Signs Part 1

‘Signs’ began three years ago, an initiative out of Vancouver with one goal; engage the public in a thoughtful and creative manner to help break down stereotypes and educate them about the issues of homelessness and poverty.

The public was used to seeing members of the street and low income community with panning signs around the 800 block of Granville Street, people seem to walk by without a second glance, we wanted to do something that would create pause. The group that attends the Gathering Place workshop on Fridays came up with a new objective, panning for a different kind of change.

Holding signs that read ‘yes, I do have an education’, ‘I make what you spend on coffee a month’, ‘I’m a parent’, ‘I’m a daughter’, ‘I don’t want to be another statistic’, ‘I volunteer in my community’ ‘I spent ¾ of my income on rent’, to name just a few. Our group took to the usual panning spot and stood in silence, we wanted people to notice, and they did. When someone took an interest one member of the group would introduce themselves and invite them to engage in a conversation, what came out of those conversations surprised everyone.

Downtown Ambassadors with empathy and a similar history, visitors who had no idea about our housing and homeless issues, members of our group who saw ‘yuppies’ as people and yuppies who saw those in our group as more than the ‘street trash’ they had previously thought existed behind those signs.

Here is the first glimpse of a project that broke down boundaries and stereotypes on both sides. A project that made people think, and one that shows what can happen when we actually talk to one another.

Signs is one of the most empowering and at times emotional projects I have been a part of during my time with Homeless Nation. We hope the editing will do justice to the reality we all felt each time we went out with our Signs.