Learning about Homelessness in British Columbia A Guide for Senior High-School Teachers Integrating homelessness issues into senior social sciences and humanities courses, including: Civics 11, Social Studies 11, Economics 12, Family Studies 10-12, First Nations 12, Law 12, and Social Justice 12 By Jennifer Hales TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………… 2 Project Team ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4 Overview of Learning Outcomes................................................................................................................ 5 Teacher Backgrounder on Homelessness………………………..…………………………………………………………………… 7 Activities: .................................................................................................................................................. 46 1. “There’s No Place Like Home”..................................................................................................... 47 2. Myth Buster - Ranking Activity …………..…………….………………………………….……………………………… 49 3A. Homelessness True/False and Something to Eat, A Place to Sleep and Someone Who Gives a Damn, a Film about Homelessness ………………………………………….....………………………………….. 55 3B. Homelessness True/False.........................…………………………………………………………………………….. 64 4. Contributing Factors and Effects...............……………………………………………………………………………… 71 5. Homeless Voices: Stories of Formerly Homeless Youth.............................................................. 84 6. Could You Afford It? The Rent Reality …………………………………………………….………………………….… 90 7. The Economics of Housing: Why Is Affordable Housing Difficult to Find? ..............………………… 97 8. The Rights Balloon ………..………………..…………………………………………………………………………………… 105 9. Housing as A Human Right: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Victoria (City) V. Adams Case, 2008 BCSC 1363...................................................................................... 107 10. Understanding the Life and Culture of Danse Crowkiller: Aboriginal Man Who is Homeless.... 121 11. Is There Enough for Everyone? Redistribution of Resources...................................................... 131 12. We Can End Homelessness: Policy Tools to Solve the Problem ….….……………………………………… 137 13. Take Action ……………………………………….………….……………….……………………………………………………… 143 Supplementary Resources: ........................................................................................................................ 146 Films about homelessness ……………………………….…………………………………………………………………………. 147 Canadian websites with teacher’s guides on homelessness…………………………………………………………. 156 Other resources (reports, articles, books, websites, novels, poetry, music, etc.)….……………………… 157 Feedback Form………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...... 166 Learning About Homelessness in BC, Simon Fraser University, 2010 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This resource was developed with the financial support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada under their Strategic Joint Initiatives Program in cooperation with the National Homelessness Secretariat. Additional administrative support was provided by the Metropolis British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Diversity. The following individuals are gratefully acknowledged for their contributions to the development of this resource: Janice Abbott (Executive Director, Atira Women’s Resource Society), Sean Condon (Executive Director, Megaphone Magazine), Danse Crowkiller (Producer/Director, The Purpose of Life is Rice….Wink), Nancy Del Col (Global Education Coordinator, World Vision Canada), Clarence Dennis, Nathan Edelson (42nd Street Consulting), Gail Franklin (Coordinator, Fraser Valley Housing Network), Dan Garrison (Planner, Housing Centre, City of Vancouver), Kate Gibson (Executive Director, WISH Drop In Centre), Lauren Gill (Vancouver Coastal Health), Judy Graves (Coordinator, Tenant Assistance Program, City of Vancouver), Cameron Gray (Former Managing Director, Social Development, City of Vancouver), Daphne Hales, Donald Hales, Benjamin Harris (Ph.D. student, Simon Fraser University), Lisa Hill, Homeless Nation Vancouver (Janelle Kelly, Colin Ford, J-Hock and others), Am Johal (Impact on Communities Coalition), Alice Kendall (Executive Director, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre), Jennifer Koshan (Professor of Law, University of Calgary), Al McKay, Les Merson (Producer/Director, Something to Eat, A Place to Sleep and Someone Who Gives a Damn), Steven Ng, Roberto Noce (Q.C., Partner with Miller Thomson LLP in Edmonton), Chris Seppelt (Teacher, Archbishop Carney Secondary School, Port Coquitlam), Sterling Pache (Producer/Director, The Purpose of Life is Rice….Wink), Sri