May 15, 2007, carnegie newsletter

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MAY 15,2007

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carnnews@vcn.be.ca www.carnnews.org 604-665-2289

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40 1 Main St, Vancou ver V6A 2T7

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DTES Neighbourhood House News for the Carnegie Newsletter The sun shone on the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH) on Friday May 4th as NH staff and volunteers we1comed our . neighbours, sponsors and funders to our Open House at 50 I East Hastings, our first physical site.

People walked through our small 880 sq. ft. storefront and learned about DTES NH programs. The food on offer was bananas, in keeping with our 'Banana Beat' program that brings that potassium filled fruit to the Welfare Wednesday line ups every month since September 2006. It's our ne ighbourly nod with a twist of nutrition. (The Banana Beat got its start thanks to a Neighbourhood Small Grant.)

May 4th's Open House was the result of the 2 and a half years we've spent working together as low income residents to establish a Neighbourhood House here in our community - a secular one governed by, mentoring and employ ing us. It all started when a 2004 feasibility study conducted by the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater V ancpuver (with support from the Alexandra Foundation), surveyed the DTES and showed that the need exists for a NH - for youth, immigrants, e lders, individuals, and families.

We began working together and in May 2005 we opened with the Grand/Parent- Tot Drop-In 2 morn ings a week. Lore Krill Co-op and Shiloh Housing Society kindly lent us their common rooms for it and the A lexandra Foundation gave us the funding. (We recently suspended it for a few months while we re-evaluate if it's still needed.)

As we' re not yet our own Society; we operate as a satellite program of Gordon Neighbourhood House (GNH) under the umbrella of the Associa路tion ofNeighbourhood Houses of Greater Van-

couver (ANH). GN H staff, members and Board have lent us invaluable support over these last years, as well as their good wit and cons~t enthusiasm.

Obviously, we're building the NH under the shadow of the same real estate development that's making all DTES residents ever more vulnerable.

A strong, v ibrant NH encouraging the DTES community leaders of tomorrow is one part of our strategy to make sure that the voices of current residents are heard when the dust settles. The DTES N H has created what we call The Mentorship Continuum. This means that we apply for fund ing to create mentoring programs for DTES residents so that women and men have the chance to move up the NH Ladder to Leadership, beyond the limits of our volunteer ex perience.

Some examples of this are The United Way's funding for our Leadership Development Program for parents and grandparents of young children; a VanCity Community Grant; the Margaret Mitchell Fund for Women which focuses on women and community development; and continued support from the Alexandra Foundation. Our application to the Vancouver Foundation is pending. We've a lways been committed to partnering with existing DTES organizations and agencies and some of our current partners are Self-Employed Empowered Young Adults (SEEY A), Oppenheimer Park, Crabtree Housing, Vancouver Youth Vision Coalition (VYVC), the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre (DEWC), VANDU, Carnegie Community Centre and the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) ... with more to come we hope.

Meanwhile we've the modest start of programming at our new storefront and that will expand over the coming months. Because of 501 East

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Hasting's size we can ' t operate as a Drop In, so people come in to be part of a workshop program.

Here's our current schedule: Mondays: Painting Workshop 3- 5prn (8 spaces) Tuesdays: Bannock Making 11am-lpm (7 spaces) Wednesdays: Movie Moments 5-8pm (15 spaces) Thursdays: Community Kitchen 10-1 (12 spaces) Fridays : Yoga I Oam - noon ( 6 spaces) Please watch for signs of more programs and hope to see you soon.

The Steering Committee

Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House501 East Hastings@ Jackson Vancouver, BC V6A 1P9 6o4/ 215.2030

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I'm Stacey Bonenfant, Project Coordinator of the Leadership Development Program (LOP) for grand/parents caring for young children. I'm writing to you because there are still places available.

The Leadership Development Program is funded by the United Way and designed as a Ladder to Leadership, further educating the parents/ grandparents of our community to be the future leaders of the DTES, beyond their volunteer experience.

The program covers such themes as community development and outreach, program budgeting and reporting, networking, sexual and reproductive health and nutrition. The LOP program is a 10 hour commitment per week with a set time of Wednesdays 9am- 2pm and the remaining hours flexible according to the group's activities (site visits etc).

Childcare, bus tickets and nutritious food are provided and the Wednesday sessions take place at our storefront location at 501 East Hastings .

I would appreciate it if you could pass on th is information to any parents/grandparents who frequent your organization and share it with yqur colleagues. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Thank you.

Stacey Bonenfant, LOP Program Coordinator §tacey.the.dandylion@gmail.com 778 I 869.1811

The Clock of Life LEARN TO MAKE ARTS AND CRAFTS

You are invited to join us!

On Thursday afternoons from 1-3:30 pm

Each workshop a specific project is taught Supplies are provided free or at cost You keep what you make.

Drop-In style - just show up!

(Limited to 15 participants)

WOMEN ONLY Provided by Atira Women's Resource Society's Enterprising Women Making Art Project 101 East Cordova (corner of Cordova & Columbia) For more information: Contact Sheila or Mary at 604-331-1407 ext. I 04

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The Clock of Life is wound bur once, And no one has the power, · . To tell just when the hands wi II stop, On what day or hour.

Now is the only time we have, So live it with a will.

Don't wait until tomorrow The hands may then be still.

