Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.pivotlegal.org
In the fall of 2000, John Richardson listened to a man tell a story about the Downtown Eastside. The man described being pushed and knocked to the ground by a cop on East Hastings Street. Police harassment had become so commonplace that residents no longer felt like they had any rights under the law. Justice was out of reach for many in this impoverished neighborhood.
After hearing other residents repeat similar stories, John – a recent law school graduate – could not ignore what was happening to people in this twelve-block stretch of Vancouver. As an environmental advocate committed to using the law to affect change, John realized that people living in the Downtown Eastside needed legal tools to tackle the problems they faced on a daily basis.
Over the next few months John attended meetings where residents openly disclosed their accounts of police abuse and the impacts of a decade of provincial and federal cuts to social services and housing programs. Recognizing the power of people’s lived experience and shocked by the rights abuses, John connected with neighbourhood residents, members of the legal community, and local activists – including VANDU founder Ann Livingston. Together they prepared to act.
The following spring Pivot Legal Society was born. John explains, “the concept of Pivot came to me fully clothed— name, concept, everything.” The pivot point which allows maximum force to be exerted on a given structure made perfect sense as a symbol.
By making the most tangible violations of human rights the focus of our efforts, Pivot could create the kind of force needed to carry out legal campaigns around policing, housing, and sex work that would result in meaningful positive change for people living in poverty.
Since then, Pivot has exerted this force through legal challenges, legal education campaigns, public engagement, and innovative projects that highlight the struggles, hopes, and insights of people living on the margins of society.
The success of the organization can be attributed to an unflinching passion for justice, the support of thousands of people, and strong partnerships in the downtown eastside and beyond. With compassion, force, and resilience, this tiny staff and an incredible body of volunteers and supporters allows Pivot to function as a punchy vehicle for social and systemic change.
Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vancouver. Show all posts
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Hope in Shadows
Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.hopeinshadows.com
Hope in Shadows is an innovative community engagement project that creates positive and meaningful interactions between residents from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and people from other neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland and beyond.
Each year, winning photos from the Hope in Shadows photography contest are featured in a calendar that local residents can sell on the street through our vendor program.
Hope in Shadows demonstrates that meaningful employment opportunities positively contribute to the well-being and dignity of people impacted by poverty and marginalization.
Photography Contest and Calendar -
Each year we distribute 200 disposable cameras to residents of the Downtown Eastside as part of a photo competition that gives residents the chance to document their own community. Forty photographs are chosen for exhibition, and 12 make it into the Hope in Shadows calendar. In 2013, we piloted a second photography contest in North Vancouver. Visit to find out more.
Vendor Program -
The Hope in Shadows vendor program is designed to remove barriers to employment by offering low-threshold sales work that generates both money and transferable skills for residents of the Downtown Eastside. After attending a basic sales training session, low-income residents are licensed to sell the Hope in Shadows calendar on the streets of Vancouver.
Vendors get one free calendar to get started and make $10 profit for every $20 calendar sold. We train over 200 vendors every year. We have expanded the program in recent years to include an elected vendor advisory board, monthly vendor meetings, advanced sales techniques workshops, financial management workshops, and social events.
Hope in Shadows Archive Project -
Over the past 11 years, Hope in Shadows has amassed a significant archive of photos and negatives. We are developing a process for organizing the thousands of negatives, and our digital archives of the top 40 photographs from each year's contest. Along with organizing our archives, we will be developing best practices for ownership of photo negatives, terms of use and informed consent for archived photos, and community access to the photo archive.
Financial Opportunities for People Impacted by Poverty -
Hope in Shadows trains more than 200 vendors annually. Since 2005 the vendors have increased their sales by more than 500 percent – from 2,500 copies of the Hope in Shadows Calendar to more than 13,000 annually. The impact of this project on the financial standing of people living in poverty is significant with street vendors earning over $0.5 million through calendar sales since 2003.
