The #CHVCatchUp is a monthly series featuring the latest updates and news from Covenant House Vancouver. Miss604 is proud to be the Official Blog Partner of CHV to share and tell their stories, like this month’s feature about the Crisis Program:
Crisis Program at Covenant House Vancouver
At Covenant House Vancouver’s Crisis Program, youth receive compassion and support from our caring team of Youth Workers, Social Workers, and Registered Clinical Counsellors.
When youth first arrive at Covenant House they are often scared, sick, hungry, and exhausted. At the Crisis Program the priority is to meet young people’s basic needs by providing:
A safe place to sleep
Nutritious food
Hygiene supplies and a shower
Clean clothing and pajamas
Medical attention
Relentless Support for Youth
There are 63 beds in CHV’s short-term, live-in Crisis Program:
28 beds for female-identified youth (including LGBTQ2S, gender queer, gender non-binary and self-identified young women)
35 beds for male-identified youth (including LGBTQ2S, gender queer, gender non-binary and self-identified young men)
At the Crisis Program, youth also receive:
Food, clothing, and hygiene supplies
A consistent Youth Worker for support, goal setting, and planning
Access to Social Workers who help create an individual plan
Referrals to other social services
Help with finding employment and referrals to job centres
Financial assistance to get back home, if that’s a safe option
Recreational opportunities including yoga, soccer, hockey, and baseball
Help finding and securing a safe place to live when they decide to leave
Young people can stay in the Crisis Program free of charge for as long as they need to; because getting through a crisis takes as long as it takes.
Crisis Program in Action
Rhiannon, a Youth Worker at CHV’s Crisis Program shares how a young woman named Tammara approached a unique challenge with hope and optimism:The pandemic has been a significant challenge for so many of us, but for drug users and those who are doing their best to stay sober it has been particularly difficult.
Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) is celebrating Earth Day (April 22nd) with a lineup of events throughout the month that will inspire you to take action for our local and global environments. Designed with COVID-19 safety in mind, Earth Month activities bring participants online, outside and into Stanley Park with individual or collective actions to support our planet.
Earth Month with Stanley Park Ecology Society
SPES is offering five free webinars surveying the actions of people making a difference locally and nationally – touching on environmental rights across Canada, climate change impacts in Vancouver, Indigenous law and ecosystem protection, youth activism and youth stewardship projects.
The Role of Indigenous Ways in Community and Ecosystem Health When: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets: Free, register online
Action for Environmental Rights and Racism When: Thursday, April 15, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets: Free, register online
Seed Generation Youth Stewardship When: Wednesday, April 21, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets: Free, register online
Tsleil-Waututh Land and Water Stewardship and Activism When: Thursday, April 22, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets: Free, register online
Action for Climate (Online) When: Wednesday, April 28, 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets: Free, register online
For those wanting to get outdoors and make a difference, SPES is inviting locals to bring their bubble to Stanley Park and join the SPES Earth Month BioBlitz! Community scientists can help update the Stanley Park Life List by taking photos of plant and animal species in Stanley Park and submitting them to iNaturalist.
Photo: Greg Hart / SPES.
Follow SPES on Instagram every Friday (#SPESEarthMonth) for new BioBlitz tasks. Participants may discover new species to add to the growing list of over 1030 different species in the Park! Unique species like carnivorous sundew plants can be spotted in the hidden Beaver Lake Bog, a rare remnant of bog wetland left in the city.
This Mother’s Day you can give the very best of our own bountiful backyard when you send a mom in your life the Langley Fresh Mother’s Day Gift Box. This perfectly packaged parcel features an assortment of carefully curated products, all sourced from the Township of Langley.
Langley Fresh Mother’s Day Gift Box
Where to Order:Online here Cost: $65 which includes a $5 donation to the Langley Food Bank How to Receive: From Tourism Langley (5385 216 Street, Unit #220, Langley). Pick up is available as of Monday, April 12th, open 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.
There are fewer than 100 gift boxes available so book yours soon. Here’s what’s included:
Chuckling Duckling brings you a line of bath, body, and home products to delight and soothe your skin and enrich your senses all while respecting the planet. All their products are hand-made using natural ingredients, growing what they can and buying locally when possible to support local farmers and producers.
Product: This soothing soap is the perfect blend of goat milk, oatmeal and organic honey. Oatmeal gently exfoliates while the honey is naturally antibacterial, so it’s great for acne prevention and treatment. It is rich in antioxidants and is extremely moisturizing and soothing.
Festina Lente Estate Winery: Pure Wildflower Honey (250ml/340g)
The words “Festina Lente” in Latin mean “make haste slowly,” and that is exactly what Festina Lente Estate Winery’s philosophy is in regard to creating Mead (Honey Wine). On a 5-acre hobby farm in Langley, owner Teresa Townsley began her journey into the creation of Festina Lente. As both a professional beekeeper and winemaker, Teresa believed that it was in her best interest to explore the lost tradition of Mead.
Product: Pure Wildflower Honey is made by the happy bees that call Festina Lente home. This coarse filtered honey makes a great substitution for sugar in your baking or drinks and is a great addition to a charcuterie board.
Full Bloom Lavender Farm: Dried Lavender Bundle
Located in South Langley, Full Bloom Lavender Farm is one of Metro Vancouver’s only public Lavender Farms. Come walk among the rows of lavender and take in the scent of a field in bloom. Fresh and dried lavender is available for purchase, as well as an assortment of lavender products.
Product: This fragrant bundle of dried lavender will add a pop of colour to your space and leave it smelling fresh.
