Sunday, May 22, 2011 - North Shore News - A5
Affordable housing would bring hope From page 3
David Foster, a long-time advocate for the homeless and founder of the Harvest Project, knows that all too well. Half a lifetime ago, he was living high on the hog in the British Properties and he figured he had it made. Some bad investments and a lifestyle fuelled by drugs and booze abruptly changed all that. Foster found himself standing in a welfare office in West Vancouver. His experience on the skids eventually led to the Harvest Project, which Foster ran for 10 years before stepping down. When he left the Harvest, things didn’t go well. By 2008 he had relapsed into drug and alcohol use. That’s how in January 2009 he came to walk through the doors of the North Shore emergency shelter — this time as a client. “It was pretty humbling,” he said. “I knew a lot of the staff. But I couldn’t put the pieces back together myself.” These days, he still lives on the North Shore and works for a wholesale company. It’s a regular life, but “I’m just a step away from where they are,” he said. Foster still has dreams about how to make things better for the North Shore’s homeless, something that would combine shelter with appropriate treatment options and support. “I know guys who have been in and out of recovery homes 20 times,” he said. “Their whole focus is on that day and their daily survival.” Foster also started a “breakfast church” at the Harvest Project once a month, aimed at sharing inspirational stories. “There has to be a messenger of hope,” he said. “Somebody who’s made it.” Lack of hope can grind anyone down, he said. It’s in short supply among the homeless. Hope is what most of those who work with the homeless would like to offer. It’s difficult on the North Shore. “There’s no really affordable housing,” said Foster. “Market rental is being torn down for condo units.” Food banks and shelters are just stopgap measures, said Defehr. But without subsidized housing and the right kinds of social programs, “It doesn’t give people optimism. “ ‘I can’t afford hope,’ is what it comes down to.” NEWS photo Paul McGrath
DAVID Foster, founder of the Harvest Project and a North Shore advocate for the homeless, sits under a bridge near the shelter where the homeless sometimes sleep. Without good supports, homelessness can become a recurring cycle.
Real Estate
A Tradition of Sound Advice The Experience to Inform The Confidence to Advise Focused on Results
604-644-0065
www.brenteilers.com
BRENT EILERS
Sussex Realty
• WILLS, PROBATE & REPRESENTATION AGREEMENTS
Lynn Valley Law
• REAL ESTATE, PROPERTY & CONTRACT DISPUTES • SEPARATION & DIVORCE
Open Saturdays BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
Lynn Valley Centre • 604-985-8000
CARPET & UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING RESIDENTIAL MARINE COMMERCIAL
2 ROOMS & A HALL
85
$
3 SEAT SOFA
79
$
Serving the North Shore and Vancouver with friendly customer service
FOOT C LINIC Affordable Footcare WESTVANCOUVER
www.westvanfootclinic.com
West Coast Sophistication and Prairie Charm! EMAIL: daveksmith@shaw.ca • CALL 7 DAYS A WEEK • 604.924.0518
WEB: www.smithwerks.ca
Renew your view
with affordable custom window coverings from Budget Blinds
Check out our great selection of styles:
Plantar fasciitis and heel spurs
Medical and Surgical Treatment of the Foot
Bunions and hammertoes
,
Dr. Shenin Mohamed
$! , & 5 2 ## ,!0 11 '(0,
Gold Award Winner
PODIATRIST
Specialized Foot Doctor & Surgeon
1.",214 )%5 5! -*32/ $0
2008-2010
.1
High arched feet
+
• Custom Molded Orthotics for Pain • Private Foot Surgery • Plantar Fasciitis & Heel Pain • Morton’s Neuroma Pain • Ingrown Toe Nails, Plantars Warts • Fabulous Medical Pedicures
Shutters • Draperies Wood Blinds Cellular Shades Roller Shades Roman Shades Woven Wood Motorization & more!
Corns, calluses and warts
,
Ingrown toe nails
)
Mortons Neuroma or bursitis
Flat or low arched feet
604-913-FOOT (3668)
1873 Marine Drive, West Vancouver
Budget Blinds of North &WestVancouver
604-929-2546
FREE In-Home Consultation www.budgetblinds.com