Hope in Shadows Wins Book Award -
In 2008 Pivot co-published the award-winning Hope in Shadows book with Arsenal Pulp Press. The book has sold more than 5,000 copies through our vendor program. The book contains a collection of personal stories behind some of the stunning contest photos. The personal narratives in the book are candid and moving and challenge the way many of us think about poverty, mental health and drug addiction. The book won the City of Vancouver Book Award and was nominated for a B.C. Book Prize.
Hope in Shadows Artists Recognized -
As the project has evolved, Hope in Shadows photographers are been increasingly recognized for their achievements as artists. Contest participant’s photography has twice been exhibited at the Mayworks Festival on Vancouver Island and private sales of prints are a regular occurrence. In spring of 2011, a selection of Hope in Shadows photographs was auctioned at Dignity, a touring international event curated by the NURU project benefiting the Acumen Fund.
Website: www.hopeinshadows.com
Hope in Shadows is an innovative community engagement project that creates positive and meaningful interactions between residents from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and people from other neighbourhoods in the Lower Mainland and beyond.
Each year, winning photos from the Hope in Shadows photography contest are featured in a calendar that local residents can sell on the street through our vendor program.
Hope in Shadows demonstrates that meaningful employment opportunities positively contribute to the well-being and dignity of people impacted by poverty and marginalization.
Photography Contest and Calendar -
Each year we distribute 200 disposable cameras to residents of the Downtown Eastside as part of a photo competition that gives residents the chance to document their own community. Forty photographs are chosen for exhibition, and 12 make it into the Hope in Shadows calendar. In 2013, we piloted a second photography contest in North Vancouver. Visit to find out more.
Vendor Program -
The Hope in Shadows vendor program is designed to remove barriers to employment by offering low-threshold sales work that generates both money and transferable skills for residents of the Downtown Eastside. After attending a basic sales training session, low-income residents are licensed to sell the Hope in Shadows calendar on the streets of Vancouver.
Vendors get one free calendar to get started and make $10 profit for every $20 calendar sold. We train over 200 vendors every year. We have expanded the program in recent years to include an elected vendor advisory board, monthly vendor meetings, advanced sales techniques workshops, financial management workshops, and social events.
Hope in Shadows Archive Project -
Over the past 11 years, Hope in Shadows has amassed a significant archive of photos and negatives. We are developing a process for organizing the thousands of negatives, and our digital archives of the top 40 photographs from each year's contest. Along with organizing our archives, we will be developing best practices for ownership of photo negatives, terms of use and informed consent for archived photos, and community access to the photo archive.
Financial Opportunities for People Impacted by Poverty -
Hope in Shadows trains more than 200 vendors annually. Since 2005 the vendors have increased their sales by more than 500 percent – from 2,500 copies of the Hope in Shadows Calendar to more than 13,000 annually. The impact of this project on the financial standing of people living in poverty is significant with street vendors earning over $0.5 million through calendar sales since 2003.
Hope in Shadows Wins Book Award -
In 2008 Pivot co-published the award-winning Hope in Shadows book with Arsenal Pulp Press. The book has sold more than 5,000 copies through our vendor program. The book contains a collection of personal stories behind some of the stunning contest photos. The personal narratives in the book are candid and moving and challenge the way many of us think about poverty, mental health and drug addiction. The book won the City of Vancouver Book Award and was nominated for a B.C. Book Prize.
Hope in Shadows Artists Recognized -
As the project has evolved, Hope in Shadows photographers are been increasingly recognized for their achievements as artists. Contest participant’s photography has twice been exhibited at the Mayworks Festival on Vancouver Island and private sales of prints are a regular occurrence. In spring of 2011, a selection of Hope in Shadows photographs was auctioned at Dignity, a touring international event curated by the NURU project benefiting the Acumen Fund.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Car-Free Day Vancouver
Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.carfreevancouver.org
Commercial Drive Festival launched the first community- driven Car-Free Festival in Vancouver as a response to the provincial government’s Gateway Program, also known as the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project. Organizers also wanted to create a community festival at a time when there were few such events in the city.
The Festival was wholly volunteer-organized and presented, involving over 30 core organizers and 300 volunteers. It was an enormous success, bringing over 25,000 people out to celebrate the community and party in the street.
