I caught myself staring at the mountains the other day. As someone who recently moved from the concrete jungle of a big city, Vancouver is a startling place to end up in, as you're surrounded by relentless natural beauty. However, I soon discovered that this is juxtaposed against stark issues of housing affordability and homelessness. It was therefore fitting that beauty and the arts was the topic of several talks during Homelessness Action Week (HAW) which took place throughout Metro Vancouver from October 13th to 19th. In his talk, Beauty and the City Beast, Prof. Trevor Hancock discussed the need for beauty in our urban lives, and especially in the lives of the homeless. Beauty "pleases the eye, lifts the spirit, and soothes the soul" and he argues that it should form a more vital and integral part of our lives.