There are three organisations working together right now on bringing a memorial for the homeless who have died a reality. We have the Client Action Committee of the Calgary Homeless Foundation, a group of homeless or formerly homeless individuals who serve as an advisory team to the agency tasked with ending homeless in Calgary. This was the organization I had originally pitched the idea to, and they were receptive right from the very start and wanted to make it a priority, though were lacking in time at the moment (They were meeting monthly at the time, which makes it difficult to organize such an event so quickly).
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Since then, Poverty Talks, an organisation also made up of people whose lives are directly affected by poverty - and of which I am proudly a steering committee member - has also agreed to work on this event with the Client Action Committee of the CHF.
Finally, we have Grateful or Dead which has ensured us that they too intend to see this project through. Grateful or Dead is a recovery outreach program mainly working outreach on the streets to help people find resources to overcome substance abuse. Every member of Grateful or Dead has a history of substance abuse, and are no strangers to the tough topic of loss of life on the streets of Calgary.
Of course, we have a long way to go yet. We now have to find a venue, organize guests, get permits, apply for grants, seek a proclamation from the Mayor. This is only the beginning. But I am humbled by the response we have received from our partners,
