One day, when they were in the eighth grade, Christopher Lee and a group of friends decided to spend a Sunday a little differently. “We were just like, ‘Hmm, there’s something wrong in our community. We’re able to live such a nice and amazing life, but there are people who aren’t able to live that […]

Parksville resident Earl Blacklock has been recognized by the BC Achievement Foundation for his work helping expand the number of trained counsellors practicing on Vancouver Island. The Executive Director of Island Community Councilling, Blacklock said that the bulk of the work that he does is with trauma survivors. “The definition of trauma that I use […]

Vancouver non profit First United has created an interactive map that provides information on a number of evictions across B.C. Sarah Marsden, director of systems change and legal at First United, spoke with People First Radio to help break down the data. One finding was that around 1 in 4 people reported not finding a […]

WeCan Shelter Society is a Comox Valley organization that builds homes inside shipping containers for people who had previously been experiencing homelessness to move into. Charlene Davis, one of the group’s founders, spoke with People First Radio. She said it takes between $25,000 and $30,000 to build a unit and get a person living in […]

Managing director Dorothy Morrison calls Victoria’s Imagine Studio Cafe a “cafe classroom.” The cafe offers employment to young adults who may otherwise face barriers due to mental health, addiction, and homelessness. “There’s a lot of talk, but not a lot of action. So we needed to try to make a difference,” Morrison said. She said […]

The Nanaimo Foodshare is using food to help people move forward. On Mondays, in the basement of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, anyone from the community is invited to come share in a free meal, prepared by people in the Foodshare’s employment programs, under the tutelage of professional chef Calven Chow. Called the Monday Lunch together […]

Artificial Intelligence is making its way into more and more areas of our lives, a phenomenon that isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon. While AI isn’t necessarily part of our official publicly insured health care system quite yet, Zoha Khawaja says that day is coming, so we should be proactive about figuring out some […]

When the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic meant closures and reduced service for restaurants, there was a bunch of food that was suddenly without a place to go. Enter the Red Cedar Cafe in Victoria, which was born as a way to put that food to good use. Four years later circumstances have changed, […]

As a teacher librarian, Sara Stone is no stranger to children’s books. But it was what she wasn’t seeing on the shelves, combined with some personal experience, that prompted her to add author to her resume. Stone has written a series of children’s books about sensory processing disorder. Healthlink BC says that children with sensory […]

Marlo Mayers spoke with the media ahead of moving into a new supportive housing building in Nanaimo. Called Corenerstone, The 51 unit building is operated by Connective Nanaimo, formerly known as the Nanaimo Region John Howard Society. Residents at a temporary housing site in Nanaimo called Newcastle Place are being prioritized to move in, which […]