Submitted by Gram

We're All In This Together When you walk into the Russian Hall to see the Shadows Project about addiction and recovery called ,We're All In This Together", the first thing you see is the gigantic white sheet, or screen, at the front of the hall -over fifteen feet high and over thirty feet wide. This is the screen on which the shadows will be projected. These shadows tell the story of two different dysfunctional families and the children who become lost in the tragic street scene in the Downtown Eastside. So terrifying is this nightmare shadow world of addiction and so frightening is the dragon that represents addiction, that a little girl sitting in front of me left the hall with her father.

Shadow theatre originated in Asia a thousand years ago. The shadow screens of China were called screens of death. In Java they were called fog and clo ud, and in Arabia they were called veil of dreams and omnipotent spirits. Shadow theatre is a fitting way to show the shadow world of addiction on the streets. The pain of one family and Katie, the lost daughter, struggling with the trauma of lost land and a lost way of life, and the pain of the other fam ily, and Gary, the lost son, struggli ng with a failure in communication and relationship in subur-bia, hit me with great force in the shadow part of my own being.

This play is much more than mere entertainment. It depicts the suffering of real human beings, and tries to understand that suffering. As Thich Nhat Hanh, a wise man who tried to. stop the Vietnam War, has' said, "Appropriate solutions can only arise when suffering is ack nowledged and understood.,

The play, "We're All In This Together," is the last phase of the Shadows Project, a three year, artsbased health and community development undertaking. It's a Vancouver Moving Theatre production in association with urban ink's Fathom Labs and the Carnegie and Roundhouse Community Centres.

Over a dozen people wrote the script of the play, and over thirty people were in it. Most writers, actors and singers were from the Downtown Eastside, and they were supported by professional theatre people.

The music was powerful. The shadow scenery, and the shadow images of actors wearing paper headdresses, carried a deep emotional force. The people who worked behind the screen to make the shadows happen deserve great credit.

Thank you to Vancouver Moving Theatre. Thank you to the writers, designers, stage managers, musicians, researchers, actors, singers, shadow-casters, crew - everyone who had anything to do with this project. I feel proud of the Downtown Eastside residents who took part in the play. You were wonderful. You showed the creativity and talent of our community. Bless you all. Two outstanding actors were Phoebe Conway and Robyn Livingstone.

Phoebe is eight years old, and she performed the role of Bobbie, the young daughter of Rita who had put drugs away, with enormo us confidence and skill.

Robyn was the fire-breathing voice of the dragon, and he sang two solo songs with great authority.

This play shows us that we are all in this together.

We are a community in the Downtown Eastside, and we need each other. We are all in this together because my right to live w ith dignity, to have a home, places on me the responsibility to ensure that others have the same right. We are all in this together because life is relationship, and many people are poor because a very fe w people are unbelievably rich.

West Yancouver, one of Canada's richest neighbourhoods, is the other face of the street drug scene in the Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods. We are all in this together because that lost person in the street may be our sister or brother, and given the injustice of this dark time, we, ourselves, might end up on the street.

At the end of each performance of the play a discussion took place which helped people move from emotional insight to concrete action that could go in the direction of an addiction-free society- the four pillars approach, harm reduction, a safe injection

site, immediate treatment for those who wish to take it, safe affordable housing, adequate income, decent jobs at decent wages, an end to drug prohibition and in its place a system of drug regulation that's guided by public health, and, above all, the establishment of .a just, democratic society where everyone is included, and everyone has the resources to live a meaningful life in a healthy community. We're all in this together.

Sandy Cameron

Employment Expo - May 17 Pathways Information Centre's next Road to Employment Expo is coming soon ..

No matter where you are in your path to employment there is something for you .

We have employers including Army & Navy, Edgewater Casino, Canadian K-9 Security, Costco and more.

We have seminars presented by employers and others.

We have agencies available to tell you about training, resources, and support.

And finally we have great door prizes and draws. Previous winners have won fork lift training and courses in Microsoft software.

When: May 17 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.

Where Corner of Main & Hastings, kittycorner to Carnegie [Pathways Information Centre]

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Addiction My na me is Addiction Pat ie nce is my game For i have no shame I lurk in the shadows Waiting, waiting, waiting For time is my friend For time is my enemy I know you will come!

You want me, you need me You' II want more and more I've been your lover I've s lept with your friends Father, mother, sister and brother Since time immemorial I've won and lost many a battle But I' ve sti ll not lost the war Corne take a ride with me On the wild s ide if you dare I' ll bring you up I' II bring you down I'll thrill you, I' ll chill you, I might just accidently kill you.

Addiction

Mah Walk in Ladner Join Gary a nd Rika on a 5-km walk around Ladner, taking in the historic downtown, site of old Chinatown, tum of the century homes, museum, bird watching along the Fraser River, and much more! Picnic lunch included.

Look for future walks lead by other Sarti Walk aficionados!

FRIDAY, May 18th 9:30 AM - 4 PM Walking tour route compliments ofBob Sarti.

For Carnegie me mbers. Please sign up at the Floor Program Office.

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End homelessness now!

On Tuesday, May 8, I attended a forum at St. Andrew's Wesley Church called "End homelessness now!" It had a large audience. The forum was moderated by Nancy Hall, former mental health advocate for BC (when the BC Liberals took power, they e liminated her position, claiming one of their ministers could ha ndle the position just as well as she could. It hasn ' t happened.).

