The Kitzul Konnection

Democracy in BC

2011-04-21T14:13:00.002-07:00

Some thoughts on the BCNDP leader election held on Sunday April 17th. What a great democracy we live in! All of us, if we choose to, can have a say from the very front end of our governing process right to the back end - like the upcoming Federal election on May 2nd. Our political parties are microcosms of our larger democracy. And as much as we like to decry the idea of party or partisan

Just Pour Some Vodka on It: Or Something Like That…

2010-11-24T10:34:00.002-08:00

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Slow-Burn Epiphany

2010-10-12T11:18:00.002-07:00

The other day, on Twitter, I said, “Acknowledging the positive is more effective than berating the negative.” What’s wrong with me? You all know that I like rage against the machine – point out what is wrong with how things are done in our society. And don’t get me wrong – I see many things wrong with how we allow our society to be run. Like, 1% of our population owning 50%

Why All the Love?

2010-07-28T16:06:00.002-07:00

Seriously! Where does it all come from? And by love i mean trust. Trust. this is not something we normally give away for free. In fact, as a Social Worker/counsellor, trust is the primary facet of every therapeutic relationship and I work hard and carefully to earn it from every person I've every worked with. I ask for it and realize that part of earning it is giving some up to my client first -

Passion and Delusion

2010-07-08T20:27:00.005-07:00

What does it mean to be passionate; to really, I mean REALLY believe in something? When someone is passionate about an issue, are they deluded into believing that what they do and think will change things? Is what they fill their thoughts and time with based on an irrational belief that isn't the reality for anyone else?I suppose we all know people like this. Sometimes, we call them 'zealots', '

Parents – Can’t Live With ‘em, Can’t Shoot ‘em!

2010-01-12T16:25:00.003-08:00

Having spent almost three weeks with my parents this summer, then another week in the fall, I've learned a thing or two. Of course, no matter what one does, there is always something to learn. But I think our parents really bring out those opportunities. For many years, I have found the relationship with my own parents somewhat of an enigma; like I was missing something along the way. The thing

Happenings

2009-09-14T10:03:00.001-07:00

This just in: Toronto is trying to find a way to supervised injection to help save lives. TORONTO – Liz Evans, Executive Director of the PHS Community Services Society which operates Vancouver’s Insite, North America’s first and only supervised injection facility will be hosting a public forum at 7 PM September 15, at Toronto City Hall. Everyone is Welcome.On the table for discussion

Are All Small Towns Equal?

2009-07-27T12:04:00.003-07:00

I just spent almost 3 weeks in a small Saskatchewan town. That was an eye-opener! First I encountered some severely racist attitudes...particularly toward Aboriginal Peoples, then a kind of closed-mindedness to many things progressive. First, the "Indians" were compared to animals in that you can't 'teach em anything, they're too wild'. WOW! Was I in Canada still? The other thing I noticed -

Mommy Addiction

2009-07-06T11:35:00.003-07:00

I have been wondering what to write about. It occurs to me that there are so many things that can take up this space - food security, Canadian foreign policy, comment on BC's Health Minister saying it's OK to have private billing....the list goes on. But today, I opened my email to the Globe and Mail and started reading an article on 'the new mommy'. Those women that are recent moms (like in the

A Community Tried in the Fire

2009-05-24T10:21:00.008-07:00

Community.Often that term brings up some form of romantic imagery from the past - a small farming or fishing village; Little House on the Prairie kind of thinking. But really, community is a state of being. It is what we make it; where we find ourselves. Community is where people come together with common interest. That could be in a town, a service club, around an issue or through a sporting

Out of Touch

2009-01-15T20:16:00.003-08:00

This week was astounding. On Monday, Canada shot itself into the very exclusive club of countries on the UN Human Rights Council opposed to peace on the Gaza Strip. It's so exclusive in fact, that Canada is the ONLY member. Canada was the only country to vote against the resolution to urge Israel to stop the bombing and to go back to the agreed ceasefire of last fall. You can read all about it

Give Us What We Want....

