Local collaboration sees 455 hams delivered to Kamloops Food Bank in time for Christmas (Kamloops)
After Trump's Project 2025 denials, he is tapping its authors and influencers for key rolesA Legacy of Visionary Leadership and Inclusive Growth
Zoe Ball's son shares emotional update as he breaks silence on BBC Radio 2 exitThere are a few misconceptions that First, he’s fine with his place in the NBA “I don’t know if y’all noticed, but last year I didn’t look really engaged, or not a lot of energy ... with other teams, because I was playing on one leg,” Brown said after at the team’s practice facility Saturday. “I want that to be addressed. I know a lot of fans didn’t think I played with a lot of energy and I didn’t want to be here — that’s on social media — but I do want to be here, I do want to play with these guys. It’s a great bunch of guys, great coaches, great organization.” Second, he reiterates that the Brown who struggled through half of last season with the Raptors — after — was a shell of himself. Despite 2-12 start, the young team has kept a positive atmosphere, understanding where they are in the development stage. Despite 2-12 start, the young team has kept a positive atmosphere, understanding where they are in the development stage. “I was literally playing on one leg,” he said. “It was tough for me mentally. I couldn’t move the way I wanted, play defence the way I wanted to, so it was tough.” Oh, and he’s ready to make an impact — as soon as Sunday night, when the Raptors begin a four-game road trip in Cleveland against the Cavaliers. “Just wait and see,” he cautioned. “I’m ready to hoop.” Brown took care of his physical issues with late-summer surgery to clean up a problem with his right knee. He tried to rehab it with rest and treatment in the off-season, but it didn’t get better. When the same pain and mobility issues resurfaced in September, it was time for the surgeon’s knife. It kept the 28-year-old NBA veteran out of Toronto’s first 16 games, but he’s ready now. And the Raptors are ready to use him. “I’m a big fan of Bruce,” “(A) couple years ago, I was studying the best cutters in the league and Bruce was on the top of that list — just the way he cuts, his offensive IQ, defensive disruption, active hands. “I think there is a lot of that he can bring to the team when he’s fully healthy, and when he’s right.” Who would you rather be: the team paying a mercurial and injury-plagued Embiid $193 million and Paul George another $154 million, or these Raptors? Who would you rather be: the team paying a mercurial and injury-plagued Embiid $193 million and Paul George another $154 million, or these Raptors? Brown would seem to possess the attributes the Raptors want. He’s a good off-the-ball scoring threat, a career 34 per cent shooter from three-point distance and a versatile defender able to guard several positions. Most important? He knows how to fill a complementary role after spending the 2022-23 season working off “Since I got in the league I’ve played with all-NBA guys every year, so I’m pretty much playing off them,” he said. “Went to Denver, an elite offence playing with Nikola Jokic, just learning different ways to score without the ball. Because everyone likes to score and I’m playing with all-NBA guys, so I’m not going to have the ball in my hands much.” Brown’s biggest contribution so far this season has been off the court. He gifted everyone in the organization with a pair of cowboy boots — it goes with his Cowboy Bruce persona — and said he “just wanted to give them something and welcome them into my world a little bit.” Somehow, he convinced to don a cowboy hat on the bench when both were injured. From merchandise giveaways to jackpots, no Raptors promotion has been more popular — and divisive — than Pizza Pizza’s Score a Slice. From merchandise giveaways to jackpots, no Raptors promotion has been more popular — and divisive — than Pizza Pizza’s Score a Slice. Barnes, according to Brown, has some work to do on the look. “Bad hat — it was not a good hat,” Brown said. “Everything else was pretty fine. I corrected a little thing — the belt has to match the boots and all that — but the hat was not good.”
CHICAGO — After eight years on the waitlist, Mikia Knighten was excited to learn in October 2022 that she had received a housing voucher from the Chicago Housing Authority. The rental subsidy would allow her to move to a better neighborhood with better opportunities for her and her now 4-year-old daughter, she said. It was going to “take a little bit of a load off” in a high-cost housing market, she said. But after spending about eight months applying for apartments, Knighten found no landlord willing to accept her rental subsidy, and her allotted time from CHA to find a unit where she could use her voucher was up, according to the lawsuit she filed in August alleging that housing providers discriminated against her based on her source of income. Knighten’s lawsuit alleges that housing providers said they did not accept housing vouchers, did not work with CHA or did not respond when she told them she had a housing voucher. “It was really dehumanizing,” Knighten said. There’s “a real stigma behind having the voucher.” Within the last year and a half, housing attorneys have filed some of the first lawsuits, including Knighten’s, allowed