a few updates

[VIPIRG Communications and Outreach]

> Supporting the specialized needs of LGBTQ homeless youth

> Oil Spill Reported in the Great Bear Rainforest

> Cuba-Latin American Solidarity School in Havana

>  Shout Out Against Mining Injustice, this June 1-2 in Vancouver

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Homeless Hub <the...@edu.yorku.ca>
Date: Tue, May 1, 2012 at 4:01 AM
Subject: Supporting the specialized needs of LGBTQ homeless youth
To: vipirgo...@gmail.com

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) youth are overrepresented in the homeless youth population. It has been estimated that approximately 25-40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. A large proportion of youth are either kicked out of the house or forced to leave home after coming-out to their family as LGBTQ. Therefore, homophobia and transphobia are major causes of youth homelessness. There has been extensive research on youth homelessness in Canada; conversely, there has been minimal investigation into the crisis of LGBTQ youth homelessness, creating a large gap in knowledge in this area. What we do know, however, is that LGBTQ youth homelessness is on the rise, service providers are not fully prepared to deal with situations of homophobia and transphobia, and LGBTQ youth have reported feeling safer on the streets than in the shelter system, due to high rates of homophobic and transphobic violence that occurs in the shelter system, and that both youth and support staff have indicated the need for specialized services. Learn more about LGBTQ Youth Homelessness     LGBTQ YOUTH HOMELESSNESS RESOURCES Homeless LGBT Youth: A Day In Our Shoes Steve Williams | Care2 A new short documentary by In the Life Media highlights the critical issue of LGBT teen homelessness in New York.  Called “A Day in Our Shoes” the documentary aims to raise awareness of the fact that there are an estimated 3,800 homeless youth in New York City alone and of them about 1,500 identify as LGBT. Watch the video National Recommended Best Practices for Serving LGBT Homeless Youth National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) et al.  The recommendations contained in this guide provide direction to agencies and nonprofit organizations to increase their competency in working with LGBT youth. Larkin Street Stories: The Homeless LGBT Experience (Episode 1)  Homelessness Resource Center (HRC) Meet Toby, Loch, and the youth from Larkin Street Youth Services in San Francisco. In Episode 1 of Larkin Street Stories they discuss their approach to supporting and accepting LGBT youth who are homeless. Research Brief on Sexual Minority Youth Health, Wellness, and Safety Concerns  Kristopher Wells | University of Alberta This report explores the key stressors for sexual minority youth. The creation of constructive school environments, adequate access to nonjudgmental education and health care providers, and inclusive social services are discovered to be vital to the reduction of negative health outcomes of LGBT youth. The Kids are Listening: LGBTQ Foster Youth American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law Youth who identify as LGBTQI2-S are over represented among youth who are homeless. They often face rejection as a result of their sexual identity. This can be particularly true for youth exiting the foster care system. A ‘normative’ homeless woman?: Marginalisation, emotional injury and social support of transwomen experiencing homelessness Sakamoto, I; Chin, M; Chapra, A; Ricciardi, J. | Gay & Lesbian Issues and Psychology Review The experiences of transwomen who are homeless are examined, focusing on the consequences of the profound marginalisation that they experience in their everyday lives and the support that they provide to each other as a form of survival. Struggling to Survive: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning Homeless Youth on the Streets of California  Shahera Hyatt | California Homeless Youth Project Drawing on existing research and conversations with homeless youth and the service providers who work with them, this brief highlights disparities within the homeless youth community and the challenges facing LGBTQ youth at home, before they’re forced to leave, and after they enter life on the streets. "What Do You Say to Them?" Investigating and Supporting the Needs of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Questioning (LGBTQ) Young People Sherriff, N. S.; Hamilton, W. E.; Wigmore, S.; Giambrone, B. L. B. | Journal of Community Psychology This study explores the experiences and support needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people living in Sussex (UK), and the training needs of practitioners working with LGBTQ young people.   follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website www.homelesshub.ca. Unsubscribe from this mailing Our mailing address is:  The Canadian Homelessness Research Network  York University  6th Floor York Research Tower  4700 Keele Street  Toronto, ON M3J 1P3  Our telephone:  416-736-2100 Ext. 30211  Copyright (C) 2012 Homeless Hub. All rights reserved. ----------- Forwarded message ----------

janine bandcroft eter...@islandnet.com	May 2
to undisclosed recipients

Oil Spill Reported In The Great Bear Rainforest

Gitga'at Nation reports large spill believed to be from sunken munitions ship; calls on federal government for immediate response and full clean-up.

