Solomon piece OConnor piece  There were other articles cited below but these are the two larger ones  I have included all of the original references below for reference     Reimer grew up with adversityLeaps Tall Buildings in a Single Bound Todays Vancouver Woman Accessed October  Andrea Reimers Rising Star Todays Vancouver Woman August   a background she shares openly to inspire others and prompt concern about homeless people  Reimer was born in Saskatoon and put into foster careLinda Solomon  The Wild Side of Intellect Todays Vancouver Woman August     When she was  months old she was adopted by a couple from Vancouver who subsequently relocated to CalgaryJanet Steffenhagen Protest started early for school trustee Vancouver Sun December   prior to her starting school  Her adoptive parents both came from backgrounds of abuse  Her father an agronomist grew up in poverty in a Mennonite community in Manitoba and was beaten and tied up outdoors regularly  Her mother is a geophysicist  Her maternal grandfather was an alcoholic that regularly beat her mother and maternal grandmother  Eventually her maternal grandmother took her to Vancouver to continue raising her  Reimers adoptive parents divorced when she was a preteen  Reimer smoked her first cigarette and took her first drink at the age of  and started to experiment with illicit drugs at the age of  and LSD at the age of   She drifted into a life on the streetsGarr Allen Vision wannabes pulling out the stops Vancouver Courier September   Page Tsakumis Alex G Shes got vision  Hours September   from the ages of OConnor Naoibh  Street smarts Vancouver Courier July   Page  which included extensive worldwide travel to places throughout Canada the United States Asia Central America Europe and North Africa  During this period she dumpsterdived got arrested several times got involved in hard drugs and developed addictions  When she was  Reimer worked in El Salvador at a low income housing project which she later cited as the catalyst for her environmental awarenessCrusaders for a green planet Our emerging leaders Vancouver Sun February   Page B  Although an atheist at  Reimer enrolled at Concordia University to major in religious studies  She subsequently dropped out during her first year after six weeks of classes and moved to Vancouver with her boyfriend at the time who was a cocaine addict  He kicked the habit after arriving in Vancouver  In Vancouver Reimer joined a government sponsored job training program and started working with Gordon Neighbourhood House Youth Works  She was then sent for a practicum to the Western Canada Wilderness Committee  After Reimer started working her boyfriend fell back into the cocaine addiction and they broke up  Reimer eventually worked her way up to become the executive director of the Western Canada Wilderness Committeehttpwwwvancouverobservercomandreareimerwildernessfamilycityhall