A Have an idea for a story? Minews@theotherpress.ca Counsellors day at Douglas sees record turnout success >» Online events: a constant after COVID times? Jessica Berget Assistant Editor ‘Ox October 2, Douglas College hosted its annual Counsellors Day event. The event was made for high school counsellors across BC to learn about new programs and services that they can use to further help their students. Normally, this would be the time of year at Douglas when we see high school counsellors touring either of the college campuses, but this year (for COVID related reasons), the event was moved to an online platform—and was met with more success than that in previous years. To find out more about this event, why Douglas hosts it, and what made this year’s turnout so successful, the Other Press talked to the Manager of the Future Students Office at Douglas College, Eric Glanville. He says that the college has been hosting this event (produced by the future student's office) since 2007, but other departments have done it as well in the years prior. Having never heard of it, I asked why Douglas hosts this event each year and why it is significant. “High school counsellors are some of the most important partners we have in the community. They help to educate students about what Douglas College has to offer and support them through the exploration and application phase of their post-secondary career. [We] host this event to provide counsellors with the information and contacts that they need to perform these activities successfully,” said Glanville in an email to the Other Press. Some might think the presence of a virus would put a halt to this event, yet it had more success in an online format. Glanville mentions with it being online, a new record was set for the event’s registrations. “By the time the event started, there were 129 counsellors on the guest list. This is 30 percent more than our previous record. 91 counsellors attended all or part of the sessions of that day—another record,” he said. “Usually, all high school counsellors from Lower Mainland schools would attend, but with it being online this year, counsellors from all around BC were able to participate.” Glanville even mentions the possibility of having future meetings be a in-person/online hybrid because of this year’s success. “Given the advantages that we have seen in all of our new online services, it’s quite likely that we will pursue a hybrid model of on-campus and online events in the future. This would allow us to restore the value of face-to-face interactions while preserving some of the ¢ More than a thousand protest mandatory masks and lockdowns e Fire in the disco! ¢ Did Trump condemn white supremacy? ..and more COUNSELLORS’ unique benefits of web-based platforms.” While there are some challenges with hosting events like this online, the benefits of an online format arguably outweigh the negatives. Glanville says it took some time to find the best platform and process for this event along with some logistical errors and technical difficulties, as with every online seminar. Yet, having it online offers many more advantages. “We had counsellors from schools as far away as Kelowna and Fernie, who would almost Mo money, fewer problems? » Specific group of homeless people given money in study succeed in exiting homelessness Craig Allan Staff Writer he issue of homelessness is a hot button topic for Vancouver. With tent cities springing up in many parts of the Lower Mainland, many are wondering what the solution is to ending homelessness. There are old sayings about money, like “Mo money, mo problems,” and “You can’t throw money at a problem and make it go away,” but according to a study from a research group at the University of British Columbia, that may just be the solution. Homelessness may seem look like a years long endeavour, but the truth is, most homeless people in Canada are only homeless for about a month. While there are some homeless people experience this long term, that is a minority in the homeless community. For many, it not chronic, and in most cases is actually just a one-time occurrence. In an experiment covered by the New Leaf Project, people who had been homeless for at least six months and did not have any drug addiction issues were given $7500 to spend on whatever they wanted. The results were, according to Photo by Arnaldo Fragozo Claire Williams, CEO of Foundations for Social Change, “beautifully surprising.” A year after the experiment started, Illustration by Udeshi Seneviratne certainly not be able to join a live event on campus,” said Glanville. While online formats do take away much of the personability of in-person meetings, there is something to be said about the accessibility of using online formats for meetings, events, and classes. Will Douglas continue to use online formats after in-person classes begin again? Only time will tell. results found that not only had the testers spent the money on necessary life needs like housing, food, medicine, and transportation, but they also managed to have $1000 left over after 12 months. The article did not mention if there were any test subjects who failed to spend the money responsibly. Some may have the perception that homeless people mismanage money, but this trial shows the opposite—at least in this sample size of 15 people. Considering that taxpayers indirectly pay $55,000 per homeless individual, this direct form of monetary assistance would actually save taxpayers almost half-a-million dollars a year. The study also had a control group of people who were not given any money to use as a comparison. The study found that the people without the influx of cash took longer to get out of poverty; it took them five months compared to the three months it took for the group who received money. It is unknown if this study would work with people who are drug addicted or suffering through mental disabilities.