Writing

I worked primarily as a journalist from 2008 to 2017. In the years since, my writing work has been mostly in service of non-profit needs, including:

• Strategic plans
• Grant applications
• Progress reports
• Funding reports
• External communications

Writing samples: Journalism and essays

How to Heal
Maisonneuve, February 8, 2018
As fatal overdoses skyrocketed in BC, I revisited lessons from the province’s HIV/AIDS crisis.

Loved Ones Lost
The Tyee, May 2017
Portraits of four of the 931 people who died of illicit drug overdoses in 2016, at that time BC’s deadliest year on record.

Rice is a Highway
Vice, April 26, 2017
An essay about my family, migration, and the food that kept them together.

Seeking an antidote to BC’s overdose crisis
Tyee Solutions Society, January 25-28, 2017
A long-form series on solutions to B.C.’s overdose crisis.

The fruits of their labour
Maisonneuve, Winter 2016
White privilege, the local food movement, and the forgotten history of Vancouver’s Chinese-Canadian farmers.

My heart, in San Francisco
Hayo No. 2: East, Spring 2016
An essay on loss, love, and leaving for a new literary travel magazine.

Vancouver’s housing angst a fraught climate for newcomers
The Tyee, March 2, 2016
An essay on home, racism, and Vancouver’s housing crisis.

In Medicine Hat, homelessness is (almost) over
Megaphone, April 2015
How a conservative mayor changed his mind, and his city, with a progressive  approach to housing.

New frontiers: young artists move Indigenous conversations forward
Megaphone, November 2014
Young, boundary-pushing Indigenous artists across Canada are breathing new life into ongoing, necessary conversations addressing a legacy of colonial harms.

Chinatown’s tough evolution
Megaphone, February 2014
Changes in Vancouver’s Chinatown reflect similar shifts across North America.

More Lower Mainland rental housing, but for whom?
Tyee Solutions Society, December 2, 2013
Brand-new rental housing stock is being built across the region. But for those who need it the most, affordable apartments are almost impossible to obtain.

Generation Rent: two cities, two directions
Tyee Solutions Society, October 15-18, 2013
A four-part series and infographic comparing Vancouver and San Francisco’s rental housing landscapes. Published in the Tyee, Megaphone, and Spacing Vancouver. Affiliated with a November 2013 public event to close the year of Tyee Solutions Society housing work called Generation Rent.

A long way from home for B.C. refugees
Tyee Solutions Society, July 22-25, 2013
A four-part series on the housing experiences of refugee newcomers in the Lower Mainland and the south coast of British Columbia, many of whom struggle to navigate the private rental market and form a significant portion of the hidden homeless population. Published in The Tyee, Megaphone magazine.

One last walk with Judy Graves
Tyee Solutions Society, April 12, 2013
A look at the work and life of the City of Vancouver’s retiring advocate for the homeless, who retired in May 2013.
Published in The Tyee, Megaphone magazine.

Alone, Elderly, and Isolated by Language in Vancouver’s Chinatown
Tyee Solutions Society, April 1-4, 2013
A four-part series on the unknown number of Cantonese and Mandarin-speaking seniors in Vancouver’s inner city who face discrimination, marginalization, and a lack of affordable, culturally- and linguistically-appropriate housing. Published in The Tyee, Megaphone magazine, and translated in Sing Tao Daily.

Alcohol harm reduction on the map: at long last, illicit drinkers become part of the conversation
Megaphone, February 24, 2012
In starting to address the health and social needs of illicit drinkers in Vancouver, harm reduction inches forward.

Renovictions and the quest for affordable rentals in Vancouver
The Tyee, August 8-12, 2011
A five-part series on Vancouver’s rental housing conundrum. The result of a reader-funded Tyee fellowship.