praise the programs of Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau downtown drop-in centre

picture 456METRO NEWS OTTAWA, February 11, 2013

After years of neglect, youth mental illness is getting the attention it desperately needs, said Laureen Harper as she toured Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau downtown drop-in centre on February 11, 2013. (more…)

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Pastor defies Abbotsford’s harm reduction ban

October 4th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Pastor defies Abbotsford’s harm reduction ban)

Pastor Ward Draper is “bringing the church back to where it should be”—and that includes providing clean needles and pipes

Pastor Ward Draper is ministering to addicts in Abbotsford, in defiance of the municipality’s ban on harm reduction activities. Pastor Draper is the founder and executive director of The 5 and 2 ministries, the only Canadian church outside of Toronto that does needle exchange work. And it happens in a city that, according to The Province newspaper, is the only community in the country that bans needle exchange work. (more…)

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Ecstasy deaths lead to calls for new approaches

September 27th, 2012 | Posted by pfmarchive in uncategorized - (Comments Off on Ecstasy deaths lead to calls for new approaches)

The federal government reinforces criminalization, parents call for education, and doctors and others encourage accurate knowledge about MDMA

22 British Columbians have died in the last 18 months after using the popular party drug Ecstasy. The drug had been, in some case, been tainted with paramethoxymethamphetamine (PMMA), a substance five times more toxic than ordinary Ecstasy, or MDMA.

The tragic deaths of the young people involved has led to a range of responses. Some schools are hoping to increase the drug literacy of their students, using curriculum prepared by The Centre for Addictions Research of B.C. at the University of Victoria. (more…)

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