In Bergen, Norway on Thursday, May 14th, Megaphone was the proud recipient of two International Network of Street Papers (INSP) awards.
Megaphone won for:
Best Photograph – Evoking deeper perspectives on poverty and injustice:
‘Functionality’ – Ahmad Kavousian (Megaphone, Canada)
A beautifully shot image of a hammock rigged up on beach debris - as Vancouver’s lack of affordable housing pushes more and more people onto the streets, the photo expresses the lengths to which some are driven just to find a place to sleep.
and for an article that was published in The Tyee and then republished in Megaphone:
Special Award for External Press: Advocating for the needs and rights of homeless people:
‘Falling Through the Cracks’ – Sean Condon (TheTyee.ca, Canada)
Paul ‘Duncan’ Geisbrecht, a Vancouver homeless man, suffered from schizophrenia and crack cocaine addiction. When he died last year, he was just one week away from entering supportive housing. Tracing Paul’s life story, this piece illustrates how faults in Canada’s social system can have tragic consequences for society’s most vulnerable.
On behalf of all of Megaphone's vendors and volunteers, I would just like to express what a great honour it is to have won these awards. The international network of street papers is a growing movement that is reshaping the debate about poverty while helping provide thousands of low-threshold jobs to homeless and low-income people. We here at Megaphone are very privileged to be a part of this movement and thank all the other street papers for their generous support.
Megaphone is extremely lucky to have such a wonderful core of vendors who inspire us everyday. They work hard to become self-sufficient and promote the paper and the challenges and barriers they overcome have made us all incredibly proud. We are dedicated to supporting our vendors and these awards are a sign that everyone's hard work is paying off.
Lastly, I would like thank Ahmad and The Tyee for their support and effort. Ahamd's photo captures the sad absurdity of homelessness in Vancouver and he generously offered the photo to us for publication. The Tyee has a been a great supporter of Megaphone's work and have been a leading voice in Vancouver about ending homelessness. We thank both for their determined and professional dedication in raising awareness about poverty.