Juliet 925: Moon Disc Pendant 18” Necklace
Anita Bisset of Juliet 925 shapes sterling silver, recycled 10k gold and gold-filled metals into beautiful jewellery. Each link of every chain is hand-crafted to produce pieces of exceptional, unique style. You can shop online or book an appointment to visit the studio in the Fort Langley village. Beyond chains, Anita creates rings and earrings: from funky and chunky, to delicate and fine.
Product: You’ll be singing “By the light of the silvery moon” when you put on this shiny, hammered silver moon pendant. This 18” necklace was hand-forged in the Juliet 925 studio from solid North American refined sterling silver.
Tracycakes Bakery Café: Scone Kit
Tracycakes is a quaint restaurant and bakery that specializes in high tea, scrumptious baked goods, made-from-scratch soup, sandwiches, paninis, and over 40 flavours of delectable cupcakes. With locations both in the heart of downtown Abbotsford and the charming community of Murrayville, the cafes provide a welcoming escape from the busy outside world with their elegant décor, hospitable staff, and homemade treats.
Product: Tracycakes has put together everything you need to make their mouth-watering scones from the comfort of your own home, it even comes with an instruction card and a container of raspberry jam.
Enter to Win
I have a Langley Fresh Mother’s Day Gift Box to give away to one lucky winner! Here’s how you can enter to win:
Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
Click below to post an entry on Twitter
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win a #LangleyFresh Mother’s Day Gift Box from @TourismLangley http://bit.ly/LangleyMom” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, April 15, 2021. Winner must be able to pick up the prize from the Tourism Langley offices. UPDATE: The winner is Sharon!
The virtual event list is probably the shortest it has been in a long time, meanwhile our daily COVID number are the highest we’ve seen since the pandemic started. Staying close to home, there are still some fun options for online entertainment this weekend, including Friday night’s Virtual Trivia Night for a cause, and some in-person physically distanced galleries and exhibits. Find these and more things to do in Vancouver this weekend listed below:
Capilano University Students of the Arts & Entertainment Management Program are officially debuting Dragstravaganza, a drag artist competition and fundraiser. This event will feature Vancouver’s local drag artists competing for the title “Mx. Honey”.
Dragstravaganza
When: Sunday, April 18, 2021 at 7:30pm Where: Livestreamed on Vimeo – BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, Capilano University Tickets:Available online now, pay what you can. Proceeds support the Queer Arts Festival.
This event will be livestreamed for the audience to enjoy from the comfort of their homes. Performers will be showcasing their improvisation skills, runway style and special talents. Audience members will vote for their favourite performers during this event, with the winning contestant receiving a $500 cash prize, plus all competing artists will have opportunities to win exciting prizes.
The mission is to generate a positive and inclusive event to celebrate this vibrant art form in Vancouver and give students real-life experience in the arts and entertainment industry. This event also shines a spotlight on the wonderful work of the Queer Arts Festival – as the only transdisciplinary professional arts festival in Vancouver dedicated to showing the work of Queer artists.
Vancouver’s Drag Superstar Gia Metric will be hosting the performance and Alex Dooley from Dooley Noted Productions is providing his consulting services for this event.
Featured Performers
Bromley B is YYJ drag’s premiere Broadway drag thing! Bromley is known for their ability to flip from campy musical theatre numbers, to performing in edgy emo shows. Bromley may not be the brightest bulb in the bunch, but they’ll make sure to win you over with their bright thembo smile.
Amanda Tori Meating is the winner of the 2008 Franklin Montessori Hotdog Eating contest. She has dazzled audiences around the world in the touring company of Kinky Boots, and one day hopes to become a successful dominatrix and/or dog whisperer.
Krystle Beth was born behind a dumpster in an alley in Toronto. Crawling her way to the West Coast during an acid trip, she was reborn on Wreck Beach and rode a sea lion to the West End in search of a steady gig. She can be found screaming “Babbabooey” and “Go Leafs Go” from her balcony during the 7PM shoutout to Front Line Workers, and when the Pandemic is over, she hopes to become a GoGo Dancer at Celebrities who is paid in Tequila Shots.
Lola Perez claimed her presence a year ago. She is kind, fierce and bounces back. She may be young but don’t underestimate her, she is ready to bring her all, darling!
Fresh out of the clown car, Jester Minute is a 19-year-old queen from Abbotsford. They only started doing drag one year ago but have always had a passion for the performing arts.
Entity Ecstasy – Eccentric, erratic and all around dramatic, entity is a being of cosmic absurdity sent to leave us with more questions than we started. Far from the expected, this queen will leave you inspired, yet confused in the best way possible.
Shyenne Pepper is a drag performer who likes to toe the line between fashion and comedy, often failing in both. She first emerged in Vancouver at the age of 22, but only after moving back there she grew up in Mumbai, India. She has performed in and hosted ~30 shows in Mumbai and digitally, and now she is ready to make her Vancouver debut!
Esme Inhaler is a brand-new Queen to the scene and is so excited to perform with all these amazing folx and have a ton of fun. A lip sync assassin who is no stranger to comedy, Esme’s years of musical theatre training really pays off on stage! Fun fact: Esme’s alter ego is a proud Musical Theatre student at Capilano.
The one-year certificate and two-year diploma in Arts & Entertainment Management at Capilano University allow students to immerse themselves in the business side of the arts and entertainment industry and get ready for a fast-paced career in a growing and dynamic sector, including real-world experience in external practicum with professional organizations.