under Illinois’ nearly two-year-old statewide law preventing discrimination on the basis of someone’s source of income. All the complaints allege that the plaintiffs, who had housing vouchers, were discriminated against. Advocates said the discrimination is still widespread across the city and state despite the law, and they’re eager for legal rulings to help hold real estate professionals accountable. As the cases wind their way through the court system, housing counseling and legal aid organizations are continuing to enforce the law through other means, such as filing claims with local and state human rights agencies. Before the new state law took effect, attorneys were not legally allowed to sue alleging source of income discrimination; the local human rights commissions in Chicago and Cook County were the primary route for holding housing providers accountable, and their rulings do not come with consequences as severe as lawsuit verdicts. Knighten, who lives in Lansing, is suing 14 parties, ranging from individuals to real estate brokerages to smaller corporations. Some defendants did not return requests for comment. Others said they did not know they were being sued, that they were no longer the owners of the property in question, had not heard of the plaintiff or declined to comment on pending litigation. Knighten’s voucher was through the Housing Choice Voucher Program, the primary federal housing voucher program. Formerly known as Section 8, it allows public housing authorities to provide subsidies to low-income residents to find housing in the private market. The multi-billion-dollar program, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through local public housing authorities, helps more than 2 million households nationwide. The Chicago Housing Authority is supplying vouchers to more than 52,000 renters through the program, according to HUD data. Residents with vouchers from the CHA pay 30% to 40% of their income toward rent and utilities; the CHA covers the rest. It can take years, sometimes decades, to get off the waitlist for a housing voucher. About 18,000 households are on the CHA’s waitlist. When the agency last opened the waitlist for four weeks in 2014, it got 280,000 applications, 70,000 of which were approved for the list. In Illinois, the majority of voucher holders are Black, like Knighten, as the Black population has historically faced racial discrimination preventing them from building wealth, making them more likely to use vouchers. Housing advocates said source of income discrimination is another form of racial discrimination. For those who do get off the waitlist, in 2022 only 61% were able to use their CHA vouchers, the agency’s most recent year with complete data. The CHA data are consistent with national figures. Only 60% of voucher holders are able to use them to lease homes, according to a 2024 national study conducted with data from 2015 to 2019 by New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. The numbers are worse for markets with an older housing stock and for voucher recipients of color, the study says, both of which apply to Chicago. Michael Mini, executive vice president of the Chicagoland Apartment Association, a trade group that represents housing providers, said he has not heard of any problems or concerns related to source of income discrimination. The “vast majority” of his members are “very familiar” with the voucher program and had already been following the city and county laws prior to the statewide law’s passage, Mini said. He said his organization notified its members downstate and beyond when the state law was passed. “Source of income is a protected class. Like any other protected class, we expect our members to comply with the law,” Mini said. But housing advocates said source of income discrimination happens overtly and covertly. Sometimes real estate professionals explicitly say they will not accept a housing voucher; other times they do not count the voucher toward a renter’s income and say the renter does not have sufficient income to qualify for the unit. Many property owners and managers require a renter’s monthly income to be three times the monthly rent. And sometimes required credit scores and high application fees are limiting factors for voucher holders. “There are always emerging strategies ... that a landlord can employ that really accomplish the same thing,” said Susan Theiss, an attorney focused on fair housing rights with Legal Aid Chicago. “Landlords are always shifting the ground when they really don’t want to rent to people with housing assistance.” Theiss and other advocates said the number of callers alleging source of income discrimination has increased since the state law passed, a sign that information about it is getting out. In one case, fair-housing counseling organization Open Communities and one of its clients filed a lawsuit in 2023 in federal court in Chicago against national property management company Harbor Group Management and software company PERQ. The lawsuit alleged that Harbor Group Management employed an artificial intelligence chatbot that systematically rejected online applicants who had Housing Choice Vouchers. In January, the parties settled for monetary damages and entered into a two-year consent decree that requires Harbor Group to