I recently did a podcast on Canada’s National Housing Strategy—specifically on how the Strategy missed the mark on homelessness. Here’s the link (it’s 40 min’s long): https://thepublicationcoop.substack.com/p/canadas-so-call...
I recently served as a subject matter expert for an audit of supportive housing undertaken by the City of Ottawa’s Office of the Auditor General. Here are 10 things know:
I need to comment on the political pressure to force people experiencing addiction into treatment. Superficially, it seems to address a problem in society, but the reality is that this…
I need to comment on the political pressure to force people experiencing addiction into treatment. Superficially, it seems to address a problem in society, but the reality is that this…
I’m the lead author of a recent report, commissioned by Vibrant Communities Calgary, looking at factors associated with social disorder on public transit (including social disorder involving people experiencing homelessness).…
When social services are difficult to get to then their services are used less, it sounds obvious but in too many places social services are very difficult to get to.…
I’m writing an open access textbook on homelessness, with a focus on high-income countries. Each chapter gets uploaded to my website as it is completed. The latest chapter, on health,…
Much ink (most of it virtual) is being spilled these days about how “dangerous” our cities have become. Shootings, assaults and so on seem to take place on our transit…
Of late, CPC leader Pierre Poilievre has been making a lot of noise about drug addiction, deaths resulting from overdoses, and so on. So far, much of his rhetoric and…
Addiction is tough and it can happen to anyone. In Malaysia they are changing their drug laws to reflect this reality by providing rehab for users instead of locking them…
Or, Why D&D Kicks Butt There is a mounting body of evidence and experience that shows that D&D, the original role playing strategy game (like chess, but with improv theatre,…
Robert Clark has written a very good book about Canada’s prison system. Mr. Clark worked from 1980 until 2009 in seven different federal prisons, all located in Ontario. The book…
I’ve written an assessment of the 2014-2019 St. John’s Community Plan to End Homelessness. The full assessment can be found here. Points raised in the assessment include the following: -Newfoundland…
I’ve just reviewed Eric Weissman’s book on intentional homeless communities. Points made in the review include the following: -Intentional communities in general are communities built around specific goals. But in…
I was recently invited to give a presentation at a two-day event discussing the overdose crisis and First Nations, with a focus on southern Alberta. My presentation focused on homelessness,…
I’ve just written a blog post about homelessness and employment, with a focus on Calgary (where I live and work). Points raised in the blog post include the following: -Persons…
If you told me a decade ago that I’d be responsible for someone else’s life, I’d probably have laughed. Back then, I was barely able to take care of myself.…
The opioid crisis in North America damages countless lives every year, and we may be making it worse in the way we talk about addiction. FiveThirtyEight decided to look into…
The opioid crisis in North America continues unabated. Local organizations are pushing for reform of policies and in Canada the call for safe injection sites is growing. The number of…
Mass Digital Addiction vs Reading
Remember, as Thoreau said, “Read the best books first, otherwise you might never read them at all.” And in this age of pandemic digital addiction, media overload and mass information…