December 23, 2009 - 1:44am
Students at Vancouver Island University are going beyond
simply studying about the challenges of people experiencing homelessness in
Nanaimo.
Their research into the extent of the problem has uncovered
gaps in services for the homeless and found a way to improve efficiency in
existing programs.
Students in Helene Demers’ Anthropology of Homelessness
course also raised more than $460 in Canadian Tire money for the Haven Society,
one of the agencies that assist some of the most vulnerable members of the
community. Canadian Tire topped up that donation with $400 for Haven to support
at-risk women and children.
VIU students interviewed 18 agencies to provide background
for the Nanaimo Working Group on Homelessness. That group includes social
service agencies, First Nations organizations, the city, RCMP, United Way and
others. It has been working since 2000 to find solutions to homelessness
problems in Nanaimo.
“The agencies are amazing in what they provide but there’s a
lack of funding,” said Kyla Wiersma, 20, of Ladysmith, one of the VIU student
researchers. “Public perception is not helping. It’s hard to become part of the
community that looks down on you. How can you take that step up off the streets
if people aren’t willing to help?”
France Tellier, of the John Howard Society and member of the
Working Group, said the research will be valuable in producing a report card on
homelessness. Past research has attempted to take a census of the number of
people experiencing homelessness with estimates of 150 to 300 in Nanaimo. The
usefulness of those estimates is limited because the count varies so widely and
may not take into account people who have found temporary shelter staying with
friends.
“This course has really changed my perspective,” Wiersma
said. “Most people believe that people on the streets are lazy, that they don’t
want to get a job. I’ve learned that a lot of people don’t choose to be there.
There are so many of us who are just two paycheques away from being homeless
ourselves yet we find it so easy to judge others.”
The students are providing the working group with front-line
information such as the number of people who use the Loaves and Fishes Food
Bank or the size of waitlists for supportive or transitional housing.
The Working Group intends to use baseline information
provided by the students to assess progress in finding long-term solutions. The
challenges of homeless people are most evident in winter but Tellier said, “It’s
a year-round problem that we have to address as a community.”
In the course of their research, VIU students found that
some agencies were offering free dinners on the same night. They could avoid overlaps
and expand the number of nights for meals just by rescheduling.
“It’s something simple but it has a huge impact,” Demers
said.
While the course has produced preliminary findings, Wiersma
plans to continue the project as a directed study at VIU. “We’re hoping the
report card will have some impact to show that more funding is needed,” said
Wiersma, who is midway through a criminology program and headed toward a career
as a probation officer.
In the meantime, she has signed on as a Friend of Warmland
House, a new shelter that has just opened in Duncan. She said volunteering is
just one of the ways people can help confront the problem. Donations of basics
such as socks and other clothing, bus passes, food and money will also help.
Demers developed the course on homelessness to include
concrete steps such as fundraising, volunteering and advocacy. Students are
also required to make recommendations when submitting their papers.
“The students worked incredibly hard,” Demers said. “They
learned not only about services for those experiencing homelessness in
Nanaimo, but also about collaborative group process, community-based
research, interviewing and data analysis. By carrying out projects like this,
VIU students have the opportunity to serve their community and participate in a
collective approach to addressing homelessness in Nanaimo.”
--
VIU’s Community Based Research Institute invites research
questions from the community and collaborates with students and faculty from a
variety of disciplines, including Psychology, Political Science, Anthropology,
Health Sciences, Child and Youth Care, and, Sociology among others to address
the questions. This collaboration promotes a reciprocal relationship as allows
community members to define their own research questions, and at the same time
provide students with the unique opportunity for developing and carrying out
real-life interdisciplinary research.
“The Institute was officially created in 2008 and since then
several community groups have collaborated with faculty and students on
research,” said Dr. Jennifer Mullett, director of the Institute. “The
newly developed website for the Institute has downloadable resources available
such as contracts and manuals on community based research and collaboration for
those who are less familiar with this approach to research.”
Contact the Community Based Research Institute: email
Sarah.Fletcher@viu.ca,
phone 250-740-6618 or visit viu.ca/cbri
-30-
For more information, contact Helene Demers by email: Helene.Demers@viu.ca
Visit the Facebook page Canadian Tire: Helping the Homeless: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2361803750&ref=mf
Canadian Tire money donations can be mailed to: Helene Demers, Department of
Anthropology, Vancouver Island University, Cowichan Campus. 222 Cowichan Way.
Duncan, BC V9L
6P4
Tags: In the Community