provide Open Communities data and access related to its fair-housing policies and practices, including its use of PERQ software. Advocates and their clients are also using the new state law to help with eviction cases and are still filing cases through the local and new state human rights commissions. Allison Bethel, director of the Fair Housing Legal Clinic at University of Illinois Chicago, said she has clients who are voucher holders and are being evicted and/or are facing poor living conditions or fines because of their source of income. The clinic has settled cases where clients have stayed housed or received money, Bethel said. The Chicago Commission on Human Relations estimates it has received 1,700 complaints related to source of income discrimination since 1990, the year the agency began handling these types of complaints. The commission saw the number more than double from 2022 to 2023, with 101 source of income discrimination complaints filed in 2023, according to agency data provided to the Tribune. In Cook County, fewer than 75 complaints have been filed since 2013, when it made source of income discrimination illegal, according to the county. Since 2022 the Cook County Commission on Human Rights has seen an uptick in filings. The Illinois Department of Human Rights, which began accepting source of income complaints in January 2023, when the statewide law took effect, received 34 complaints in 2023 and 48 in 2024 as of November, according to data provided to the Tribune. Advocates and attorneys say some cases are settled before an investigation is completed. They also said it can take several months to over a year for the IDHR to process and investigate a complaint, with many of its cases still awaiting results. Some of those advocates said they hope this process can be sped up. As Illinois heads into year three of its statewide source of income protections, housing advocates will continue their work and await verdicts that they hope can help guide their paths forward. For Knighten — who works at a call center and is paying more than 1.5 times as much for rent as she would have with a voucher — she hopes her case raises awareness. “Just because people are getting assistance from the government doesn’t make them less of a person,” Knighten said. “(I want to) make sure no one else has to go through what I went through when they are just trying to get help to survive.” Gov. JB Pritzker announces Illinois' new "Help Stop Hate" program during an Oct. 30 news conference. Hate crime incidents are at a record high since the FBI began collecting the data in 1991. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox!PLAINS, Ga. — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at his home in Plains, Georgia. His death comes more than a year after the former president entered hospice care. He was 100 years old. Here are some significant events in Jimmy Carter's life: — Oct. 1, 1924: James Earl Carter Jr. is born in Plains, Georgia, son of James Sr. and Lillian Gordy Carter. — June 1946: Carter graduates from the U.S. Naval Academy. — July 1946: Carter marries Rosalynn Smith, in Plains. They have four children, John William (“Jack”), born 1947; James Earl 3rd (“Chip”), 1950; Donnel Jeffrey (Jeff), 1952; and Amy Lynn, 1967. — 1946-1953: Carter serves in a Navy nuclear submarine program, attaining rank of lieutenant commander. — Summer 1953: Carter resigns from the Navy, returns to Plains after father’s death. — 1953-1971: Carter helps run the family peanut farm and warehouse business. — 1963-1966: Carter serves in the Georgia state Senate. — 1966: Carter tries unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. — November 1970: Carter is elected governor of Georgia. Serves 1971-75. — Dec. 12, 1974: Carter announces a presidential bid. Atlanta newspaper answers with headline: “Jimmy Who?” — January 1976: Carter leads the Democratic field in Iowa, a huge campaign boost that also helps to establish Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucus. — July 1976: Carter accepts the Democratic nomination and announces Sen. Walter Mondale of Minnesota as running mate. — November 1976: Carter defeats President Gerald R. Ford, winning 51% of the vote and 297 electoral votes to Ford’s 240. — January 1977: Carter is sworn in as the 39th president of the United States. On his first full day in office, he pardons most Vietnam-era draft evaders. —September 1977: U.S. and Panama sign treaties to return the Panama Canal back to Panama in 1999. Senate narrowly ratifies them in 1978. — September 1978: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Carter sign Camp David accords, which lead to a peace deal between Egypt and Israel the following year. — June 15-18, 1979: Carter attends a summit with Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev in Vienna that leads to the signing of the SALT II treaty. — November 1979: Iranian militants storm the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 52 hostages. All survive and are freed minutes after Carter leaves office in January 1981. — April 1980: The Mariel boatlift begins, sending tens of thousands of Cubans to the U.S. Many are criminals and psychiatric patients set free by Cuban leader Fidel Castro, creating a major foreign policy crisis. — April 1980: An attempt by the U.S. to free