Karen O’Shannacery ran away from a troubled home and an alcoholic dad when she was 14. She lived on and off the streets for four years.

At 18, she began working at a homeless shelter and formed Lookout Society in 1971 with other employees after noticing the shelter was turning away older homeless men.

“I wanted to prevent anybody from having to go through what I went through,” said O’Shannacery, who has been Lookout’s executive director since 1974 and who on Tuesday received the Order of B.C. for being a pioneer and advocate for the homeless in the Lower Mainland.

She wants people to know that effective shelter services and affordable housing can, when done right,  help save someone’s life.

“There has been a lot of the working poor coming into our shelters because they can’t find the affordable housing and can’t access services that would give them a helping hand,” she said.

“The purpose of the shelter system is to be a social safety net for people who fall between the cracks and who don’t have a roof over their heads.”

For this year’s Homelessness Action Week, which runs Oct. 10-16, the society wants the public to know the expanding diversity of the homeless.

“It’s trying to engage everybody as being part of the solution,” she said.

“It takes everybody to solve the problem (of homelessness) and by only working together that it will be successful.”

Lookout will be inviting the public into the shelters and having a Hearts for the Homeless fundraiser to raise money for its program of services.

The city will also have Homeless Connect days where the homeless can access a wide range of health and other services, including haircuts, pet care, dental care and bike repair.