Sheila Baxter
{{Short description|Canadian anti-poverty activist (1933–2022)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
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.
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, England on September 22, 1933. She became active in the anti-poverty movement in Quebec, Canada in 1970. Baxter also co-founded Chez Doris, a drop-in centre for women living on the streets of Montreal,[http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=95 ABCBookWorld] and has more recently been active in Vancouver, British Columbia, as a counsellor and welfare advocate at the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre.[http://lazarapress.ca/category/authors/sheila-baxter/ Lazara Press, a progressive publishing house in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada » Sheila Baxter] 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.[http://www.newstarbooks.com/author.php?author_id=3142 Sheila Baxter {{pipe}} Authors {{pipe}} New Star Books Publisher, Vancouver British Columbia Canada, Newstarbooks, catalogue]
Baxter read at the Vancouver Public Library.[http://www.urbanvancouver.com/node/5005 Ruth Ozeki and Sheila Baxter Both at the Library]{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondrobson.com/theatre/2007/05/sheila_baxter_at_the_library_tonight/ |accessdate=March 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708211704/http://www.beyondrobson.com/theatre/2007/05/sheila_baxter_at_the_library_tonight/ |archivedate=July 8, 2008 |title=Sheila Baxter at the Library Tonight }} She died on December 19, 2022, at the age of 89.{{cite web |title=R.I.P. Sheila Baxter (1933 – 2022) |url=https://bcbooklook.com/r-i-p-sheila-baxter-1933-2022/ |website=BC Booklook |access-date=26 December 2024 |date=16 February 2023}}
Awards
- VanCity Book Prize {{cite web|url=http://www.bcbookworld.com/vancity/sheilabaxter.html |accessdate=March 14, 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013065106/http://www.bcbookworld.com/vancity/sheilabaxter.html |archivedate=October 13, 2008 |title=Vancity Women's Book Prize - Sheila Baxter }}
- 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, 1997)
- Death in a Dumpster: A Passion Play for the Homeless (Lazara Press, 2006)
References
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Category:Canadian homelessness activists
Category:Canadian non-fiction writers
Category:Canadian women non-fiction writers
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