Spenser Smith wanted to respond to online comments denigrating people who use drugs, so the VIU creative writing grad turned to poetry. In A Brief Relief From Hunger, published by Gordon Hill Press, Smith reflects on his childhood, and his own recovery from addiction. Along the way, he weaves in poems inspired by posts from […]

UBC’s Jiaying Zhao and Foundations For Social Change’s Amber Dyce explore the results and process of a study that offered unconditional transfers of $7500 to people experiencing homelessness.

Sarah Lovegrove, outgoing chair of Nanaimo’s Community Action Team, speaks with People First Radio’s Joe Pugh at the Vault Cafe about the state of the toxic drug poisoning crisis in Nanaimo.  

In conversation with Rachel Herron, Canada Research Chair in Rural and Remote Mental Health, and a professor at Brandon University.

Speeches and stories from an Aug 31 event held in Maffeo Sutton Park to mark International Overdose Awareness Day. Featuring the voices of Amber McGrath, Sarah Lovegrove, Qui Sepulveda, Lenae Silva, Sheila Malcolmson, Aimee Chalifoux,Wanda LeBlanc (Moms Stop the Harm), Laura Lee James, Heather MacDonald, and Patrick Aleck.

Marie-Josée Houle, Canada’s first federal housing advocate, was appointed to the role in February 2022. Houle joined People First Radio to speak about housing in Canada and her work in the role thus far.

The Village, a supportive housing site in Duncan, is attracting attention from other communities looking to emulate its model. With 34 modular units, it was able to quickly go from proposal to reality, and while there was opposition to the site before it opened and in its early days, it’s operators say public opinion in […]

Bennet Caffee shares the story behind Orange You Glad To Be in Miami. The one man show premiered this week at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival, and recounts Caffee’s first manic episode, which occurred in his early twenties.

Ali Gaul and her daughter Grace Martin share the family story behind Lucky Casanova, Martin’s one woman show, currently playing at the Nanaimo Fringe Festival.  

Carolyn Whitzman, housing and social policy consultant, joins People First Radio to explore the federal government’s role in Canadian housing policy from the 1940s through to the present day.