Vancouver could teach London a thing or two about how to tackle inner city homelessness.

While some London businesses have been caught installing anti-homelessness spikes in front of buildings, over in Canada they are taking a very different stance on the problem.

They raise awareness of the homeless population as well as providing shelter at night

These ‘Take Shelter’ benches, installed in parks around the city have the dual purpose of raising awareness of the city’s homeless population and providing shelter to those who find themselves sleeping outdoors after dark.

The benches, which were installed as part of a campaign by RainCity Housing, work the same as any other bench during the day.

Let’s hope the campaign will inspire and lead on to a more permanent solution

At night however, the front lifts up and out to create an overhang with the back of the bench showing the message “Find a home here” to passers-by. How inspired is that?

They hope the benches will catch on and spread all over Canada, as well as the United States.

Let’s hope the campaign will inspire more of us to consider homelessness in our city and lead on to a more permanent solution.

London? We’re looking at you…