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Business foundation comes out with homeless plan, cash to follow

January 12th, 2010 · 2 Comments

The saga of the Streetohome Foundation, a group set up in 2008 as part of Vancouver’s drive under then-city manager Judy Rogers to get other partners helping solve the homelessness problem, has been an interesting one to follow.

It’s got two-dozen high-powered business leaders on its board, but it’s been a bit stymied from the beginning about what to do. Its role seemed clear when it first started because there was a huge problem and huge gap. But then the province jacked up to high warp speed as the Olympics approached, and it became less clear what this group could do that was unique and strategic.

Adding to the barriers, the city’s plan to convince the federal government to give special tax breaks for people donating to homelessness projects went nowhere.

From everything I’ve heard, people on the board are still panting to tackle the region’s homelessness problem with chequebooks open, but nothing is finalized yet. They’ve come up with their 10-year business plan and what they’re going to focus on, as I wrote in today’s Globe. Now everyone, include many board members, is waiting to see what they actually do with it.

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