Interview with Penny Goldsmith

Penny Goldsmith is the Executive Coordinator of PovNET in Vancouver, BC. PovNet provides online tools that facilitate communication, community and access to information around poverty-related issues in British Columbia and Canada.

Q: What are the key issues that need to be addressed?

Penny Goldsmith: I think that the whole issue of homelessness is obscene in a country like Canada -- it’s obscene anywhere -- but in a country with Canada’s wealth to have people who do not have a house/or a roof over their heads is obscene.

The advocates at PovNET are working with homeless people both in terms of getting them a welfare cheque or disability cheque but also trying to find them resources. Quite often with someone who is homeless it is not just a question of a roof over your head, it also a question of other services that are needed and I think this is something we have to do something about.

Who needs to be involved?

I think who needs to be involved in the discussion around homelessness is first of all homeless people. You can’t say to someone who is used to living on the street, "here is a house or an apartment for you now and go to it". I think people have different reasons for why they are on the street and I think it is very important that those reasons are taken into consideration when you’re talking about finding homes for people.I think that it is also important that the advocates and the community workers who work with homeless people are involved in the discussion because they know a little bit more systemically some of the issues around homelessness and they have talked to some of the politicians and others that have been involved.

I think that it is also important that people who are involved inresearch around homelessness are at the table as well. And it is the politicians who are the ones that can do something about it in the terms of the money. But I think they need to be listening to what is going on in the street, in a way that they don’t.

It’s all very well to have a newspaper series about some reporter who tries to pretend they are homeless for a week but that isn’t going at the issues that need to be addressed.

 

PovNet works to collect relevant news and resources of use to advocates, community workers, marginalized communities and the general public.
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Publication Date: 
2010
Location: 
Canada