Vancouver, June 18, 2010 - A two-day summit, Health of the Homeless, will bring together top Canadian experts to discuss research and solutions for improving the health of those who are homeless in Vancouver.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson will be joined by Micheal Kirby, Chair of the Mental Health Commission, Dr. Michael Krausz, Providence Health Care BC Leadership Chair in Addiction Research, Gabor Mate, author and physician, and other experts from the housing, health, academic, government, non-profit, homeless advocacy and police sectors.

When:                  8 am – 3:30 pm Monday, June 21, 2010
                            8 am – 6 pm Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Where:               SFU Vancouver Campus – Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, 580 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC

Basic care is too often inaccessible for the homeless, and there is growing evidence of serious health challenges for people living in substandard housing. Experts will speak to the need for an integrated solution that addresses both housing and health care.

The conference is hosted by the City of Vancouver and the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHEOS) at St. Paul’s Hospital. Sponsors include Providence Health Care, Vancouver Coastal Health, Simon Fraser University, UBC Department of Psychiatry and the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

For a complete line-up of speakers and topics, please see the attached agenda.

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Media contact:

Providence Health Care

Justin Karasick, Senior Public Affairs Officer

Tel: 604-806-8896 Cell: 604-992-2503

24-hr Media Pager: 604-686-9983

City of Vancouver Corporate Communications

604.871.6336

media@vancouver.ca