HARTLEY BAY, BRITISH COLUMBIA (May 2, 2012) - The Gitga'at Nation of Hartley Bay is reporting an oil spill, between two and five miles long and 200 feet wide inside the Grenville Channel, not far from the proposed tanker route for the Enbridge Gateway pipeline. The spill was spotted by a commercial pilot and reported to the Gitga'at Nation and the Canadian Coast Guard yesterday evening.

http://andrewfrank.ca/2012/05/02/oil-spill-reported-in-the-great-bear-rainforest/

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/oil-spill-reported-in-the-great-bear-rainforest-1651968.htm

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Randy & Judy <vi...@telus.net>
Date: Fri, May 18, 2012 at 12:11 PM
Subject: Cuba-Latin American Solidarity School in Havana
To: FRIENDS OF CUBA <vi...@telus.net>


Hi Folks,
Here's something that you and/or your friends may be interested in.

Anyone interested should make arrangements soon as Cuban officials need to be notified of attendees in advance. I think there is a couple of weeks left before registration will be closed.

In solidarity,
Randy Caravaggio
Victoria Friends of Cuba
 

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from Council of Canadians

Council of Canadians event in Vancouver that you might wish to attend.

June 1 and 2

Maritime Labour Centre
1880 Triumph Street, Vancouver, BC

Right now, Canadian mining companies are committing human rights and environmental atrocities throughout the world and reaping billions of dollars in profits along the way. If you're outraged at that thought, you're not alone. If that weren't enough, our government is not only complicit with these actions, it is paving the way for these atrocities through trade agreements that entrench the rights of these corporations and by failing to hold them accountable to human rights and environmental standards. However, communities and activists in Canada, Latin America and elsewhere are overcoming tremendous odds and risking their very lives to fight back. In the last two weeks alone, civil society movements in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Colombia have led powerful actions to stand up to Vancouver-based mining giants Fortuna Silver, Goldcorp, New Gold and Barrick Gold. Risking life is not an exaggeration. Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez, a community activist with the Coordinadora de Pueblos Unidos del Valle de Ocotlan (CPUVO) in Mexico, had been a vocal opponent of Vancouver-based Fortuna Silver's gold and silver mine south-east of Mexico City ever since it opened in September 2011. The mine and its operations gravely impacted the essential source of local drinking water that the community relied upon and Bernardo, along with the CPUVO, was committed to putting an end to it. Tragically, this past March Bernardo was murdered for his outspoken activism. As Canadians, we have a responsibility on our end to hold Canadian mining companies accountable for their atrocities and demand our government intervene immediately. This is just one reason why the Council of Canadians has organized the Shout Out Against Mining Injustice, this June 1-2 in Vancouver. We are dedicating the conference to Bernardo and all who have lost their lives in the struggle against mining injustice. Please join us for this timely and important conference. You'll hear powerful firsthand stories from Latin American activists who are directly taking on Canadian mining companies, including a representative from CPUVO. You'll learn about the industry and government strategies that threaten to further exacerbate human rights violations and environmental degradation in the pursuit of profit. And you'll learn how you can be part of building resistance and hope here in Canada and in impacted communities abroad. If you haven’t already done so, go to CoC website, http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/mining/shoutout/index.html to be a part of the Shout Out Against Mining Injustice. Help us spread the word! Plan to bring a friend or a group of friends to the events, and share our event details through Facebook and on Twitter with #soami12.

--
Rebecca Taylor

Outreach and Communications Coordinator
Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group
Student Union Building Room B120 & B122
PO Box 3050 STN CSC
University of Victoria
Victoria BC, V8W 3P3

phone: 250.472.5170
www.vipirg.ca