After that, the Festival happened in 2006 and twice in the summer of 2007, snowballing in popularity and attracting up to 40,000 people per day. Clearly, car-free days were an idea whose time had come.
The first annual Car-Free Vancouver Day, on Sunday June 15, 2008 ushered in the next phase in this bold experiment that had been gradually happening in Vancouver for many years. It took the car-free meme to the whole city, and represented the next level in our evolution toward healthy communities, authentic cultural celebrations, and car-free streets.
On that day, FOUR communities presented their own Car-Free Festivals: Kitsilano, West End, Main Street, and Commercial Drive. Each Festival was envisioned and organized by the local core organizers, and each had a unique flavour.
Keep watching our website for more details on the individual Festivals. And then, choose your Festival and get involved! You can be an organizer, a pod-head, a spontaneous participant, or a day-of volunteer (for an hour or two, or for the whole day) — whatever turns you on. You don’t necessarily need to volunteer where you live — and of course, you are free to rove from Fest to Fest throughout the city, and get a taste of different neighbourhood celebrations. You will meet great people, have lots of fun, and become part of the future of our magical city.
The City of Vancouver, both staff and elected officials, has been enormously supportive of this initiative, and continues to encourage us to create the city of our dreams. We thank them for their vision and support.
Website: www.carfreevancouver.org
Commercial Drive Festival launched the first community- driven Car-Free Festival in Vancouver as a response to the provincial government’s Gateway Program, also known as the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement Project. Organizers also wanted to create a community festival at a time when there were few such events in the city.
The Festival was wholly volunteer-organized and presented, involving over 30 core organizers and 300 volunteers. It was an enormous success, bringing over 25,000 people out to celebrate the community and party in the street.
After that, the Festival happened in 2006 and twice in the summer of 2007, snowballing in popularity and attracting up to 40,000 people per day. Clearly, car-free days were an idea whose time had come.
The first annual Car-Free Vancouver Day, on Sunday June 15, 2008 ushered in the next phase in this bold experiment that had been gradually happening in Vancouver for many years. It took the car-free meme to the whole city, and represented the next level in our evolution toward healthy communities, authentic cultural celebrations, and car-free streets.
On that day, FOUR communities presented their own Car-Free Festivals: Kitsilano, West End, Main Street, and Commercial Drive. Each Festival was envisioned and organized by the local core organizers, and each had a unique flavour.
Keep watching our website for more details on the individual Festivals. And then, choose your Festival and get involved! You can be an organizer, a pod-head, a spontaneous participant, or a day-of volunteer (for an hour or two, or for the whole day) — whatever turns you on. You don’t necessarily need to volunteer where you live — and of course, you are free to rove from Fest to Fest throughout the city, and get a taste of different neighbourhood celebrations. You will meet great people, have lots of fun, and become part of the future of our magical city.
The City of Vancouver, both staff and elected officials, has been enormously supportive of this initiative, and continues to encourage us to create the city of our dreams. We thank them for their vision and support.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Nature Vancouver
Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.naturevancouver.ca
Vancouver Natural History Society (Nature Vancouver) was founded in 1918 by Professor John Davidson with the following objectives:
- To promote the enjoyment of nature,
- To foster public interest and education in the appreciation and study of nature,
- To encourage the wise use and conservation of natural resources,
- To work for the complete protection of endangered species and ecosystems, and
- To promote access to, and maintenance of, natural areas in the vicinity of Vancouver.
Nature Vancouver is a not-for-profit charitable society registered under the BC Societies Act. Membership in the Society is open to all. The Society is a Federated Club of BC Nature.
The Society is organized into a number of sections; Birding, Botany, Conservation, Geology, Marine Biology and Photography.
The Society holds regular evening meetings and invites guest speakers to make presentations on natural history topics. These meetings are open to the general public, with no admission fee, and are held from January to April; and from September to November.
In addition, the Birding, Botany and Marine Biology sections sponsor monthly meetings from January to April and September to December. The Conservation section also meets monthly.
The Society publishes Discovery, a journal of natural history. It is published twice a year and is distributed to all members of the Society. Discovery is also available to non-members by subscription. The Society also publishes a quarterly newsletter, Vancouver Naturalist, which contains the details of the Society's programs and events.
