Scott Small has a long history of serving the poor and homeless in Vancouver, and now the director of Catholic Charities Shelter Services has taken a seat at the decision-making table for the Homelessness Services Association of B.C.

The HSABC has named Small as chairperson of the board, an appointment he is humbled by.

“It’s a nod to the Church from others outside of the Church, understanding we have a history. We have a tradition of not only being associated or affiliated with the poor, but in being with the poor in a way that is meaningful, measurable, and not always obtainable through other agencies,” said Small.

For more than a dozen years Small has served at the 102-bed Catholic Charities Men’s Hostel, which has been offering 90-day stays, meals, and other supports for homeless men in Vancouver’s downtown core for 60 years.

His connection to the HSABC stems from before the agency was created. The HSABC has its roots in two organizations, Shelter Net B.C. and the Greater Vancouver Shelter Strategy (Small was on the board of the latter). The two merged in 2017 to offer a common voice and shared resources for homeless services in B.C.

Now as the new chairperson of the HSABC, Small hopes to continue to be part of the conversation about how services across the province can do better for the homeless.

“While there are certainly some unique ways of doing things in the Downtown Eastside versus in downtown Smithers or downtown Williams Lake, there are still some very common issues in how we approach and deal with the homeless: getting them housed and getting them connected to appropriate mental health and addiction services. Those are going to be the same regardless of the size of the population,” he said.

“Maybe if we do these things together in a collaboration, it’s like the feeding of the five thousand: to go beyond a few people having and a lot of people not having ... all of a sudden it’s a miracle well beyond what you could have done yourself.”

The HSABC also runs homeless counts across the province (in collaboration with the B.C. Non-profit Housing Association) and offers training for volunteers and staff, including courses on managing hostile interactions, how to de-escalate conflict, understanding mental health and addiction, and self-care.

“It's really good to be able to work with people that are also committed to more than just what is happening within the doors of their own agency, but sharing their success stories as well as their struggles.”

Small replaces retiring Randy Benson, who was the inaugural chairperson of the HSABC and instrumental in the merger of the two organizations.