Our first Quarterly Member Spotlight is live! Take a peek to learn more about the work of the Homelessness Services Association of BC, Pivot Legal Society, and West Coast LEAF. For our next spotlight we’re looking to profile member organizations that work in Food Security, Education, and/or Childcare. If that sounds like your team, get in touch!
Reminder: our strategic advocacy survey closes tomorrow, April 5! Please take time to add your thoughts and to help guide our priorities for the coming years.
Next coalition meeting: Thursday, May 18 @ 2 – 3:30 pm
News & Advocacy
- The BC Poverty Reduction Strategy is currently under review. This is a crucial opportunity for Coalition members (and everyone in the province) to give input on poverty reduction policy priorities. There are three ways to offer input:
- participate in the survey as an individual
- be heard at a virtual town hall
- and/or email up to a five-page submission in Word or .PDF format (this is a great option for organizations to send in specific policy recommendations that don’t fit in the survey format).
- Share our posts on Facebook and Instagram to rally your friends, colleagues, and that long-lost aunt of yours to have their say, too!
All submissions must be received by April 14 at 4 pm.
- We consulted on the BC Office of the Human Rights Commissioner’s recently released report, From Hate to Hope. The analysis & recommendations are essential reading for organizations working with marginalized communities in BC.
- BCPRC Provincial Director Rowan Burdge joined Canadians with Disabilities & their Allies for a conversation on legislated poverty for people with disabilities.
Call to Action
- Add your voice: Call on the federal government to ensure safe drinking water for Indigenous communities in Canada.
- Say NO to involuntary treatment: Let your MLA & Canadian public health officers know that you endorse the 7 demands of the Involuntary Treatment Position Paper, published by Pivot Legal Society.
CAN Updates
We are proud to say that eight new CAN leaders graduated from the Black Leadership Lab, held in February & March of 2023! The series wrapped up with a walking tour of Hogan’s Alley and a group lunch.
CAN leaders from Vancouver and New Westminster took part in a media relations training with Saima from Briarpatch in March. Saima shared her perspective as both an activist and journalist and bolstered our leaders’ skills in preparing for written and live interviews.
CAN leaders in New Westminister are taking the lea in the peer-support drop-in program at the public library. As the weather warms, New West CAN members are looking ahead to an in-person gathering to celebrate spring.
Members of CAN Kelowna successfully mobilized people with lived and living experience of poverty in the city to join a housing strategy conversation with City of Kelowna representatives. We hope this is the first of many productive conversations.
Upcoming Events & Training
What Local TRC Implementation Looks Like in Practice (online event)
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 11-12:30 pm PST
This webinar, hosted by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) & Women Transforming Cities (WTC), will examine what implementation looks like on the ground from the perspective of a municipality leading on this file. Clara Prager and a local leader from BC will discuss specific Calls to Action that municipalities can progress, challenges that may arise, and practical ways to overcome these barriers. Stay tuned for more information on the guest speaker for this webinar.
International Workers’ Day Rally (in-person event)
Vancouver City Hall
Monday, May 1, 2023 at 5:00 pm PST
This May Day let’s all stand together for a city that works for all of us. Let’s stand up for living wages, renter rights, affordable housing, and real action on Reconciliation, equity, the opioid crisis, and climate change! Let’s send a powerful message that we will not accept our coworkers, neighbours, and communities being left behind. Please attend, bring a friend, and share the event!
Cross-Cultural Mental Health: Research and Practice Forum (in-person event)
SFU Surrey Campus on University Drive
Friday, May 5, 2023 from 8:45 am – 12:45 pm PST
Join us to learn, share, and network with researchers and practitioners interested in improving the cultural safety and relevance of evidence-informed mental health practices. Registration is open.
2023 Farm to School BC Conference (in-person event)
The AMS Nest, University of British Columbia
May 17 – 19th, 2023
The 2023 Farm to School BC Conference will gather people from across BC to learn, share, and connect with those involved in food literacy and school food initiatives. This three-day event will feature local field trips to inspirational projects, keynote speakers, presentations, workshops, networking opportunities, and more! Registration is open.
Radical Democracy Summer School (mix of online & in-person)
May 18 & 25 online via Zoom
June 4 – June 10 in person @ SFU Harbour Centre Campus
The CERi-Participedia Summer School– organized under the theme “Radical Democracy”, aims to bring together leading experts, researchers and graduate students and community leaders, activists, and practitioners for a week of workshops, discussion, dialogue, community events, and field trips. Explore what it means to radically re-imagine, research, and practice democracy in communities and in everyday life. Registration is open.
Resources
- Expand your team’s cultural competence: Indigenous Perspectives Society: Centre of Excellence in Community Education (IPS) offers Cultural Perspectives Training to help governments, organizations, businesses, and individuals deepen their understanding, increase cultural competence and develop actionable ideas to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.
- Watch & learn about the family policing system in BC: In an effort to shift culture, West Coast LEAF recently created the short documentary Kids Are Only Kids Once in collaboration with parents with firsthand knowledge of the family policing system, as well as other advocates. We thank them for speaking out about the devastating impacts of family separation on children, families, Nations, and communities, and for sharing their vision for change. We believe that their powerful voices will increase viewers’ understanding and inspire them to action.
- Read this op-ed: This collaborative piece in The Tyee on Extreme Weather and Tenant Rights for Renters calls for urgent political action to protect tenants.
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BC Poverty Reduction Coalition