The pane llists were Reverend Dr. Ruth Wright, Executive Director of the Mission at First Un ited Church in the Downtown Eastside for over 10 years; Rafe Mair, best known as a long-time popular radio show personality; and former Premier of BC, Mike Harcourt.

After the panel lists spoke, four respondents each had a brief tum at a microphone before the floor was opened to questions from the audience. T he respondents were: CeeJa i Julian, an Aboriginal woman w ho had recovered from a hard I ife on the streets, and was now working with abused women in the Downtown Eastside; Jonathan Bird, from the faith-based advocacy organization called City In Focus, for which he's in charge of some of their social outreach programs; Dr. Richard Vedan, an Aboriginal professor from UBC; and Darrell \ Burnham, Executive Director of Coast Mental : Health Society.

Nancy Hall said, " Our society a llows no other group of ill people to end up destitute. People must write, fax, e-mail, and phone elected representatives and demand immediate action to build , supported housing."

Rev. Dr. Ruth Wright said, " I do not believe that a 10 foot by 10 foot room with no kitc hen fac ility or toilet except down the hall, in which no guest can be entertained, is or can be legitimately called . .

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'an ideal home' in Canada."

Rafe Mair said, "Unless citizens Jet elected officials know there will be a political cost to leaving people homeless, they won ' t get off their asses a nd do something substantia l enough to solve the problem."

Mike Harcourt said that he envisioned homelessness to be eliminated by 2015.

In response, CeeJai Julian spoke of her experiences on the street. "Just a smile," she said would go a long way in helping a home less pe rson feel better.

Jonathon Bird quoted from the Kirby Report ca!led Out of the Shadows at Last from a witness ' ' . named Linda, "No one really knows w hat it is like until they experience living in a dark, damp room with no w indows, no refrigeration, no heat, and no righ ts." He asked if legislation by governments allowing ne ighbourhoods to restrict building of specia l needs .f acilities in their area was correct.

Harcourt said essentially that these buildings should be allowed anywhere, but that sometimes . there were special circumstances preventing that, like an over-concentration of such facilities in a • gJVen area.

Dr. Richard Vedan asked ifhomelessness was the problem, or was it actually visible homelessness.

Darren Burnham commended Rafe Mair for speaking out publicly about menta l illness (from personal experience, mind you) before it was politically expedient to do so. He also thanked Harcourt for setting the goal for ending homelessness by 2015 .

As for questions from the floor, I have a special interest in documenting the following: Jean Swanson, well-known around Carnegie for the Raise The Rates campaign, and as a founding member of the Carnegie Community Action Project, said that homelessness should be eliminated by 2010, no later. She also invited audience members to come to the Community dialogue on housing on Wednesday, May 23 at 7:00pm, Oak and 49t\ at the Unitarian Church.

In c losing, I would like to rema rk on a comment

by Rev. Dr. Ruth Wright, from her speech: "My .

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sense is that there is a growing stigma in the Downtown Eastside. Anyone living in the community, and particularly the homeless, seem to be identified as addicted. Frankly, homelessness is not equitable with add iction."

This is my understanding a lso. From the Hotel Analysis Project written in March 2007 are statistics stating that 16,000 people live in the Downtown Eastside, and that 4,000 are thought to be suffering from substance abuse. That works out to one out of four people. But too often we see reports in the news media insinuating that addiction in the Downtown Eastside is much more w idespread. This stigmatizes people in this community, and makes it harder for homelessness to be eliminated with government actions. This misperception must be fought hard in order for it to be .overcome .

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w ill be holding auditions to replace two of the original actor/singers in our production at the F irehall Arts Centre in June. The two roles ava ilable are: "Joe" and the "F ire Chief' .

Rehearsals fo r indi vidual singers w ill begin immed iately with Musical Director Earle Peach.

Group rehearsals with Earle and Stage Director John Cooper will begin May 28th.

The performance dates are June 2 1 - 24.

We are also seeking a tenor saxophone player.

A uditions will be held on May 18th, 3 - 5 PM, in the Carnegie Theatre. Please come out to lend your voice to singing this story.

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Carnegie Opera Condemned-a work in progress

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In Hope of a Better Past

It's always hard to say goodbye to friends!

Rev Ruth Wright, at First United Church, has been a great friend and ally of the people of the Downtown Eastside and it will be sad to see her leave, after I 0 years of strong support and work in the community.

I want to wish Ruth well, and know that wherever she lands, she will serve with compassion, respect and love.

Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East

My phone rings.

A friend is thinking about family lost •

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Not by natural disaster But by unnatural misunderstanding She leads me down the rocky road of my own past.

Through doors of resentment and loneliness long closed Together we pick at mutua l scabs of lost love. ' T il it assaults afresh Struggling back to present acceptance of past wrongs I say: The dead must fight their own fights.

We must put away the past Lest it infect the future.

Wilhelmina Miles

An apology and correction: In the last issue two ' pieces written by Bonnie Stevens were inadvertently shown as authored by Bonnie Parker. Ed.

