Cheer for the Red Tent Campaign at the Vancouver Olympics

by Shannon Moriarty · 2010-02-03 07:16:00 UTC
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When you tune in to the Winter Olympics next week, be on the lookout for bright red tents dotting the snowy Vancouver scenery. The Red Tent Campaign is taking to the streets of Vancouver, distributing 500 red pop-up tents to the city's homeless to draw attention to this crucial issue and encourage Canada to adopt a national housing strategy.

Many of the tents are emblazoned with phrases like End Homelessness or Housing is a Right. Volunteers and advocates are being encouraged to join the campaign by sponsoring a tent or even taking to the streets themselves for a night.

The demonstration, sponsored by the Pivot Legal Society, has some critics shaking their heads. Why, they wonder, is this group trying to make the city look bad during its big moment in the world spotlight? Organizers contend that homelessness is a reality in Vancouver; it's important to the world to see the city as it really is. And if it just so happens that the additional media attention shames federal lawmakers into adopted a long-overdue national housing strategy? Well, that's just icing on the cake.

The Red Tent Campaign follows a December 2009 court decision that grants homeless people the right to sleep on city property if shelters are full. According to the organization, the broader impact of this decision is profound; homeless people can now sleep at night on public property free of harassment by police. Coincidentally, this decision also made the Red Tent Campaign's open source protest/advocacy tactics fair game during the Winter Games. Still, the mayor and some city council members are trying to halt the tent strategy before the opening ceremonies.

If you believe it's prudent policy for a country with a homeless population to adopt and implement a National Housing Strategy, then you should support the campaign. Even if you can't travel to Vancouver to join in the advocacy next week, there are plenty of ways you can get involved. Sponsor a tent, spread the word on Facebook, or visit the Red Tent website. Amid Vancouver's Olympic displacements, gentrification and criminalization, here's a chance to harness the Olympics to do some good for Canada's homeless population.

Photo credit: nimish gogri

Shannon Moriarty has worked in various homeless shelters and service organizations around the country. She is a graduate student studying housing and urban policy at Tufts University.
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