To The Members of The Social Issues Committee

My Name is Wanda Mulholland. I am a Burnaby Citizen and Founding Member of the Burnaby Task Force on Homelessness. Currently I am the Chair of the Sub Committee on Community Awareness. Please accept my apologies for my absence tonight. It is my daughter’s dry grad formal and my duties as a mother must take priority.

In the past two years I have been an advocate for the needs of homeless people in Burnaby seeking to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in the general public and striving to improve services for homeless people in Burnaby. Through the Outreach Resource Centre I have been able to work with non-profit agencies to provide food and clothing and access to outreach workers and health care services to homeless people on a regular basis. In the course of this service I have had the opportunity to regularly meet homeless people and those less fortunate. I know many by name and I am an enthusiastic part of building a positive community.

A few weeks ago I realized the impact of this community when I was assisting my daughter in a fundraising event in front of a store at Old Orchard Mall. Four recently homeless men came by; one by one. I was so pleased when they stopped to talk to me. I introduced them to my daughter and explained about the fundraiser. Then they reached into their pockets to give of their very limited change and donated to my daughter’s fundraiser. They wanted to give back from the goodness of their hearts. They wanted to contribute and be part of a larger community.

Thank you.