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Hon. Monte Solberg April 26, 2007 Minister of Human Resources and Social Development House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1 A OA6 Dear Minister, Re: Endorsement of the Report of the Inner-City Inclusive Housing Table

I am writing to provide my full support of the Report of the Inner-City Inclusive Housing Table and respectfully request your ratification of its recommendations. I understand that the Report will be formally submitted to you by the Vancouver Organizing Committee (VANOC) for the 201 0 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games .

The recommendations in the report are viable and intelligent solutions to mitigate against the ever increasing- and compounding- problem of homelessness. Also remarkable is that members of the Inner-City Inclusive Housing Table represent an impressive diversity of interests, which span commun ity agencies, property developers, landlords and tenants. Yet all unanimously agree upon these recommendations.

One specific highlight of these recommendations, wh ich I call upon your government to fulfi ll, is the commitment of the federal funds necessary to provide 3,200 new units of housing over 4 years.

There is an unacceptable amount of homelessness in our country, and I see its devastating effects all too frequently in my riding of Vancouver East, which is comprised of many inner city neighbourhoods. The recommendations detail many opportunities for municipal, provincial and federal governments to fulfill obligations toward the homeless, and your government's leadership in ratify ing and meaningfully acting upon them is crucial.

As you know, affordable housing is virtually nonexistent for Vancouver's inhabitants, and even

more so for low income tenants who are under constant threat of increased rents or evictions due to gentrification.

I am also taking this opportunity to forward a compatible letter from the Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness for your background, which outlines the homelessness situation, and requests government action.

I call upon the federal government to show its commitment to a national housing program, plus provide the necessary funds that will help fulfill these recommendations. The recommendations are excellent, comprehensive and 'clearly instructive and I believe that, if followed, they will make a substantial and sustainable investment in decent housing.

I urge the federal government to act upon these recommendations, and thereby meaningfully address the travesty of homelessness, a crisis that exposes a deep social injustice in one of the greatest cities in the world.

Sincerely, [Original signed by] Libby Davies, MP (Vancouver East)

CHILDREN ON LOVE Cupid kissed God, and that got the ball a rollin.

Julio age 9 I think you are supposed to get shot with an arrow or somethin, but the rest of it isn't supposed to be so painful!

Manuel age 8 It isn't always just how you like. Look at me, I am handsome as anything, and I haven't got anybody to marry me yet.

Brian age 7 Love makes all things grow .

Maria age 7 Love is like a crayon because it comes in all colors.

Janet age 10 Some people act like happy children. So I would say that it's a pretty good thing.

Lynn age 8

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comments on : why lovers hold hands:............ ?

They want to make sure thier rings do not fall off because they paid good money for them.

Gay age 8 In cold weather, it keeps you both from being ¡ blown away by the wind!

Michelle age 7 They are just practicing for when they might have to walk down the aisle someday and do the holey MA TCHAMONY THING .

John age 9 opinions about love:

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Nobody can survive without love, it is like air and water. There's no use trying to fight Mother Nature.

Shari age 9 Love is sloppy .... especially when there's some other person involved.

Arnold age 10 I'm not rushing into being in love, I'm finding fourth grade hard enough.

Regina age 10 The whole world needs love. But it takes some people a lot longer to get around to understanding that.

Sharon age l 0 Yell out that you love them right at the top of your lungs and don't worry if their parents are there.

Manuel age 8 Don't do things like have smelly green sneakers.

You might get attention, but attention ain't the same thing as love.

Alonzo age 9 If you want someone to love you, be kind and generous and the rest of the stuff that is supposed to happen will take care of itself.

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Arnold age I 0 Lovers will just stare at each other and their food gets cold .... Other people care more about the food. _ Bart age 9 How do I love thee, when you are always picking your nose?

Arnold age 10 As soon as you say " I love you" it gets marked down in heaven and they check up on you to make sure you are behaving yourself.

Julio age 9 Kissing was invented by a fool , if you ask me , but it sure has a lot followers.

Denise age 9 It's never O.K. to kiss a boy, they slobber all over you, that is why I stopped Tamm y age 10 You have to be married to kiss someone on the lips, otherwise you are stuck with their cheeks.

Lucy age 8 I look at kissi ng like this: Kissing is fine if you I ike it, but it's a free country and nobody should be forced to do it.

Mary age 7 Love is either real or barfaroni ..... There's no in between! !!!!!! ! !! ! ! ! ! !!! ! !! !

Robbie age 8 Love is only fake when it is on television. The rest of the time it's for real or else people are trying hard to make it real.

Linda age 8 Spend most of your time loving instead of going to work.

Dick age 7 Love means never hating somebody because they are different on the outside ..

Walker age 8 You can never have too much love. We should keep making it as fast as we can Jenny age 7

Senior citizens are constantly being criticized for every conceivable deficiency of the modern world, real or imaginary. We know we take responsibility for all we have done and do not blame others. HOWEVER, upon reflection, we would like to point out that it was NOT the senior citizens who took: The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The God

melody out of music, pride out of qppearance, courtesy out of driving, romance out of love, commitment out of marriage, responsibility out of parenthood, togetherness out of the family, learning out of education, service out of patriotism, Golden Rule from rulers, nativity scene out of cities, civility out of beh~vior, refinement out of language, dedication out of employment, prudence out of spending, ambition out of achievement, or, out of government and school.