Pendakur (Vancouver Coastal Health), Laura Stannard (Housing Coordinator, Jewish Family Services), Leslie Stern (Women In Search of Housing Society), Jean Swanson (Coordinator, Carnegie Community Action Project), Patrick Stewart (Chair, Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee in BC and President, National Aboriginal Housing Association), Kevin Tilley, Laura Track (Lawyer, formerly with Pivot Legal Society) Copyright © 2010 Simon Fraser University This resource is available at no cost and may be reproduced for not-for-profit educational use provided the source is properly acknowledged and cited. Suggested citation: Hales, Jennifer, 2010, "Learning about Homelessness in British Columbia: A Guide for Senior High-School Teachers," Burnaby, BC, Canada: Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University, 166 pages. Learning About Homelessness in BC, Simon Fraser University, 2010 2 PROJECT TEAM Author Jennifer Hales has written teachers’ guides on social justice, environmental and other topics for groups such as World Vision Canada, the BC Teachers’ Federation, the West Vancouver School District (#45), and Society for Partnership (SOPAR). Her work has been accredited by the Curriculum Services Canada (www.curriculum.org) and approved by the Alberta Ministry of Education. She is a former classroom teacher in BC and has a Master of Arts degree in Curriculum, Teaching and Learning from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). If you are interested in a workshop or talk about homelessness and using this teacher’s guide, please contact Jennifer by email at [email protected]. Project Administrator Krishna Pendakur is a Professor of Economics at Simon Fraser University http://www.sfu.ca/~pendakur/ and Co-Director of the Metropolis British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Diversity, http://mbc.metropolis.net. He has done research on the economics of poverty, inequality and discrimination in Canada and around the world for the past 15 years. Contributors Elizabeth Byrne-Lo has been teaching for 15 years in Burnaby School District #41. She has written articles for the online publication "Tools for Thought", has co-written and co-edited the Pivotal Voices teacher resource "Exploring Identity, Inclusion and Citizenship: The 1907 Vancouver Riots" and is the former editor of Dimensions, the publication of the British Columbia Social Studies Teachers' Association. Elizabeth wrote Activity 4 and reviewed the first draft of the resource. Lyn Daniels is the District Vice-Principal, Aboriginal Education in the Burnaby School District #41. Lyn is Cree and belongs to the Kawacatoose First Nation in southern Saskatchewan. She has worked in several school districts in BC and for the Ministry of Education as a coordinator and consultant in Aboriginal Education. Lyn is currently working on a Doctor of Education degree at UBC in Policy and Educational Leadership. Lyn wrote Activity 10 and reviewed the first draft of the resource. Erin Yakiwchuk enjoys her position as a business education/economics teacher at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School (School District #41), specializing in Advanced Placement Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. At present, she has taken a leave from the Burnaby School District to teach Advanced Placement Economics in Beijing at the RDFZ Xishan School, associated to the Renmin University of China. Erin wrote Activity 7 and contributed to Activities 3 and 6. Reviewers Gail Franklin Coordinator, Fraser Valley Housing Network Judy Graves Coordinator, Tenant Assistance Program, City of Vancouver Cameron Gray Former Managing Director, Social Development, City of Vancouver Patrick Stewart Chair, Aboriginal Homelessness Steering Committee in BC and President, National Aboriginal Housing Association Learning About Homelessness in BC, Simon Fraser University, 2010 3 INTRODUCTION Learning about Homelessness in British Columbia is a resource guide for teachers to use with their students to support aspects of British Columbia senior high-school courses, including Civics 11, Social Studies 11, Economics 12, Family Studies 10-12, First Nations 12, Law 12, and Social Justice 12. The lessons contained in the resource meet learning outcomes that are part of the mandated curriculum in the British Columbia Ministry of Education Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs). The resource is also appropriate for use in other courses and grade levels, and with other youth and adult groups. The resource includes: a teacher backgrounder on homelessness a set of activities and lessons on homelessness for teachers to do with their students a list of supplementary resources related to homelessness (teacher’s guides, films, books, reports)