Under the Viaduct: Homeless in Beautiful BC

Ann Turner is Financial and Budget Manager, University of British
Columbia Library.

In this free-flowing collection of interviews, Vancouver’s homeless
tell their own stories, describing the stark realities of poverty and
life on the street. Staff from the social-service agencies that try to
assist the homeless add their perspectives in interviews and essays. The
frustration, despair, and inadequacy of resources come through clearly.
Between 100,000 and 250,000 people in Canada are homeless at any given
time, and the support services for them are not adequate. Baxter brings
a special understanding and sympathy to this work because of her own
experiences of homelessness as a child in England during World War II,
and later in Canada. She has also worked for many years in the
antipoverty movement. In addition to the Vancouver interviews, she
provides background information about the extent of homelessness in
Canada and elsewhere, some practical solutions, and a bibliography of
her research sources. An especially useful inclusion is the
“Resources” directory, which contains names, addresses, and
telephone numbers of organizations in all the provinces and major cities
in Canada that deal with social housing and assistance to the homeless
and poverty-stricken.