Ways to be involved with P.O.W.E.R.
P.O.W.E.R. is currently able to take on social work (BSW, MSW) practicum students.
If you are interested in completing your practicum with P.O.W.E.R., please write to us at power(@)vandu.org. Your email should include:
A resume/CV
The name of program you are attending; what year you are in
A brief note on why you are interested in P.O.W.E.R.
Unfortunately, P.O.W.E.R. does not currently have the financial resources to pay practicum students at the moment. P.O.W.E.R. may or may not meet your schools’ requirements for placement, in which case we may be able to coordinate with supporting organizations on a case-by-case basis.
Completing a practicum at P.O.W.E.R. is not a ‘typical’ social work role (i.e., within a health authority, supportive/transitional housing, or family policing system). However, we do have an experienced, registered social worker (MSW) who is involved with the project and can provide supervision.
An individual plan will be tailored to applicants consisting of a mix of facilitating drop-ins, outreach, sharing circles, academic and non-academic writing, strategic meetings, research and administrative work–including a strong possibility of some hours being completed from home. Applicants must also attend one administrative/steering meeting with the group prior to a final decision on placement.
Volunteer.
If you are interested in volunteering with P.O.W.E.R., please write to us at power(@)vandu.org. Please outline ways you may want to contribute (i.e., administrative work, outreach, events, data entry), some sense of your capacity, and why you want to be involved. Shorter, concise messages are preferred. Attaching a resume/CV is optional. Volunteer roles are currently unpaid.
If it seems like a good fit, volunteers will first be asked to attend an appropriate meeting to meet more of the crew.
Report a police/law enforcement incident during our drop-in hours.
P.O.W.E.R. continues to have weekly drop-in hours at 380 East Hastings (VANDU) on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm for people to report incidents they had with law enforcement organizations (police, bylaw, park rangers, private security). This is also a way to get involved with future sharing circles, research, and/or paid roles for people with lived/living experience in the research project*.
(*however, our 10-person waitlist is full at this time).
Financial support.
P.O.W.E.R. is not currently set up to receive external financial support. Please check back for when this changes.