Taking an official week break from all ASTU classes, I have had the opportunity to spend the time with my classmates in UBC’s very own basement collection, the Rare Books and Special Collections. Our purpose there was to delve into archival material and find Vancouver’s street community newspaper from the 1990s. Given the name, The Street Newspaper, the tabloid put a particular focus on the voice of the homeless. Ranging from personal life accounts to unique perspectives, The Street Newspaper offered material not found in other mainstream print at the time such as The Province or The Vancouver Sun. Although The Street Newspaper is no longer in print, it has gradually evolved into what is called presently, the Megaphone.

http://www.bestvancouverguide.com/wp-content/main-and-hastings.jpg

The issue of homelessness has been a long term issue in the City of Vancouver. Recently, I had noticed an article from 24 Hrs Vancouver newspaper regarding the topic of legalizing homeless camps. In my opinion, the suggestion of legalizing encampments will certainly only add more fuel to the fire in governmental debates. Many solutions have been brought up and many have been rejected and unfortunately, the idea of allowing monitored encampments does not seem to flow too well with city officials. All in all, this example clearly displays the governments treatment to the homeless as a marginalized group. From the municipal to the provincial government, excuses come out as “lack of funding” or “there needs to be further discussion.” I believe that the root of the problem lies in what they know versus what they don’t know.

http://yourstreetnews.weebly.com/

After completing my archives project, my views regarding the street community has changed. I believe that in order for change to occur, the government or whoever is planning on starting an initiative, should see the problem itself. By this, I mean that they should look at solving the issue at hand with the perspective of the street community. I reckon that many officials are hiding behind a desk trying to tackle a problem they don’t even see themselves. As such, a website that my group members and I have created here, provides that context and perspective that people need to see. There are questions which needed to be answered, “How can we improve their lives?” “How do we distribute medical attention/rehab?” “How can we solve homelessness without setting up encampments?” “What is the cause of homelessness?”  Without such knowledge, how can the government ever put an end to homelessness?

/Vinson Tam