I met Mark during his visit to Saskatoon last summer but have been a fan of his work online for sometime. Here is his story and a trailer for a movie about his work. Showing how you can change the world via Twitter and YouTube. You can find more about what Mark is doing at [...]
homelessness
Renovations at The Lighthouse
DeeAnn Mercier takes you on a tour of the renovations that are ongoing at The Lighthouse Supported Living right now. Mental Health Services is providing funding for nine rooms to be renovated and then used for long term mental health beds. It will provide increased stability for the residents which saves the system a lot [...]
Column: Homeless need not just shelter
My latest in The StarPhoenix I enjoy winters in Saskatoon. There is Wintershines, the Meewasin skating rink, turning down Blades tickets because I don’t want to drive out to the Credit Union Centre, and reminiscing about when Blackstrap used to be open. No matter how cold it is at the end of the day, I [...]
Column: Sask. homeless out of sight
My latest in The StarPhoenix When I started working at the Salvation Army homeless shelter, we had two dorms for men. While working at our front desk, I had clear instructions to fill up our larger dorm first as a resident in the second dorm didn’t play well with others. We had filled up enough [...]
Depression haunts homeless children
From Minnesota Public Radio A new report by the Wilder Foundation estimates 4,500 children in Minnesota spend time in shelters on any given night — the highest number since the surveys began 20 years ago. Those children are often haunted by depression, the study shows. Whether homeless children and teens get help and support has [...]
Heading back to Saskatoon…
Trip two to Winnipeg is almost done. We are checked out of the Polo Park Canad Inns a while ago and I am spending the next couple of hours in workshops discussing the ins and outs learning about HIFIS and how we can use empirical data more effectively in Saskatoon (and across Western Canada). Believe [...]
Choosing to be homeless
A photographer tells the story of why her father chose to live on the streets on Montreal But the calm didn’t last. They moved to the country north of Montreal after college. Phil’s illness began to creep back. He started hearing voices, and his behaviour grew volatile and aggressive. He couldn’t hold down a job, [...]
Helping Homeless Save Pays Off
From the Toronto Star …an innovative money management and savings program that rewards shelter residents with $3 for every $1 they save up to a maximum personal savings of $400. The money must be used to obtain rental housing. How it works The Independent Living Account program, which has helped about 300 people in eight [...]
Fees to fight homelessness
This is an interesting idea that is being used in New Jersey The County Homelessness Trust Fund Act, which went into effect in 2009, allows participating counties to put a $3 surcharge on basic transactions like recording mortgages, deeds and other documents with the county clerk. The money is used for homeless services the county [...]
My Name Is Not "Those People"
You have no idea how much I hate the phrase “Those People” when referring to the homeless and the poor… or anyone actually. I find it so incredibly offensive, especially when used by Christians and church leaders I know because it’s so theologically vulgar and yet I hear it all of the time. This poem [...]
Can I have my dog back?
A couple of years ago I had just become the residential coordinator at the Salvation Army Community Services in Saskatoon and we had this guy sleeping on the front steps of the chapel. He wouldn’t come inside because he had a dog (it wasn’t a dog but that part will come later) and couldn’t bear [...]