hostages fails when a helicopter crashes into a transport plane in Iran, killing eight servicemen. — Nov. 4, 1980: Carter is denied a second term by Ronald Reagan, who wins 51.6% of the popular vote to 41.7% for Carter and 6.7% to independent John Anderson. — 1982: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter co-found The Carter Center in Atlanta, whose mission is to resolve conflicts, protect human rights and prevent disease around the world. — September 1984: The Carters spend a week building Habitat for Humanity houses, launching what becomes the annual Carter Work Project. — October 1986: A dedication is held for The Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta. The center includes the Carter Presidential Library and Museum and Carter Center offices. — 1989: Carter leads the Carter Center’s first election monitoring mission, declaring Panamanian Gen. Manuel Noriega’s election fraudulent. — May 1992: Carter meets with Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev at the Carter Center to discuss forming the Gorbachev Foundation. — June 1994: Carter plays a key role in North Korea nuclear disarmament talks. — September 1994: Carter leads a delegation to Haiti, arranging terms to avoid a U.S. invasion and return President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power. — December 1994: Carter negotiates tentative cease-fire in Bosnia. — March 1995: Carter mediates cease-fire in Sudan’s war with southern rebels. — September 1995: Carter travels to Africa to advance the peace process in more troubled areas. — December 1998: Carter receives U.N. Human Rights Prize on 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. — August 1999: President Bill Clinton awards Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter the Presidential Medal of Freedom. — September 2001: Carter joins former Presidents Ford, Bush and Clinton at a prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington after Sept. 11 attacks. — April 2002: Carter’s book “An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood” chosen as finalist for Pulitzer Prize in biography. — May 2002: Carter visits Cuba and addresses the communist nation on television. He is the highest-ranking American to visit in decades. — Dec. 10, 2002: Carter is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his “untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” — July 2007: Carter joins The Elders, a group of international leaders brought together by Nelson Mandela to focus on global issues. — Spring 2008: Carter remains officially neutral as Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton battle each other for the Democratic presidential nomination. — April 2008: Carter stirs controversy by meeting with the Islamic militant group Hamas. — August 2010: Carter travels to North Korea as the Carter Center negotiates the release of an imprisoned American teacher. — August 2013: Carter joins President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton at the 50th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech and the March on Washington. — Oct. 1, 2014: Carter celebrates his 90th birthday. — December 2014: Carter is nominated for a Grammy in the best spoken word album category, for his book “A Call To Action.” — May 2015: Carter returns early from an election observation visit in Guyana — the Carter Center’s 100th — after feeling unwell. — August 2015: Carter has a small cancerous mass removed from his liver. He plans to receive treatment at Emory Healthcare in Atlanta. — August 2015: Carter announces that his grandson Jason Carter will chair the Carter Center governing board. — March 6, 2016: Carter says an experimental drug has eliminated any sign of his cancer, and that he needs no further treatment. — May 25, 2016: Carter steps back from a “front-line” role with The Elders to become an emeritus member. — July 2016: Carter is treated for dehydration during a Habitat for Humanity build in Canada. — Spring 2018: Carter publishes “Faith: A Journey for All,” the last of 32 books. — March 22, 2019: Carter becomes the longest-lived U.S. president, surpassing President George H.W. Bush, who died in 2018. — September 18, 2019: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter deliver their final in-person annual report at the Carter Center. — October 2019: At 95, still recovering from a fall, Carter joins the Work Project with Habitat for Humanity in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s the last time he works personally on the annual project. — Fall 2019-early 2020: Democratic presidential hopefuls visit, publicly embracing Carter as a party elder, a first for his post-presidency. — November 2020:The Carter Center monitors an audit of presidential election results in the state of Georgia, marking a new era of democracy advocacy within the U.S. — Jan. 20, 2021: The Carters miss President Joe Biden’s swearing-in, the first presidential inauguration they don’t attend since Carter’s own ceremony in 1977. The Bidens later visit the Carters in Plains on April 29. — Feb. 19, 2023: Carter enters home hospice care after a series of short hospital stays. — July 7, 2023: The Carters celebrate their 77th and final wedding anniversary. — Nov. 19, 2023: Rosalynn Carter dies at home, two days after the family announced that she had joined the former president in receiving hospice care. — Oct. 1, 2024 — Carter becomes the first former U.S. president to reach 100 years of age , celebrating at home with extended family and close friends. — Oct. 16, 2024 — Carter casts a Georgia mail ballot for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, having told his family he wanted to live long enough to vote for her. It marks his 21st presidential election as a voter. — Dec. 29, 2024: Carter dies at home.