Search Homelessness Services Association of BC

According to research, the number of families requiring emergency shelter services in Canada continues to increase. Most shelter systems are not suited to meet the needs of this complex population which causes families to move between cars, campgrounds and friends’ homes. This webinar for front line staff will review recent homelessness trends and discuss best-practices for responding to families experiencing homelessness.

Instructor: Jodi Sturge

Jodi is the Director of Non-Market Operations with the City of Vancouver. She has diverse experience developing, implementing and evaluating homelessness initiatives in the non-profit, government and academic sectors. Prior to coming to the City of Vancouver, Jodi was the Deputy Executive Director of Lookout Emergency Aid Society.

This webinar will cover the process of helping clients apply for government-issued identification, and strategies for dealing with common obstacles in the application process. Obtaining identification can be densely administrative and complicated, filled with contradictory forms and other barriers. It can be particularly difficult for people experiencing homelessness and other systemic forms of marginalization, many of whom lack any identification whatsoever. Obtaining identification can be an important step in pursuing many routes to housing and stability: opening a bank account, obtaining social assistance, checking into a detox program, or signing a lease, among other things. Drawing on the knowledge used in the ID Clinic operated by UBC Law students and volunteer lawyers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, this discussion will reflect the lessons learned from the clinic’s first year and a half in operation.

Instructor: Julia Riddle

Jodi is the Director of Non-Market Operations with the City of Vancouver. She has diverse experience developing, implementing and evaluating homelessness initiatives in the non-profit, government and academic sectors. Prior to coming to the City of Vancouver, Jodi was the Deputy Executive Director of Lookout Emergency Aid Society.

This HSABC webinar identifies ways to successfully work with landlords to find private market rental housing for hard to house clients. The webinar includes many real-life examples and strategies to help clients find the right housing. Attendees will learn about:

• The housing search;
• Getting viewings;
• What to take to a viewing;
• Negotiating leases;
• Building strong relationships; and
• Negotiating evictions.

Instructor: Alynn Gausvic

Alynn was the Manager for the Homeless Outreach Program at the Progressive Housing Society in Burnaby. Her primary task was to manage the program, the staff and to build community partnerships in order to help clients find and maintain permanent housing. Over the years, Alynn has helped to house hundreds of people coming out of homelessness. She also worked as the supervisor for the Floating Outreach Program at Inn from the Cold in Calgary after finishing her Master’s Degree in Social work.

Currently, Alynn is in Los Angeles, one of the few places in the world with a higher cost of living than Vancouver, where she is the director for LA Family Housing

This webinar provides up to date information on the human rights of those who are experiencing homelessness, whether in a shelter or in public spaces. With this understanding, participants will be able to identify and combat the stigma of being homeless. This session outlines relevant human rights legislation and policy. It also provides an opportunity to learn about the goals and challenges of human rights within a shelter setting, especially when it comes to gender, family status and disability. An important part of this session is learning about human rights of the homeless when it comes to public spaces. This information will help empower participants to inform their clients, provide public education and advocate for those who are homeless.

Instructor: Pivot Legal

Working in a rural setting provides a unique opportunity for community partnership, support and collaboration. However, it can be challenging with it’s lack of resources, services and potential for burnout. Dr. Dave Manley works and lives his life in the tiny, isolated community of Consul, in the SW corner of the Province of Saskatchewan. He will be sharing what it is like to do work and ministry in a rural setting, sharing wisdom and ideas from his neck of the prairies.

This session will explore:

• The rural mindset;
• The rural context;
• Working with the government in a rural setting;
• Volunteers; and
• Fundraising.

Instructor: Dave Manley

Dave works and lives his life in the tiny, isolated community of Consul, in the SW corner of the Province of Saskatchewan. He likes to tell people that Consul is centrally located; 5 hrs from Calgary, 5 hrs from Saskatoon and 5 hrs from Great Falls, Montana. He is a career pastor, presently serving for the past twenty–two years at the Church of God in Consul. Dave has a number of roles in his community. Volunteer firefighter, ambulance attendant and emergency medical responder, critical incident stress debriefing, board of directors and founder of Living Hope Ranch (helping at risk teenage girls facing life controlling issues). Seven years ago, Dave and his wife Vicki built a bakery in the tiny town, as an experiment in community development. The bakery has since added a restaurant, and today boasts as having the best burgers and cinnamon buns in the world! Dave likes rural life, wood fired pizza, grandchildren and humans!