Field trips for members of the Society are offered most weekends. The Society holds a yearly summer camp and also offers nature tours to its members.
Members of Nature Vancouver participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count and numerous other monthly surveys.
Website: www.naturevancouver.ca
Vancouver Natural History Society (Nature Vancouver) was founded in 1918 by Professor John Davidson with the following objectives:
- To promote the enjoyment of nature,
- To foster public interest and education in the appreciation and study of nature,
- To encourage the wise use and conservation of natural resources,
- To work for the complete protection of endangered species and ecosystems, and
- To promote access to, and maintenance of, natural areas in the vicinity of Vancouver.
Nature Vancouver is a not-for-profit charitable society registered under the BC Societies Act. Membership in the Society is open to all. The Society is a Federated Club of BC Nature.
The Society is organized into a number of sections; Birding, Botany, Conservation, Geology, Marine Biology and Photography.
The Society holds regular evening meetings and invites guest speakers to make presentations on natural history topics. These meetings are open to the general public, with no admission fee, and are held from January to April; and from September to November.
In addition, the Birding, Botany and Marine Biology sections sponsor monthly meetings from January to April and September to December. The Conservation section also meets monthly.
The Society publishes Discovery, a journal of natural history. It is published twice a year and is distributed to all members of the Society. Discovery is also available to non-members by subscription. The Society also publishes a quarterly newsletter, Vancouver Naturalist, which contains the details of the Society's programs and events.
Field trips for members of the Society are offered most weekends. The Society holds a yearly summer camp and also offers nature tours to its members.
Members of Nature Vancouver participate in the annual Christmas Bird Count and numerous other monthly surveys.
Monday, July 25, 2011
re:place Magazine
Location: Vancouver, BC
Website: www.regardingplace.com
Re:place intends to be a forum for discussion on relevant issues pertaining to Greater Vancouver’s public spaces and urban landscape.
Re:place intenfs to educate citizens about the workings of the public realm, and to encourage interaction and engagement in cities.
Re:place intends to explore the ever-changing look and dynamic of Greater Vancouver.
The world is urbanizing. Of the 6.5 billion inhabitants of this world, 3.2 billion currently live in cities and the number is forecasted to increase to 5 billion by 2030 – an estimated 61% of the global population. Vancouver, with its reputation for balanced, healthy and sustainable living, is being faced with the challenges of population growth and urban development every day.
This reality makes discussions regarding urbanism and the public realm of the utmost importance, yet there are currently no media in the GVRD where the primary focus is the investigation of these issues.
We aim to change this. re:place is a non-profit organization devoted to facilitating the holistic discussion of relevant urban landscape and public space issues throughout the GVRD.
The re:place team offers a depth and variety of experience in architecture, urban planning, municipal processes, journalism, media relations, design and sales. This organization will strive to shed light on the complex issues inherent to the ideal of sustainable urbanization.
Website: www.regardingplace.com
Re:place intends to be a forum for discussion on relevant issues pertaining to Greater Vancouver’s public spaces and urban landscape.
Re:place intenfs to educate citizens about the workings of the public realm, and to encourage interaction and engagement in cities.
Re:place intends to explore the ever-changing look and dynamic of Greater Vancouver.
The world is urbanizing. Of the 6.5 billion inhabitants of this world, 3.2 billion currently live in cities and the number is forecasted to increase to 5 billion by 2030 – an estimated 61% of the global population. Vancouver, with its reputation for balanced, healthy and sustainable living, is being faced with the challenges of population growth and urban development every day.
This reality makes discussions regarding urbanism and the public realm of the utmost importance, yet there are currently no media in the GVRD where the primary focus is the investigation of these issues.
We aim to change this. re:place is a non-profit organization devoted to facilitating the holistic discussion of relevant urban landscape and public space issues throughout the GVRD.
The re:place team offers a depth and variety of experience in architecture, urban planning, municipal processes, journalism, media relations, design and sales. This organization will strive to shed light on the complex issues inherent to the ideal of sustainable urbanization.
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