( MENAFN - EIN Presswire) CANADA, December 29 - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on the passing of Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States of America: “Today, the world lost a great leader and statesman, and Canada a dear friend, with the passing of former President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter. On behalf of all Canadians, I offer our deepest condolences to his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his extended family and friends. “I remember my father speaking highly of President Carter as a man of deep faith, strong morals, and firm principles. I had the honour of meeting him a few times over the past decades, and he was always kind and thoughtful, and generous with his advice to me about public service. “His life embodied the American Dream, rising as he did from humble roots in Plains, Georgia, to become leader of the United States of America. As President, he took a strong stand to support peace and human rights around the globe, most notably by helping negotiate peace between Egypt and Israel. At home, his actions and reforms laid the groundwork for the economic boom of the 1980s. “President Carter also redefined post-presidency life. He remained heavily involved in conflict resolution, democracy promotion, and disease prevention worldwide through the Carter Center, which he founded in 1982, and as a member of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders. For 39 years, he also held an annual town hall with first-year students at Emory University, encouraging and inspiring young people to engage in politics and public service. “For more than 35 years, he and his late wife Rosalynn also gave generously of their time to Habitat for Humanity, leading projects to build, renovate, and repair thousands of homes in countries around the world. In 2017, the Carters led their 34th Carter Work Project right here in Canada, building 150 homes in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Confederation – a lasting gift to families across our country. “In recognition of his significant accomplishments in office and afterward, President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. “On this sombre day, we join our American neighbours and friends to mourn a former President and a lifelong humanitarian, whose selfless service will continue to inspire others to make the world a better place.” Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above. MENAFN29122024003118003196ID1109040145 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
BOSTON — Forty years ago, Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie rolled to his right and threw a pass that has become one of college football’s most iconic moments. With Boston College trailing defending champion Miami, Flutie threw the Hail Mary and found receiver Gerard Phalen, who made the grab while falling into the end zone behind a pair of defenders for a game-winning 48-yard TD. Flutie and many of his 1984 teammates were honored on the field during BC’s 41-21 victory over North Carolina before the second quarter on Saturday afternoon, the anniversary of the Eagles’ Miracle in Miami. “There’s no way its been 40 years,” Flutie told The Associated Press on the sideline a few minutes before he walked out with some of his former teammates to be recognized after a video of The Play was shown on the scoreboards. A statue commemorating Doug Flutie's famed "Hail Mary" pass during a game against Miami on Nov. 23, 1994, sits outside Alumni Stadium at Boston College. Famous football plays often attain a legendary status with religious names like the "Immaculate Reception," the "Hail Mary" pass and the Holy Roller fumble. It’s a moment and highlight that’s not only played throughout decades of BC students and fans, but around the college football world. “What is really so humbling is that the kids 40 years later are wearing 22 jerseys, still,” Flutie said of his old number. “That amazes me.” That game was played on national TV the Friday after Thanksgiving. The ironic thing is it was originally scheduled for earlier in the season before CBS paid Rutgers to move its game against Miami, thus setting up the BC-Miami post-holiday matchup. Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie rejoices in his brother Darren's arms after B.C. defeats Miami with a last second touchdown pass on Nov. 23, 1984, in Miami. “It shows you how random some things are, that the game was moved,” Flutie said. “The game got moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving, which was the most watched game of the year. We both end up being nationally ranked and up there. All those things lent to how big the game itself was, and made the pass and the catch that much more relevant and remembered because so many people were watching.” There’s a statue of Flutie winding up to make The Pass outside the north gates at Alumni Stadium. Fans and visitors can often be seen taking photos there. “In casual conversation, it comes up every day,” Flutie said, when asked how many times people bring it up. “It brings a smile to my face every time we talk about it.” A week after the game-ending Flutie pass, the Eagles beat Holy Cross and before he flew off to New York to accept the Heisman. They went on to win the 49th Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day. Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie evades Miami defensive tackle Kevin Fagan during the first quarter of a game on Nov. 23, 1984, in Miami, Fla. “Forty years seem almost like incomprehensible,” said Phalen, also standing on the sideline a few minutes after the game started. “I always say to Doug: ‘Thank God for social media. It’s kept it alive for us.”’ Earlier this week, current BC coach Bill O’Brien, 55, was asked if he remembered where he was 40 years ago. “We were eating Thanksgiving leftovers in my family room,” he said. “My mom was saying a Rosary in the kitchen because she didn’t like Miami and wanted BC to win. My dad, my brother and I were watching the game. “It was unbelievable,” he said. “Everybody remembers where they were for the Hail Mary, Flutie pass.” Mike Tyson, left, slaps Jake Paul during a weigh-in ahead of their heavyweight bout, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) In this image taken with a slow shutter speed, Spain's tennis player Rafael Nadal serves during a training session at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) A fan takes a picture of the moon prior to a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Uruguay and Colombia in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Santiago Mazzarovich) Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark reacts after missing a shot on the 18th hole in the final round of World Tour Golf Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri) Taylor Fritz of the United States reacts during the final match of the ATP World Tour Finals against Italy's Jannik Sinner at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni) Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (1) fails to pull in a pass against Atlanta Falcons cornerback Dee Alford (20) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson) Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love, top right, scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Chicago, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh) India's Tilak Varma jumps in the air as he celebrates after scoring a century during the third T20 International cricket match between South Africa and India, at Centurion Park in Centurion, South Africa, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski warms up before facing the Seattle Kraken in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) Kansas State players run onto the field before an NCAA college football game against Arizona State Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) A fan rapped in an Uruguay flag arrives to the stands for a qualifying soccer match against Colombia for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Montevideo, Uruguay, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico) People practice folding a giant United States flag before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Brazil's Marquinhos attempts to stop the sprinklers that were turned on during a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Venezuela at Monumental stadium in Maturin, Venezuela, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos) Georgia's Georges Mikautadze celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the UEFA Nations League, group B1 soccer match between Georgia and Ukraine at the AdjaraBet Arena in Batumi, Georgia, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Tamuna Kulumbegashvili) Dallas Stars center Mavrik Bourque, right, attempts to score while Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) and Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) keep the puck out of the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt) Mike Tyson, left, fights Jake Paul during their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario misses the third goal during the Nations League soccer match between Italy and France, at the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno) Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki (88) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Las Vegas Raiders during the second half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) President-elect Donald Trump attends UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Fans argue in stands during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between France and Israel at the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Thursday Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova hits a return against Danielle Collins, of the United States, during a tennis match at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Malaga, southern Spain. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. (12) falls after driving to the basket during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against New Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith) England's Anthony Gordon celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between England and the Republic of Ireland at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Katie Taylor, left, lands a right to Amanda Serrano during their undisputed super lightweight title bout, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver DJ Turner, right, tackles Miami Dolphins wide receiver Malik Washington, left, on a punt return during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) UConn's Paige Bueckers (5) battles North Carolina's Laila Hull, right, for a loose ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Greensboro, N.C., Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown) Get local news delivered to your inbox!Carl Black Chevrolet Introduces the 2025 Chevy Suburban for Sale Near Nashville with New Research Pages Available
A former president of the Calgary Homeless Foundation says he is deeply concerned by the Alberta government’s recent decision to overhaul the funding scheme for organizations providing services to homeless people. Tim Richter, who served as the foundation’s president from 2008 to 2012 and who now leads the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, a national charity, says the change is dangerous and will lead to more people falling through the cracks. Under the current model, the foundation and six other non-profit and other organizations act as local hubs and receive a lump sum of government money, which they distribute to smaller organizations in their area. But provincial Community and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon announced Friday that the government plans to ditch that model, and distribute the funding itself through existing government grants. Richter says under the current model, hub organizations like the foundation and Edmonton’s Homeward Trust ensure that smaller organizations within the same city work together to ensure needed services are available, and gaps are filled. He worries that under the new model, that unity and communication will be lost. “This turns back the clock on the homelessness response in Alberta 15 years,” he said. “It is a terribly dangerous move that will cost more, hurt people in the long run, and leave homelessness to explode across the province.” However, Nixon said Friday that the agencies receiving funding to dole out are essentially acting as middlemen, and it will be more efficient to eliminate that step. He also said the new process would improve “accountability and oversight” of the programs and services made available through the funding, and gave a couple of examples of funds being used in ways that didn’t align with the government’s goals. “We’ve seen evidence in the past of organizations distributing tents out into the community,” he said. “That would be a great example of where our government is focused on shelter and housing, not on providing encampments.” In an interview late Friday Nixon dismissed Richter’s concerns. “(Funding) will continue to be based on community need, and continue to go to frontline services associated in those communities,” he said. He also said the government provides a combined $101.5 million annually to the seven hub organizations and the new model is anticipated to increase the funding available. But Richter said the province will lose the local oversight and flexibility that the hub organizations provide. “Homelessness is local, and you need local leadership and local focus and local decision-making,” Richter said. “Who will be more efficient and more effective in coordinating a local response, people on the ground or somebody in a government office in Edmonton?” “What this announcement signals is that the government of Alberta does not want to solve homelessness, because solving homelessness requires building coordinated systems focused on ending it.” In an email Friday Homeward Trust said it wasn’t able to comment on the change. Kaely Cormack, a spokesperson for the Calgary Homeless Foundation, said the agency was only notified of the change Friday and is waiting for more details from the government. Janis Irwin, the Opposition NDP housing critic, is also critical of the government’s overhaul and says the move raises questions about which anti-homelessness organizations will receive funding going forward. Irwin said that given the UCP government’s staunch opposition to harm reduction services and total focus on addiction recovery, she thinks organizations like Boyle Street Community Services in her Edmonton riding could be at risk for losing funding. “I think it’s fair to think that they’ll be in jeopardy under this plan,” Irwin said, adding that she’s also concerned the province will lose data the hub organizations provide on homelessness in the province. “They’re going to be taking away the support for these organizations that provide the data that they should be using to make evidence-based decisions and they’re really going to be putting a whole lot of more unhoused folks at risk.” Nixon also announced Friday that a panel was being established to advise the government’s approach to homelessness, with a specific focus on homelessness in rural areas. The panel will also be tasked with engaging service providers on the new funding process over the next few months.