The next OOF recipient will be Pivot Legal Society (July 2022-October 2022).

The work of Pivot Legal Society is rooted in the belief that  poverty and social exclusion are not inevitable.

In 2001, Pivot opened its doors in response to a health and human rights crisis in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Since then, it has worked in partnership with marginalized people and grassroots organizations to challenge legislation, policies, and practices that undermine human rights, intensify poverty, and perpetuate stigma. Pivot strategically focuses its efforts on the most tangible human rights in order to improve the immediate situation of the people it works with, while creating lasting change that resonates across the country.

Here are some of Pivot’s accomplishments:

• Protected the constitutional rights of sex workers by successfully challenging federal legislation that puts their lives in danger.
• Worked with vulnerable people who use drugs to breakdown legal barriers to life-saving harm reduction and drug substitution treatments.
• Supported victims of police misconduct and excessive force to stand up for their rights and spark changes in policing practice.
• Helped homeless people secure important legal decisions confirming their right to shelter themselves from the elements and make equal use of public space.

 

Pivot is currently working with other organizations to end the cyclical displacement and criminalization of poverty  in Vancouver.  Click here for more information.