Sheila Baxter (September 22, 1933 – December 19, 2022) was a Canadian anti-poverty activist and author who wrote several books about poverty and mental illness in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. On September 28, 2017, Baxter was awarded the governor general sovereign medal for volunteers, for co-foundeding Chez Doris, a shelter for women, that has grown significantly since opening in 1977. Due to her dedicated efforts, many marginalized and vulnerable women found support and safety.

Biography

Baxter was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England on September 22, 1933. She became active in the anti-poverty movement in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in 1970. Baxter also co-founded

Chez Doris Chez Doris, located in Shaughnessy Village on the western side of the Ville-Marie, Montreal, Ville Marie borough of Montreal, is a charitable organization that offers a daily daytime shelter for women in need. The shelter provides meals, shelter, ...

, a drop-in centre for women living on the streets of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, as a counsellor and welfare advocate at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. Baxter is a poet, educator and author of five books on poverty and homelessness, and is currently active with the Vancouver City-Wide Housing Coalition. Baxter read at the Vancouver Public Library. She died on December 19, 2022, at the age of 89.

Awards

* VanCity Book Prize * Sovereign Medal for Volunteers,

Works

* ''No Way to Live: Poor Women Speak Out'' (New Star Press, 1988) (Photos: Lori Gabrielson) * ''Under the Viaduct: Homeless in Beautiful B.C.'' (New Star Press, 1991) * ''A Child is Not a Toy: Voices of Children in Poverty'' (New Star Press, 1993) * ''Still Raising Hell: Poverty, Activism and Other True Stories'' (

Press Gang Publishers Press Gang Publishing was a feminist printing and publishing collective active in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, between the early 1970s and 2002.Pike, Lois. "A Survey of Feminist Publishers and Periodicals in Canada" in ''Women and Words/L ...

, 1997) * ''Death in a Dumpster: A Passion Play for the Homeless'' (Lazara Press, 2006)

References

1933 births 2022 deaths Canadian homelessness activists Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian women non-fiction writers {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub