Thursday Oct. 18 marked the 4th Annual Richmond Homeless Connect event at St. Alban Anglican Church. It was hosted by the "Richmond Homelessness Coalition-Homes for All" and I was pleased to be an active volunteer in planning the event.
Things got started at 9 a.m. as the Steveston Rotary set up their pancake breakfast outside near the St. Alban Labyrinth.
Rotarian volunteers prepared and served guests, agency staffers and volunteers a hot meal and kept up a friendly patter with everyone.
Inside, the activity room was filled with community service agency tables staffed by skilled professionals in services such as income assistance, employment services and mental health and addictions services.
Volunteers also invited guests to avail themselves of other free services such as flu shots, dental hygiene, foot care, massage, nutritional snacks, haircuts, bike repair and a hot luncheon. Guests took home snacks, hygiene kits, underwear, socks and warm clothing.
A large poster on the wall invited people to write down what was so special about this community of volunteers, resource people and guests. "Warm, caring, friendly, welcoming, understanding" were words repeated by many.
About 44 guests attended the event, from age 20 to 82. In contrast to previous years, we had more women than men. We also had one family with children. In addition we saw an emerging need for Mandarin and Cantonese translation services. Next year's event will incorporate changes in line with what we have learned from this year.
What we are seeing is that Richmondites who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are looking more and more like the general population. The need for affordable housing so no one falls through the cracks continues to be a dire need.
The Richmond Homelessness Coalition is grateful to the many organizations for their generous donations of time and expertise, too countless to mention because I'll likely forget someone. They will be hosting the Richmond Homeless Connect event again in October 2013. I know all the groups and individuals who attended enjoyed interacting with the guests and each other and will want to participate again.
DROP-IN OPENS
On a separate, but related note, Richmond's first Drop-In Centre opened upstairs at St. Alban on Oct. 18 as well. A dedicated group had met for many months, investigating other centres and developing a "made-in-Richmond" solution.
Mayor Brodie and other city officials did the ribbon-cutting honours, and then Drop-In Centre volunteer staff invited everyone in for celebratory cake.
The space has two large rooms; one is set up for video viewing, card playing or reading and the other has a notice board with accommodations, job postings and informational resources and tables for talking.
All the staff are volunteers who have had training in safety, health promotion and effective communications. The centre is open to everyone, Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at St. Alban (at Bennett Road).
Then if that wasn't enough to organize, the Drop-In group hosted a fundraiser on Oct. 19 at the Chinese Bunkhouse in Britannia. The place was packed!
They managed to secure donations for all the food and wine, so all the revenue from ticket sales and the silent auction will go directly to the centre's operation. The guest speaker Joe Roberts was truly an inspiration.
Calling himself the "Skid Row CEO," Roberts talked about his spiral downwards through drugs and his slow climb out to become a top salesperson in a large company.
Roberts now dedicates himself to speaking to people and encouraging them to believe "there's more to you than what others can see."
All in all, in two days the City of Richmond is proving we are indeed growing up. I see people joining together to help others living in poverty and to support each other while we all seek purpose in life.
De Whalen is a longtime poverty and affordable housing activist in Richmond.
