Pivot Legal Society, the undeclared crusader for residents of the DTES, along with Mountain Equipment Co-op, joined forces to keep those on the streets warm and responded to increasing numbers of residents who are ill-informed of their basic rights – regarding housing, police, security guards, and welfare- by creating lightweight, waterproof blankets with the complete statute of rights printed on them. So called “Right’s Blankets” have already received orders from organizations in Victoria and Kingston.
Pivot is a not-for-profit legal advocacy organization in Vancouver’s DTES. From their website, “Pivot’s mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. Pivot Legal Society brings a new and dynamic approach to advocacy on behalf of marginalized persons.”
The fact that many DTES residents are not adequately aware of their rights leaves them particularly vulnerable to improper treatment, an inability to properly defend themselves, or at the very least recognize when they have been mistreated. Not only does this help residents not fortunate enough to have a warm bed, this a step toward addressing the much needed issue of informing residents of their specific rights. Not to mention the nod to MEC for stepping out onto the local scene as a social innovator by addressing an issue as local as it gets.
Informing residents of their rights is by no means going to transform the DTES, but it is a positive step in helping residents recognize when their rights have been fundamentally violated, so that at the very least it can be reported.
www.pivotlegal.org
