A story printed in the Vancouver Sun about an elementary school teacher struggling to support her needy students in one of Vancouver’s inner city schools, has inspired an outpouring of generosity, according to Janet Steffenhagen, the journalist who wrote the story. 

The story came about when Carrie Gelson, a Grade 2-3 split teacher from Seymour elementary on Keefer Street, circulated a letter address to “the people of Vancouver", regarding the class that she teaches.

My students live in the inner city. They don’t have a lot. Some are grateful for a house because last year they were homeless. Some value school because it is the place of comfort – of daily breakfast, of hot lunch, of abundant books, adults who care and if they are lucky, clothes and toys passed on when they need them.

The letter goes on to say how many of the children are not having their basic needs met, and that it's impossible for her to keep up. Gelson says her school doesn’t have sufficient resources to help the students and compiles a list of her own needs, so that she may be better suited to tackle the issues.

• Snacks. Recess snacks. Snacks for children who arrived late and missed breakfast. We have had donations and thank goodness. But I have many hungry kids and the stash in my file cabinet won’t last.
• Socks. Warm, dry and the proper size. I have many sockless kids. The rains are coming. This just isn’t okay.
• Boy’s shoes size 3 or 4 because a pair that come to my class every day have holes. Girls size 13 – 2 because more than a few of us need them.
• A counselor for my cloakroom. Because we have had tears in there and we are working through stuff but in the middle of math it is hard to address sadness that just overwhelms you suddenly. Overwhelms you at age seven or eight. Our school has one counselor that comes for part of one day each week. She is there less than 4 days a month. She serves a school that is situated in the downtown eastside. We are not about a student number = counselor time ratio. We have bigger needs. Plain and simple.
• Advocates. Lots of them. Because some of us have ministry designations that are supposed to bring “in class” support and this support has been cut. Again. 
• Affordable, safe housing. Some of us don’t go home to a home but to a shelter or a relative’s couch.

In the letter, Gelson solicits help, while calling on the public to come up with ideas that would address the challenges faced by Vancouver’s inner city kids. 

Meanwhile, Steffenhagen says she has been inundated with messages from people who want to help, and promises to update her blog as she receives more responses.

In the meantime, you can read the original article by clicking here, and read Gelson’s letter to Vancouver by clicking here.

For additional reading, check out this OpenFile article on the importance of food and diets for students.

So, what are your ideas Vancouver?