A.J. Withers Speaks Out on Homelessness Crisis in Georgia Straight: Vancouver Counts Miss The Mark

Vancouver is underestimating the number of people in the city who are homeless, according to A.J. Withers, the Ruth Wynn Woodward Junior Chair of the Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies Department.

The Georgia Straight invited Withers, who is both an activist and academic, to contribute a commentary on the impact of Vancouver's inaccurate “homeless count” on the city's growing crisis and the inadequate support available to marginalized people. The commentary is in response to an earlier article in the Georgia Straight, where Withers brought attention to Vancouver's flawed approach to estimating the number of unhoused people living in the city.

Withers, who recently detailed their experiences as an advocate for the homeless in their book, Fight to Win: Inside Poor People’s Organizing, is resolute that “The solution doesn’t lie in more study. It lies in action.”