OurHearts was founded in 2020 by Keith Wu, Arian Sadigpour, and Nathan Lee. Our vision was to ameliorate the mental and physical health disparities for residents of Skeena House, a supportive housing project spearheaded by the City of Vancouver's rapid response to homelessness. The populations we serve intersect various aspects of identity and socioeconomic status, housing primarily Indigenous Peoples who continually face discrimination and intergenerational trauma.
Over the past few years, we have been privileged to facilitate art therapy programming
dedicated to fostering a sense of community among residents. Our efforts have allowed us to build trusting relationships with the tenants at Skeena house through our biweekly events, and we hope to continue that with our initiatives moving forward.
We are currently holding two independent projects aiming to service Skeena House. Volunteers will be needed for both initiatives. Please see the descriptions below to decide which one you’d be most interested in!
1. Community Garden
We will be constructing a greenhouse in the parking lot of Skeena House where the tenants can grow their own healthy foods! The purpose of the greenhouse is to facilitate community, address food insecurity, and promote making healthy food choices. Volunteers will help set up the garden/greenhouse, participate in maintenance of stock, and help lead weekly community gardening events.
2. Art Therapy Workshops
We hold therapeutic art-themed workshops for tenants every week. In the past this has included painting, finger-knitting, and dreamcatcher weaving. Selected volunteers will interact directly with tenants, assisting them throughout the workshop and setting up activities.
For more details on the roles please find the descriptions here: Volunteer Role Descriptions
If you have any questions or difficulties with the form please email us at ourhearts.bc@gmail.com
Deadline is September 29nd at 23:59 PST