2008-12-02T11:33:00.006-08:00

Sixty two percent. That represents the number of Canadians that did NOT vote for the Conservative Party of Canada in the last election. But of course, what we got, again, was the leader of the Conservative Party as our prime minister. Such is life in this archaic first-past-the-post system of election.But wait.....we may still get what we wanted. There is a pressure relief valve built into our

Sleeping in Victoria

2008-10-14T12:43:00.005-07:00

Finally!!One has to wonder what kind of society we live in when, not only are people left homeless, we don't even want a homeless person covering their head while they sleep in a PUBLICLY OWNED space. That's how it has been in Victoria, City of Gardens, until yesterday.A B.C. Supreme Court judge has struck down the City of Victoria's bylaws that prevent homeless people from sleeping in city

Old News...New Research

2008-06-02T20:39:00.003-07:00

Recently, the Centre for Addictions Research of BC released some fresh new research on alcohol and other drug use in BC. The research is a result of the compilation of a pilot project – BC Alcohol and Other Drug Monitoring Project. It’s not so much the distinctiveness of the information or that it is so noteworthy as much as it is so unremarkable that makes it remarkable. Speak with anyone that

Must Get Motivated

2007-08-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

It is coming up to a year since I moved back to Victoria. Over this year I have changed jobs once, moved once and become involved in InnovativeCommunities.org. We have seen a growing housing boom on the south island but yet we still have hundreds of homeless people in the capital region. Our region has the first and second most expensive homes in the country - approx. $25 million each! Many more

Making the Most of It

2007-07-22T20:31:00.001-07:00

So, I signed up for Facebook this week. It's something that I said I would probably never do. But there I am. Kind of interesting. Met some people from my past that I hadn't seen or heard from for years. This phenomenon seems to have some interesting implications. For example, in the past - even a couple of years ago, connecting with someone would have taken considerable effort. Now you can be

Time is Ticking....

2007-06-05T09:24:00.001-07:00

Many things have changed since my posts last year. Some of you may know that I have moved to Victoria to join the Provincial Government. I now work as a Policy Analyst for the Ministry for Children and Family Development. It's been a great move and I really enjoy the job.I also volunteer with InnovativeCommunities.org. This organization works to bring social justice to various aspect of our live

Resources, Taxes and Those 'Lazy' Poor People

2006-05-18T09:42:00.002-07:00

Not sure where to start. On Monday afternoon I went to the book launch of “A Wealth of Resources: Cheap, Free and Savvy Options in Kamloops, BC.” The book was compile by Skylark and offers resource options organized by the category that you are looking for. It is pretty user-friendly and a must-have, I think, in every social agency office. These kinds of initiatives deserve, require, our support.

I'm Back

2006-05-08T10:44:00.002-07:00

After a long hiatus, I have returned. There has been some significant happenings in my neck of the woods. As I mentioned in my last post, my father-in-law past away. He was a man who, by typical standards, lead a very difficult, sometimes chaotic life. He typically lived in substandard housing, struggled with addiction to alcohol and, although he worked very hard, had a difficult time maintaining

Apologies

2006-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

I must apologize. Shortly after my last post there was a death in the family. Stay tuned for further posts.Sheldon

It Takes A.....

2006-04-12T09:30:00.002-07:00

I came across an interesting local study. Released last July 2005 by The Social Planning Council for the North Okanagan, one of the most interesting findings was the need of private landlords for adequate supports. In the study area (Vernon, BC), a good portion of affordable housing for harder to house individuals (those with FASD, brain injury, mental health issues, etc) is supplied by private

Questions, Questions

2006-03-28T18:41:00.001-08:00

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with various outreach/housing workers in town. Overwhelmingly, the message that I am receiving is that the housing directory/guide/binder was a fine exercise, but it rarely gets used. There are some common reasons for this.First, it’s cumbersome. Let’s face it; pulling out a 4” binder to flip through isn’t exactly an efficient use of

Recent Developments

2006-03-22T15:47:00.001-08:00

Finding decent and affordable housing in Kamloops is showing itself to be an arduous task. I have spoken with some of the outreach workers in town and they describe it as tiring and disheartening. There just isn’t enough! The vacancy rate is so low that landlords can be increasingly fastidious about the kind of tenant they accept. This isn’t entirely surprising considering the kind circumstance

Moving right Along

2006-03-17T15:10:00.001-08:00

I was right. Although, not in an arrogant way. But, there are at least 3-4 housing directories in the city that other agencies have put together. I have found one at ASK, the E Fry Society, People in Motion and the Interior Indian Friendship Centre. If there are others out there I would sure appreciate knowing about it.My greatest concern is that I will simply duplicate what has already been done

Starting things off

2006-03-15T11:00:00.001-08:00

I really don't know what else to call it. I want this to be a place where I can share some thoughts on the goings-on in our city (Kamloops, BC) province and country. Those who know me, know that I am a bit of a political junkie! This is particularly try around social issues. So much of this discussion will be devoted to things like affordable housing, mental health, addictions, poverty and