Reliable transportation is a key tool for people trying to exit homelessness, according to local advocates, and the Burnaby Hospital Foundation is raising money to make sure people battling poverty have a way to get around.
The foundation launched a crowdfunding campaign last month to raise $25,000 for Compass tickets for people who are homeless or living in extreme poverty.
The funds will be handed over to the Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby, which will purchase the tickets in bulk and hand them out to the people who need them.
“What we’re trying to do at the foundation is really enhance our community partnerships and look at the whole continuum of good health, not just your stay in the hospital, but what happens in your community, what happens before you get here, what happens after you go home and really minimize barriers to good health,” foundation president Cheryl Becir told the NOW.
The campaign will run till about mid-January, she said.
Advocates for Burnaby’s homeless say the initiative could make a real difference.
“We just know that transit is a very important tool for someone to exit homelessness,” Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby coordinator Wanda Mulholland said.
For more information or to donate, visit www.bhfoundation.ca.
