NEWSLETTER
'
carnnews@vcn,bc.C8
401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7
(604) 665~2289
34 Years. This issue marks 34 years of publication negie Newsletter.
for the Car-
It began with an ex-city editor for a
Toronto daily who was working on an Unemployment Insurance Top-up Program. He walked around Carnegie saying "I'm AI and I'm starting a newsletter.
Can you
help?" A piece of poetry, a story about the Seniors, a continuing coverage of in-house controversy
regarding the
Board of Directors, an appeal for contributions
..,
AI was here for the first 7 issues, twic-e a month through
mid-November,
For the few contributors
then his UI ran out and he left, it appeared doable so we car-
ried on with the established format & the Carnegie Newsletter continued. There has seldom been a want of content the writers and poets give of themselves
Most of
in very per-
sonal and revealing pieces, what life has done to make certain experiences visceral and necessary to share, Basic guidelines
include, to this day, no racism, sexism,
personal attacks, or libel; with the balance insisted on in Journalism
101 somewhat
modified,
If the corporate
media wants to provide a token comment
from "the
left" it is usually presented in a way to diminish such views, The Newsletter has never made a great effort to include the views of the 1%. Coverage of stuff affecting the vast majority 'ginalised
of mar-
people includes housing & homelessness,
poverty, welfare, the drug trade, sex trade, "free"
trade, Indigenous rights and responsibilities, gentrification,
land use,
overdoses & safe supply, street safety,
missing & murdered
women, food security, gangs & vio-
lence, local festivals and gatherings
and cleansing and
solidarity. The life of the Downtown
Eastside has been expressed
in a myriad of ways as people found an honest venue for their writing and art. In 2001 a grant was obtained through
PEACH (Partners in Economic and Community
Help) to make a book of some of the best writing
and
poetry published during the first 15 years of the Newsletter. There was controversy
(of course) as almost all
the middle-class and upper-middle
class people on this
body had problems with the points of view being expressed, They had lawyers go through the proposed content and affix stickies on problematic
vitriol. The chair-
person of PEACH held a raucous meeting and said, "All of this has already been published!" One article got almost universal condemnation:
it listed information
lic sources on how much various individuals'
from pubproperties
had increased in value in one year. In a community
exist on less than $10,000 a year, this
where thousands
article had given light to the propertied
individuals'
tribes against more services or accommodations poor. The 'offending'
to the
article was published in the book and
The Heart of the Community was released with no changes in 2003, the 100th anniversary of the building in which Carnegie Community The Newsletter
Centre now operates.
has continued
Dirty, Damaged, Different
dia-
to offer itself as a venue
. Myfather and mother became parents burdened with pain, loss, bitterness. .To their graves they took their secrets. During life they'd each likely felt dirty, damaged, different.
for the exchange of ideas, with the underlying theme of improving the lives of its readers and the people of the Downtown
Eastside. There have been changes, to be
sure, yet each has its dark side. The development Woodwards cumulation
of the
site is a case in point. There was a tent acon the sidewalk as locals demonstrated
housing accessible to low-income
for
people. The larger
media seemed to sensationalise involvement by anyone with a public presence (witness Jenny Kwan and her painting a daisy on the hoardings) and, as usual, poor people were treated Newsletter
as annoying inconveniences.
gave remarkable
The
insights into the machina-
Without intention they'd passed on their poisonous legacies by what is clearly defmed abuse. I was not exempt from feeling dirty, damaged, different. Throughout the years I've expressed sincere sorrow to those upon whom I'd inflicted pain
tions behind the scenes as evidenced by it being the major source for a PhD thesis on corporate sance. In the end the community
malfea-
dirty, damaged, different. got some housing but the
developers called an emergency meeting the day after getting necessary approvals and stated that the community had to agree to another tower and twice as many condos or the whole thing would fall through. The ongoing struggle for decent housing and even a socalled "social justice zone" show thatlocals have much atstake. The building dilemma of homelessness, getting access to a safe drug supply.and right to remain ar~ underlying The Carnegie Newsletter
As I focus on compassion and forgiveness from others, I feel the. guilt and shame lift. I feel less and less dirty, damaged, different.
holding tightly to the
virtually everything.
is currently
publishing at a min-
imum. It is online as a single sheet which, when printed
& folded, makes 4 pages. This is logistical. It takes 4":7 volunteers 4-6 hours to collate/staple/fold & distribute the normal run of 12-28 pages in 1200 copies. The pandemic has forestalled
this. Publication will continue as
life in the Downtown
Eastside continues - with perse-
Nowadays, I am more at peace. I envision some day feeling more clean, whole, in sync. Over time I feel less dirty, damaged, different.
Š Jacqueline Angharad Giles
verance and gusto! By PAULR TAYLOR Volunteer
as a result of my feeling
editor since 1986
ONOU
VIR
ES
V A ZOOM 0 y AY
""1 :30 PM = 3:30 PM
For more Information on Community Teeh Cafes: Dionne Pelan, Digital literacy Coordinator UBClearning Exchange· (604) 827 -2772 William Booth, Outreach Coordinator DTESliteracy Roundtahle ' dtes.loc@gmail.com
Supporting Partners: .~
THIi
~
U",IVIUI.$ITY
learning
OF
altlTlSH
COLUM81",
Exchange
or dionne.pelan@ubc.ca
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~l.EARNING UN:<'JAN
LIFELONG
First there was World War 1 I
f ~ @ ~
Then there was World War 2 ! Then there was World War _
!l "-:- __
=--,
~ i'i
Annual General Meeting
~
Wednesday,
H Main
s
(AGM)
August 26, 2020
5:30 PM via electronic
participation
using Zoom
By Rick NordaJ
1\
Full details at dtesnhouse.ca Carnegie Community
tâ&#x20AC;˘
The nomination
I
n 9 s
Centre Assoc.
meeting for positions
on the Board of Directors will be held on September
3, 2020 at noon in the
Carnegie Theatre
Sticks and stones and name calling !
Eligible members
must have had their
membership for at least 30 days and done volunteer work in Carnegie.
VPL is offering limited service at Carnegie. From noon to 4pm, Tuesday through Saturday, there will be library staff in the theatre to assist you .. Call 604-"331-3603 for info of go to vlp.ca
5th Annual SANDY CAMERON MEMORIAL WRITING CONTEST The talents and resourcefulness of Downtown Eastside writers and poets, regardless of where you reside, are extraordinary. Please consider sharing your work with others through this event. Categories of poetry and non-fiction essay will have cash prizes, given at a special event during the Heart of the City Festival in November. For contest guidelines and entry form, either pick up an envelope at the Food Service window on Carnegie's 1st floor. or email carnnews@shaw.ca for a virtual copy. Deadline for entry is noon, September 15,2020