Some Afterthoughts and Looking Forward

It was a wild ride. I joined the campaign late, but when I did, I immediately felt like a fit in. Like I belonged. Volunteering for Greg Clark and the Alberta Party has been absolutely amazing, with experiences I could never replace. From getting the motivation to write a seven page paper on how to make engagement more democratic to helping an elderly gentleman - confined to home and his wheelchair for some time now - get into a vehicle so his family could take him for a drive for the first time in years. Repairing damaged signs - even those of our rivals - to the fun and sometimes hostile social media wars.

Everyone, I thank you. Every volunteer for every candidate of every party, you have all made me feel special this past week and a half. It has been an absolute delight to work on this campaign for Greg Clark and the Alberta Party.

So, the question is "what now?"

My Alberta Party membership expires in 2019, so obviously, I intend to get involved in the next general election. I also am eager to get involved with my constituency association (I live in Calgary Currie). But I also have a normal life to get back to. I need to look for a part-time job, I need to get involved with my Community Association, I also need to get back to my true passion: poverty reduction and homeless human rights.

I fully plan in getting back to being involved with Calgary Action Committee on Housing and Homelessness. I missed a meeting with the Calgary Homeless Foundation this past week so I could work on the campaign. This also grants me some free time to work with CHF and Poverty Talks! on getting a "Longest Night of the Year" memorial for homeless persons who passed away. I'm going to be busy.

So, looking forwards, I have a lot of work to do. We can end poverty in Calgary. We can guarantee the homeless still get to live with a basic standard of dignity and end discrimination. Together, we can make a better world for everyone - but everyone has to be at the table.

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So I've Finally Decided to get Involved

The following blog is written on behalf of myself, Nigel Kirk, as a private citizen. It does not represent the views of any organization or entity I have worked with.

I've never talked about myself personally here yet, so here's a few things about me you might want to know:

My name is Nigel. I'm a freelance social activist. I've been in and out of homeless shelters for several years, and I currently have an apartment in South-West Calgary. I've devoted most of my personal life to activism in Poverty and Human Rights. I don't advocate socialist style policies like wealth redistribution. I'm not for or against the Labour movement. What I do support though is a certain degree of dignity among everyone, regardless of social standing.

My experiences in homelessness taught me several things: employers discriminate against people who live in shelters. The general consensus is that the poor need to just work in warehouses or in construction or on the oil patch. Poor people aren't allowed to work in jobs of their choosing - even if they are low paying. Personally, I would rather have a job that pays a little less, but I know I'd enjoy and be good at. It would offer much more opportunities for advancement and I could go home at the end of the day and tell myself "I did a good job."

We have laws that target the homeless. We have plans to end homelessness that are failing because the people who created the plan don't even know what the challenges people who are homeless face.

Essentially, I learned the hard way that Charter Rights do not apply to people who do not have a permanent address.

So five years ago, I began lecturing and speaking to schools, businesses and policy makers. I joined organizations. I became involved. I still do, and will always be available to talk to anyone who wishes to learn.

Now, five years later, I'm becoming involved again.

For the first time since becoming an adult, I've sought party membership. I purchased a membership to the Alberta Party.

Now, part of it was process of elimination. I don't have a like for Dr. Sherman or Justin Trudeau. My memories of high school involve Textbooks that still mentioned USSR as a country. They were published shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Teachers were almost constantly on either "work to rule" campaigns or striking. So the PC's are out. I don't consider myself part of the Labour Movement, so NDP is a little out of touch to me. Wild Rose was never even an afterthought to me.

I like the Alberta Party and what I'm seeing in Greg Clark and all the other candidates. It has been a pleasure to volunteer with them. Greg has an energy that I haven't seen in a while. They have a progressive approach to governing, But they also support strong and successful businesses. I truly believe the Alberta Party has the platform that supports both people and the drivers of our economy.

While that statement is not on behalf of any organization I have worked with and is a statement of my own, as a private citizen, I have been pleased to work with poverty reduction and homeless human rights for the past five years. I believe the Alberta Party is the best party to help gather the interests of all areas of the community to come together to build solutions that work best for the greatest number of Albertans, even the marginalized, but also the successful. Greg's commitment to consensus building as well as that I've seen among many other members of the Party has been an utmost inspiration. I am honored to have been spending the past week door-knocking and putting together signs. I am proud to support the Alberta Party.

The game has already changed, my friends. Now let's change it in the legislature.

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