City of Vancouver to replace homeless advocate after all

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – It looks like Vancouver won’t go without a homeless advocate, after all.

Just days after we told you Judy Graves would be stepping down from the job without being replaced, News1130 has learned the search for her successor is well underway.

Graves retired last week after nearly 40 years with the City; the last decade and a half of that time was spent as a homeless advocate.

Councillor Kerry Jang says the search is on for a new advocate, as well as for a supporting cast.

“It was a lot of work for one person and sometimes she’d have to go out very late at night or in the morning and so we felt that what we needed was a team,” he explains.

“So, I can call the homeless advocate of the City and then he or she can assign that work to somebody else.”

“What we found before is that Judy was able to do much of the work by herself and she was getting over-worked… because she had the skill and whatnot. But what we’re seeing, what we do need, is a homeless advocate position that’s going to be supported by a team,” adds Jang.

As for Graves herself, Jang says the 64-year-old will carry on as an advisor to the mayor and council, to help with the transition.

Jang insists her replacement will enjoy the same autonomy she did. “This is what made Judy so effective. She would have no problem phoning up myself or the mayor and saying, ‘Kerry, Gregor, this is what you guys need to do’ and then we took that direction.”

“We expect the position to be the same.”

Graves is credited for starting what would become Vancouver’s homeless count.

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