Around Town: UGM women’s shelter, FaithTech, charitable status revoked

UGM spokesperson Sarah Chew described the new UGM Women’s Emergency Shelter on CBC News. Image from video

Union Gospel Mission (UGM) has dramatically increased its work with women over the past few years, and they recently announced another initiative.

Speaking with Stephen Quinn on CBC Radio’s Early Edition, a UGM spokesperson described their temporary new overnight Women’s Emergency Shelter in the Downtown Eastside.

The multi-purpose room shelters 20 women overnight and will operate until the end of March. It is funded by the province through BC Housing.

Sarah Chew said:

We know that women are definitely impacted by homelessness, poverty, addiction, as much as men. We know that there are probably more than 1,000 women experiencing homelessness right now in Metro Vancouver, based on the most recent 2023 homeless count.

We also know that women are impacted by hidden homelessness, so we know that those numbers are probably an underestimate of how many women are really struggling right now. We know that women are more exposed to dangers like human trafficking, physical, emotional, sexual violence, and they often return to their abusers just to keep themselves in somewhere that they can stay or to protect their children.

Go here for the full interview, and here for a CBC News video interview.

UGM’s Women & Families Centre in the Downtown Eastside. UGM image

The new emergency shelter is just for single women, and only for overnight stays. However, UGM has undertaken several other major projects over the past few years:

With the expansion of UGM beds in Victoria and Langley, UGM is one of the largest providers of women’s recovery in the province, with a total of 53 beds in four locations.

These UGM Women’s Recovery Programs are designed to meet diverse needs and stages of recovery:

* Women & Families Centre (Downtown Eastside Vancouver) – 27 beds. A unique urban facility providing wraparound care for women and women-led families. This centre offers live-in units, childcare services and comprehensive support for recovery and reintegration.

UGM offers 53 beds for women in four locations. UGM image

* Lydia Home (Mission) – 8 beds. A recovery community offering a supportive environment for up to eight women at a time. Women engage in intensive counseling, education and spiritual growth over a year-long program.

* Cedar Haven (Langley) – 11 beds. Opened in 2024, this rural recovery centre provides a nature-inspired therapeutic setting where women can rebuild their lives over a 12-month program.

* Arrow Home (Saanich) – 6 beds. Opened in 2024, this home in Greater Victoria aims to bridge geographical barriers by offering a tranquil, community-focused recovery environment. Women will find healing and support within a nurturing setting.

Go here for more information. I wrote about Cedar Haven last May.

FaithTech Kick Off

FaithTech is “a global movement of Christians interested in all things faith and technology.” But it also has many local communities all over the world.

The Vancouver branch will host Kick Off 2025 next Thursday (January 16) at Burnaby Metrotown Library.

Here is the description:

Speaker Sean Braacx will explore the challenges and opportunities of living as a faithful witness of Jesus in the tech industry, both as an employee and as the founder of a VC-backed company.

Braacx is an entrepreneur, accidental full-stack developer and dad of three rambunctious boys. As co-founder and Chief Product Officer at StoryTap, a platform that enables brands to collect authentic video stories at scale, Sean is passionate about integrating faith and vocation while breaking down the sacred-secular divide.

This event is for everyone from engineers and programmers to ministry leaders to designers. Our goal is to join together with the broader community, using tech and innovation as a means to help grow the Kingdom of God. Diversity makes us stronger.

Charitable status revoked