Homelessness is OVER!

homelessness is over

Wow, congratulations, Vancouver! This is an amazing accomplishment and Mayor Gregor, City Hall, NGO’s, and government officials should be incredibly proud of themselves. I can’t even imagine how fantastic it must feel to know, unequivocally, that you’ve changed the world for the better, perhaps even saved lives.

From the official Homelessness is Over press release, via the Pivot Legal Society, who are always on top of positive (and negative) developments in housing for the homeless in Vancouver:

Vancouver Ends Homelessness!

City’s last homeless person moves into social housings

November 24, 2009 – For Immediate Release

Vancouver’s housing crisis is finally over. Today Ray Solda, Vancouver’s last homeless person, moved into his room in the Kansas Hotel, a new social housing building funded by the provincial government. Government officials and Canadians everywhere today are celebrating the end of homelessness in Vancouver, a city that has struggled with a homelessness crisis for years.

Watch the news story:

Today’s announcement is the result of a number of key investments made by the provincial government to build social and supportive housing as part of their visionary comprehensive housing strategy. Despite the up-front costs, government and experts alike are confident that ending homelessness in Vancouver will actually save money over the long term.

“The years of spiralling rates of homelessness, derelict hotels, over-crowded shelters and laws punishing those without a safe place to live are going to be remembered as a dark page in this province’s history” says Laura Track, Pivot’s housing campaigner. “But the way this government changed course and resolved the crisis is a testament to what is possible when governments show real leadership and determination to make positive social change.”

Already, Vancouver is being held up as model for the rest of the country. Governments around the world are looking to the province for guidance in addressing homelessness in their jurisdictions.

When asked what role she felt advocacy work had in ending homelessness, Track commented: “This accomplishment is the result of people coming together and saying they would not settle for anything less than an end to homelessness. It took everyday people saying yes, I will welcome social housing into my neighbourhood and taxpayers recognizing that it makes financial sense to tackle homelessness. Finally, it took governments hearing the call and making the decision to act.”

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digg the newscast

Homelessness is over! (if you want it) – Take action to make it happen.

Once again: simply amazing. This is an incredible example to the rest of the world. Will the world’s mayors and governments step up and meet the challenge of ending homelessness in their cities?

Maybe they could start by joining the Facebook group?