Background

Meme Tees: Messages of Hope was launched on March 1, 2021 in honour of National Social Work Month in Canada and Social Work Week in BC, March 15-19, 2021.

There are intersecting levels of meaning in the message of the T-shirt; at its core, the necessity for a Circular and Care Economy.

Safe, affordable housing means Housing First, social housing, co-op housing, vacancy and rent controls — affordable housing for low and middle-income people.

Liveable income means a living minimum wage and guaranteed universal basic income.

The use of the Medicine Wheel and the importance of Indigenous teachings means that we are all interconnected with each other and all of Mother Earth; and we have a responsibility to care for and take care of one another as sisters and brothers. Further, this means Indigenous sovereignty, by Indigenous and for Indigenous led housing and embracing Indigenous ways of knowing and being, particularly in our response to the climate emergency. It also means decolonization of all our systems, especially our health and so-called social service systems, true reconciliation, #LANDBACK and reparations.

In the discussion entitled Ending Homelessness Is Possible: Lessons From Finland with Catherine Cullen Host, CBC's The House in January 2024, the take home points were that it takes political will and a culture shift in all Canadians to end homelessness; and that here has been lots of research, we know what to do, so we need to turn discussion into action.

Above all, and to quote Max Wyman, in The Compassionate Imagination: “we should treat each other with empathy and compassion, generosity and goodwill, honour and integrity, respect and civility” (p. 53).

Hello, my name is Beverley Biggs and I have been a social worker for 30 years. I started my career working in mental health housing and later in psychiatry and cancer care. Throughout my career my main focus was helping people find housing and a securing a source of income, and I know that it is vital to have a place to call home and a basic level of income so that all people may live their lives in health and with dignity.

For the last three years of my carer I worked at a primary care clinic in Vancouver, BC that serves the priority population of some Vancouver’s most vulnerable people. Many of our clients have housing, but it’s often sub-standard, while some of our clients are homeless, sleeping outside or in shelters. Two of the most frequent referrals to social work in primary care are to help people find income assistance and to aid them in the almost impossible task of securing housing.

The meme, Safe, Affordable Housing and a Liveable Income are Medicine, grew out of conversations among social work colleagues. Drawn by the power of these few simple words, I started playing around with the words to see how they would work on a T-shirt. When I encountered the beauty and power of the Indigenous Medicine Wheel and their connection to health, healing, and teaching, the idea of housing and income as essential medicine came full circle.

This meme is an inspiration from creation and honours the Indigenous Wisdom Keepers. It is my prayer for all peoples around the world.

I am a mother, grandmother, sister, immigrant and settler of Celtic Briton ancestry; my mother’s people are from Bournemouth, England and my father’s people from County Cork, Ireland, the Rebel County! I live, work and play on the unceded and stolen lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) and the Stó:lō Nations.

I sought permission to use the Medicine Wheel motif from the Elders Advisory of Vancouver Coastal Health and am grateful for their support.