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involves every form of · . pleasant thumb-twiddling; true happiness involves the full use of one's powers . _ and talents." .- John w. Gardner '

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And we certainly are NOT the ones who eliminated patience and tolerance from personal relationships and interactions with othersll And, we do understand the meaning of patriotism, and remember those who have fought and died for our country.

Does anyone under the age of 50 know the lyrics to Advance Australia Fair?

Just look at the Seniors with tears in their eyes and pride in their hearts as they stand at attention, on Remembrance Day and our Country's birthday

YES, I'M A SENIOR CITIZEN! I'm the life of the party...... even if it lasts until 8 p.m.

I'm very good at opening childproof caps... with a hammer.

I'm usually interested in going home before I get to where I am going.

I'm awake many hours before my body allows me to get up .

I'm smiling all the time because I can't hear a thing you ' re saying.

I'm very good at telling stories; over and over and over and over ...

I'm aware that other people 's grandchildren are not nearly as cute as mine.

I'm so cared for --- long term care, eye care, private care, dental care.

I'm not really grouchy , I just don 't like: traffic, waiting , crowds, lawyers , loud music, unruly kids , barking dogs, and a few other things I can't seem to remember right now.

I'm sure everything I can't find is in a safe secure place, somewhere.

I ' m wrinkled, soggy, lumpy, and that's just my left leg.

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps .

I'm sure they are making adults much younger these days , and when did they let kids become policemen?

I'm wondering , if you're only as old as you feel, how could I be alive at 150?

And, how can my kids be older than I feel sometimes?

I'm a walking storeroom of facts .....

I've just lost the key to the storeroom door.

Now if I could only remember who sent this to me, I wouldn't send it back to them, but I would send it to many more!

Have an Awesome Day Submitted by Jan ice P

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Chinese/First Nations Opera Sun Vat Sen Garden , Aboriginal Front Door and the Carnegie Community Centre are partnering on the creation of a new DTES Opera focused on the relationship between the First Nations and Chinese Communities in the DTES. The plan is to have community emerging writers work on individual 15 minute pieces that will then be tied together by a chorus written by an experienced theatre professional. The music will be written by a professional composer and the piece performed by community participants. The intention is to produce the final Opera in spring 2009.

We are seeking four writers (two of Chinese heritage and cultural experience and two First Nations writers) for this proj ect who are jn(erested in working with a professional writer/dramaturge for approximately four months. Writers will not be performers in the production.

Application: submit expression of interest which includes

applicant's involvement in the DTES based on the criteria, previous writing experience and why you are interested in this project. Please drop your submission at the front desk at Carnegie. It will be place in an envelope marked ' Chinese/First Nations Opera' or email to Marg.aret.rnassingale@vancouver.ca . We thank everyone for their submission but will only reply to those chosen for . parttctp atton.

Criteria: Have lived, worked or volunteered in DTES -' DTES involved' • First Nations or Chinese heritage • Record and interest in writing, preferably in the area of lyrics and/or theatre • Experience with and open to collaboration • Committed to a process of writing a 15 minute piece, which wi II be incorporated into a larger piece • Can commit to a 4 month period of writing and cd it inn ~

Pidgeon Anguish Something has just struck me and I know it is not a rock, every morning the4 same pale bucket pale skin pale skies;am I the only one to realise that we need to talk? I speak anguish you speak English but it comes out the same way. Pidgeon Angu ish is the cry heard ' round the sky, it's as if sanity has no place or right to stay .. monsters all of yo u and me shapes and size will be dea lt with accordingly -don' t start pulling sheets up or down; me, i don't yet think it's my loss behind what's hidden brinos 0 us back to the beginning when it was fashionable to be lost.

I am the wrong place, I am the wrong time, am I the one limiting my options? At least let this time rhyme. Everyone exaggerates their pain and despair, believe me not much touch-up needs to be done; I'm speaking pidgeon anguish can I be the only one?

Please don' t just swallow your future all in one filthy big gulp, a drink or nine a word unki nd 'n next thing you know you're being beaten to a pulp Don't think of reprisal 'cause you' re the one caught, courtrooms (read romper rooms) make you the scapegoat; i guess waking up that day was all for naught, ladies and gentlemen of the jury this way - very well be the auction of our lives.

The word of the day is FEAR with every letter cutting in like a knife.

But in this priceless goldmine of a rock the desired effect has come and knocked with instrucual integrity intact I wi II bow to no one no more i see arms raised above the water I think I' II wait until they wash upon the shore, I am the wrong place, I have the wrong time, am I the one delimiting my options?

The foreseeable past has run by so fast, its nucleus could well be the universe and all her suns路 foresee, forgive, forget forgot, am I in Shakes- ' pearian mode? Yes I am the one, the one holding the easel while a portrait of a decaying planet wanting so much to bloom, now my head is made up for sore i~'s my mind that walks away, back safe in one of my mind's rooms.

Robert McGillivray

' Si ing SqnL.I Whose to care about.. when and where and whatever You know me, sure, yet who is me .. who am I? I have a name you know; you've said it before, remember? A tag, a label, a generic logo if you wish (or if you dare) I've been here awhile and have tried to do it with a kind of style. Are you the it, the one I have always had resting in my middle mind .. . Through sharded windows of stars, toward door after open door, it has been quite a .tiring trial I must confess. I've been searching for an elusrve dream about want, about need and bliss and true self-esteem. You hear me clear, yes, you know what I mean.

