**NEW SNOWY, HOMEY YEAR**

OK Back at It... this is my first early-to-work morning since our return from travels through snow storms (one there, one back) to the unusually cold Winnipeg, MB at Christmas. In Manitoba, it took us a few days to re-acclimatize to the cold cars and dry air of our former home province, but with time it became as livable as any other place. Thank you everyone for your warm houses, big smiles and laughs, music, and all of that lovely food & drink. Thank you, Thank you, family & friends.

Before leaving on our winter adventure, this city (Vancouver, BC) welcomed the new mayor, Gregor Robertson, who is committed to ending homelessness by 2015. This particular issue along with the very unusual long-lasting snow and cold prompted much public discussion about homelessness. When the cold and snow started on about Dec. 16, the city, province and private sector created an extra 200 temporary shelter beds to help people cope. Vancouver First United Church also extended their hours to stay open all night long so that people could curl up on the floors and pews. They hand out about 200 blankets a night.

The streets and sidewalks are now really impassable by shopping carts or bikes with carts. The local street population has been forced to make big changes to their lives. It must be very difficult for them to stay indoors, loose their income from binning and recycling, and to be housed in cramped conditions.

Here is a really great set of articles about ending homelessness by Monte Paulsen for The Tyee: How to end homelessness series From his list "50 ways to end homelessness," this one stands out as an incantation for Comforter Art-Action as well as the mayor:

35.) Launch a campaign. "More than anything else," one longtime advocate for the homeless told The Tyee, "It's Gregor Robertson's job to persuade the citizens of Vancouver that ending homelessness is everyone's job."

I think that Covering Up the photo project that I am hosting with Pierre-Andre Sonolet is also part of this persuasion. Covering up is described here

Here is the review of the Mayor's ambitions to end homelessness as understood by Sean Condon of Megaphone: Vancouver's Street Paper: A Happy planet? Can Vancouver end homelessness

Condon mentions the commitment that the city of Calgary, AB has made to end homelessness by 2018. The summary of that city's plan is here: Homelessness: from prevention to cure

Today I will be washing some of the comforters that were made during the Living Blanket project. I plan to deliver them to Vancouver First United on Monday. Among those are these lovely blankets that Kathryn Duschene made with her friend Karen Quinn (obviously in more habitable weather).

 

A New Year's resolution or two?

Watch for changes - I plan to make this blog will get a little more streamlined in 2009. I want to focus it on 2 major social issues and the way that art-making responds or is impacted by those issues:

• homelessness or human displacement, and
• urban agriculture (community gardening in particular)

Also, I hope to start a website that deals with everything else (Light Factory Publications and other art projects that I need to document). Coming soon.