Daryl Slade
Calgary Herald
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Calgary lawyer Rahim Moloo has devised a plan to help young adult homeless people who can’t afford post-secondary education to get a foot in the school’s door and, as he says, “hone their critical thinking skills.”
Moloo’s proposed class for the homeless — free and for credit — is part of his platform of providing access to post-secondary education as a contestant on CBC’s annual program, Canada’s Next Great Prime Minister.
He recently held a seminar at the downtown EXIT Community Outreach Centre for young adults under 25 to help identify potential students for the anticipated first class next spring.
“We talked to them about the benefits of pursuing an education,” said Moloo, who works as international investment arbitrator at Burnet Duckworth & Palmer. “We met with a couple of them who showed interest in continuing their education and talked about the opportunities available.”
Moloo said he has the backing of Robin Fisher, Mount Royal’s provost and vice-president of academic, to go ahead with the planned class.
Neither Fisher, nor a college spokesman could be reached Tuesday.
Moloo said it is patterned after a similar groundbreaking program at University of British Columbia in 1999, called Humanities 101.
“They did a followup a few years later and found out that a couple of them were now actually full-time, degree-seeking students,” said Moloo.
Josh Yardley, 21, who has been living at a homeless shelter since moving from Toronto, said he’s all for the idea.
“I’m sure in this city it’s more a battle of whether you have enough money than if you’re smart enough. This gives everybody a chance. . . . I would do it,” Yardley said, after enjoying a free turkey dinner at the Mustard Seed Ministry on Sunday.
Moloo said one of the people he spoke to at the EXIT seminar was a former post-secondary student who couldn’t afford to continue and now wants to get back in the education system, with a little help from some supportive friends.
“A lot of them don’t know where to go,” said Moloo. “The big thing is not just providing them with resources, but Mount Royal will go farther. They’ll provide the direct access. We’ll try to get 25 homeless students interested . . . and they’ll take it from there.”
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