Have you found the Grail, the pot of gold you've been aching for? Where sometimes everything's not enough where you're always missing and yearning for somewhat more to find and explore - like when you see a word and it jars your mind in deja-vu, similar to a movie reel spinning a tall tale and you relate to the actors who recite remembered lines on time I on cue, or when cards are dealt -two of a kind- and two lives are joined to be forever intertwined.

A story ends like a fairy tale: all at once and astonishin~ly complete, where patience is finally rewarded, persrstence pays at last; lessened worries and carefree themes. That's the ticket through the thicket of snakes and ladders, when love is all that really matters.

I ~ee you as always, mirrored in reflected views, your harr of spun gold and your piercing eyes, your beautiful baby blues.

Robyn Livingstone

Time to raise minimum wage to $10

growth and labour shortages, increasing the minimum wage to $1 0 would, at worst, result in a negE gible slowdown in job growth.

Opponents to minimum wage increases also arguthat so few people actually earn minimum wage th problem is trivial, and that most who do are teena£ ers living comfortably at home. In fact, one in 25 Canadians works for the minimum wage or less.

Twenty eight per cent of women minimum wage earners are age 25 and older. Seventeen per cent o• male minimum wage earners are 25 and older. But thousands of others work for only a little more. Or in fi ve Canad ians earn less than $ 10 an hour, and nearly half of them are over 25. This debate is not 11 j ust about teenagers. 11 For a signi:ficant proportion of our workforce, the idea that full-time minimum wage work should pa enough to stay out of poverty isn't just a matter of principle. It's a matter of financial survival for the1 and their families.

These numbers tell us that economic growth alon; is not enough to raise the floor for low-wage work ~

What does it mean to be a minimum wage earner in British Columbia? It means making $8 per hour or as little as $6 if you're getting the so-called "training w~gell: If you work full -time, it means paydays that brmg m at most $640 and that's before deductions. It means seeing your buying power eaten away year after year by rising living costs. BC's minimum w~ge ~as b~en frozen s ince 200 1, but you pay 2007 pnces JUSt hke everyone else. And it means living on an annual income that is at least $4,000 below the poverty line for a single person.

BC is not alone in failing to set a decent standard of pay for low-wage workers. No province in Canada currently pays a minimum wage that lifts people out of poverty. Provincial governments have been content to let minimum wages erode over time, until fo rced to act. As a result, their real value has fluctu~t~d wid.ely in recent decades, decided more by political wmds than any rational policy or standard.

Raising the minimum wage to$ I 0 an hour would mean a single person working full-time, all year round, could earn enough to li ve just above the most cu rrent (2005) poverty line. And indexing the minimu~ w~e to inflation would put an end to pay cuts by mflat10n for our lowest-paid workers.

The idea that someone working full-time should be ~ble to get out of poverty is a clear, transparent polIcy t~at should determine the minimum wage in BC and m other provinces.

Last week, Ontario's provincial government announced plans to raise its minimum wage to $ l 0.25 by 20 I 0, arguing that a more rapid increase would result in sub~tantial job losses. The evidence suggests otherwise. A new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives weighs the full body of research in th is area. It concludes that the minimum wage is, if anything, a bit player when it comes to ~mployment rates. Over the past 25 years, increases m provincial minimum wages have been followed by bo.th increases and decreases in employment, showJ.ng that other trends in the economy are much more Important. Given BC's current economic

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ers. And in spite of our growing economy, the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. By 2004 it had reached a 30-yer high, with the wealthi est I 0% earning 82 times more than the poorest 10%. The bottom half of earners are taking home a shrinking sl ice of the income pie, even though Canadian families are working harder than ever (200 hours more per year, on average, than they worked 10 years ago).

Raising the minimum wage to$ I 0 an hour won't end poverty or close the income gap overnight. But it is an important first step down the road to a less polarized society, and a step that will make a vital material d ifference in the li ves of thousands of workers and their families.

It's time tor BC's provincial government to raise th. minimum wage to $10, index it to inflation, and get rid ofthe $6 "training wage."

By Stuart Murray Stuart Murray is a researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' BC Office, and coauthor ofBringing Minimum Wages Above the Pov· erty Line, published March 26, 2007.

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Biu: ~hunde~, a pipe carr~er, sun danc:r .and ~weat lodge keeper, in cooperation \vith the Abong1nal Rainbow Council, has been giVIng Big Drum and Hand Drum lesson · 'd · t h e 0 ppenh e1mer · s since mi Fe b ruary In Park clubhouse.

Drumming is strongest when each drummer can hear his or her mother's heart b t' forming the pulse and spirit of an eternal song. ea Ing,

Food Security and the Aboriginal Community ~

The Vancouver Native Health Society is holding a meeting for aboriginal individuals and family providers. Cease Wyss is the organizer and is hoping to bring many people together on this crucial need. The information the Newsletter has is skeletal, due to misplacement of the fact sheet sent here by Cease. The meeting will be in the Jim Green Room of the Four Sisters Co-op, 133 Powell Street, on Thursday, May 17 from 6- g:oopm.

For more information call Cease at 604-780-4274 or VNHS at 604-254-9949.

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY 612 Main Street 604-251-3310

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NEEDLE EXCIIANGE VAN- 3 Roufes: 604-685-6561 CUy- 5:45pm- II :45pm Overnight - I 2:30am -8:30am Downtown Ea stside- 5:30pm - I :30am

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www.carnnews.ora: carnnewsr@vcn.bc.ca

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"The job ofthe ntwspaper ls to t·omfurt lht affllcttd and 11.ffllct the comfortable." · The famous quote is about a hundred years old and can be traced lo lhe wOik of Finley Peter Dunne. one of lhe great journalists of lhe day

THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF T HE CARN EGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Articles represent the views of individual contnbutors and not ofthe Association

2007 DONATIONS: Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC.-$125 Christopher R.-$50 Margaret D.-$40 Penny G.$50 Janice P.-$35 Wes K.-$50 Gram -$400 John S.$60 Leslie S.$20 Michael C.-$80 Sheila B.-$20 Wilhelmina M.-$25 CEEDS -$50 Sam an -$20 Phyllis L. -$200 Paddy -$125 Bob S.-$100 Barry M.-$125 Mel L.-$20 The Edge -$200 Greta P.-$20 The Rockingguys -$25 Jaya B.-$100

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Submission de-.dUne for next Issue:.

Tuesday, May 29

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Carnegie Community Centre

Contact

Jenny Wal Ching Kwan MLA

Working for You 1070-1641 Commercial Dr V5L JYJ Phone: 775-0790 Fax: 775-0881 lowntown Eastside Residents Association 12 E. If astin~ St, or call 682-093 I

Editor; Paul~ . Taylor; Cover art by Agnes

Gallery Gachet Call for Artist Proposals We accept proposals for solo, group, juried, and curated exhibits in our two exhibition spaces for Apri l 2008 through March 2009. Gallery I is our larger, front space. Gallery II is a smaller, more intimate space at the back of the gallery. We also accept propo~als for major exhibitions, screenings, workshops, perfonnances and collaborations. We pay artist fees, as well as provide support for open ings, catering, marketing, mailings, equipment, etc . .

Include in your package: • at least 10 supporting images (prints or digital) per artist • artwork list including title, medium, dimensions and year • artist's CV for each participant (exhibition history) • written proposal stating a well-thought-out theme for the show (250-500 words) Proposals will be looked at more favourably if you are willing to do an artist talk or complimentary programming, or if it thematically coincides with other events and festivals. Gallery Gachet also welcomes exhibits which address themes of mental health and survivor issues. We actively look to create and maintain collaborations within the DTES, mental health, and Vancouver arts communities.

Deadline: July 15,2007.

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to a comrade you said it was your worst moment a year ago surrounded by prominent members of our community who were calling for your head or at least the ultimate punishment a community can inflict banishment

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from the suicide ward #2 a woman who sat in silence slumped rocking slightly and weeping in group therapy everyday smashed jagged glass out of her bathroom mirror and slashed herself because she was told she wasn 't getting any better and had to go home to her white suburban middleclass family but after her violent revolt she looked radiant and defiant and was very friendly and outgoing because she was told that now she couldn't go back home Bud Osborn

and there you were given a moment to speak and instead of defending yourself or attacking your accusers spoke hopefully that from all the trouble a stronger community would emerge i watched you return to your seat below where i stood in the crowded balcony you were wearing a long dress and though i didn't know you then admit having sexual thoughts even in the midst of such intense politics and i wondered how shapely your legs were and now a year later the tension anxiety and fear arising from our attempts to help a brutalized community ...........~ relents for one glorious moment your long legs wrap decisively around me Bud Osborn

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Women's Voices: Community Response to Health & Wellbeing AYe 1::1ou coV\-C.ervt.e~ about 1::1ouy he.aLHt al!'vd the cuyyell\.t heaLth caye s1::1steli\.1.? rf so, pLeasejot~ us o~ the 111\.te~tw~L Dal::1 of Actw~ foY WoV~Ae~'s t-teaLth to ta~ payt L~ co~versatio~s o~ tVt~s. CoVIlle foy a~ ¥\ouy OY sta foyt¥\e ~atj!

• When: Monday May 28th, 2007 • Where: Heritage Hall, 3102 Main St, Vancouver • What: 9:45 am Opening • !O:OOam Conversation- Women's Health: Quality housing & a living Income • I 1:00am Conversation-Women's Wellbeing: What services do you need?

• 12:00pm Lunch and Entertainment • 1:00pm Conversation-Women's Health: Social determinants of health the issues and solutions • 2:45 pm Closing Information tables throughout the day This will be a Women Only event For more information, please contact the Vancouver Women's Health centre at 604-736-5262

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Editor and Friends, Just to let you know that it is apparently all right that the merchants in the area pass fraudulent bills.

Yes, this is true!

This afternoon (29,4) I went to a local drugstore to buy some aspirin. I paid with a $10 bill and she gave me my change, which included a $5 bill. I stuffed the change in my front jean pocket and went practica11y right next door to buy some tea, at which point another she told me the $5 bill was NO GOOD. So I marched back to said drugstore and she said she did not give me that $5 bill.

After much ado with the Police (which I demanded for justice) he, at the end of it all, said· that she probably knew she was passing a fraudulent bill!

Elizabeth Ashforthe

SurpLus!!

It seems that in most places talked about- to distraction- in the news, there's money to bum. Now don ' t write me off as an idiot just yet; I'm referrin g to leve ls of government from municipal to provincial to federal.

The City of Vancouver has a property endowment fund with over $1 biJiion in it...

The Province of B.C. has a surplus of about $2.5 billion and that's going up to at least $6 billion over the next 2 years ...

The Canadian federal gov't has a surplus in the scores of billions, roughly estimated at $75 B. These to-be-envied gluts of money have come about, at least for Gordie and gang in Victoria

and, to an extent ranging from before Paul Martin up to and certainly including Steve Harper and his hypocrites, by cutting, slashing and burning former publicly provided services.

The feeling of helpless indignation glows throughout the vast majority of the populations because there is never a person who gets into power saying "I'm going to reduce taxes by cutting, slashing and burning the very programs and services that most of you fought for, have come to take pride in and even depend on.

It's like the democratic system of government is looked at as a game, played by the power-brokers (read very wealthy) to ensure that whoever wins does what they are told. A case in point is housing and homelessness, with poverty, minimum wage and sweatshop j o bs, drug epidemics and a booming prison business all factors.

One would think that with all this money the 3 levels of gov't could certainly act with benevolent intelligence: building decent affordable housing across the province & country; raising minimum wages to a level that lifts those working full-time to at least the poverty line if not slightly above it; liveable welfare rates with many opportunities and programs that help get people off, not forcing or just arbitrarily cutting people off after a period of time; good working standards that have tough enforcement arms and a solid labour rights code; intelligent and many-faceted kinds of drug related programs of treatment and harm reduct ion not tied to an elite's hypocritical wars on different substances (hypocritical because some of the very highest political and corporate people are dire'ctlv involved in profiting from the importation and sale of same); and the current answer to housing being the construction of more and more prisons.

Many years ago (1987(!)) Tora did a cartoon where the Downtown Eastside Duck, cooking a pot of something under the Georgia viaduct, said: " Why can't they ever get it right?" ~

"It" is what's just been referred to- building, putting tax money where it can do the most good for the most people, basically changing the current paradigm from one of personal greed to one of community need. An example is the $800 million of public money being spent by Campbell's boss (the Fraser Institute eta!) to build a larger Trade and Convention Centre right beside the current one in downtown Vancouver. The price tag for the minimal amount of social housing needed in just the Downtown Eastside for thousands of local people is maybe $400 million.

And the most sickening part is that Campbell, playing his role as pubJic mouthpiece for those who got all the approvals needed from whomever minority or department of their own governments to do what is being done, says repeatedly that the whole thing is in the best interests of everyone!

KEEP RIGHT All this is a prelude to a simple, glaring fact: The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the Olympics made their business plan public (2 years late) and, even though there is a huge majority of people wanting a creative end to homelessness and the ills causing same, didn't include one dollar in this multi-billion dollar scheme toward fulfilling the responsibility taken on in getting the Olympic bid: to provide housing- to leave a legacy of winning from the ground up.

They did not deviate from the rock solid phi los ophy of the same so-called elite: We get unlimited power and wealth. The rabble can have the rest...

The most obvious, glaring hole in this is that who says who's rabble is a matter of opinion, not fact.

The c ircular illogic of saying who is rich and powerful is good and who ij' good is rich and powerful sinks like a stone in the Force that permeates everything in this fantastic universe.

ByPAULR TAYLOR

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Carnegie Community Centre Association's 2007 Annual General Meeting

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prior to the election. To vote you must have been a member for 14 days immediately prior to the election.

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! Thursday, JUNE 7. To run for the Board of Directors, you must have been a member for 60 days immediately ~, 1 #' A" # I ""I-:IY~-~W.I'I4' ,f/;"IF.W.'W :M'' r ~,~,~ II'~IN I

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Dear Prime Minister, Premier Campbell, Mayor Sullivan and VANOC, I am writing to express my support for the 23 unanimous recommendations of the Inner City lnclusivity Housing Table of March 2007 to minimize the impact of the Olympics on people living in poverty in downtown Vancouver.

Your representatives promised in their 2010 Winter Games Inner-City Inclusive Commitment Statement (p 3, Housing)to: •

Protect rental housing stock

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Provide visitor and worker accommodation

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Ensure the Games cause no homelessness Ensure no displacements, evictions, or rent increases as a result of the Games

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Provide an affordable housing legacy.

I applaud the Provincial purchase of 595 hotel rooms and commitment to build 300 units of new supported housing. But there remain 1500-2000 homeless people living outside in Vancouver*, 500-700 people living in shelters and 5430 nearly homeless people living in privately owned residential hotels rooms. ** Act on your promises and implement the actions of the Housing Table to: •

Build 3200 units of mostly supportive low income housing by 201 0;

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Acquire 800 rental units by 201 0;

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Convert 200 units of athlete housing to low-income housing after the Games;

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Raise welfare rates by 50% (from March, 2007 levels);

• End the barriers that keep people in need from accessing welfare These recommendations need to be acted upon no later than October 2007 in order for them all to be completed in time for the 2010 Olympics.

Sincerely, (Signature) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ Name Return address with postal code *Judy Graves, Homeless Advocate, City of Vancouver, April 2007 **Ben Johnson, City of Vancouver, Housing Department, May 2007

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Sign this letter or write your own, then drop it off at the CCAP office. We'll mail it.