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NEWSLETTER 401 Main St, Van, V6A 2T7
OCTOBER 15, 2006 604-665-2289 www.camnews.org camnews@vcn.bc.ca
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friday October 11 8:30am Hatha Yoga, radha yoga & eatery
Wednerday October 15 11 :15am Qiu Xi a He and Andre Thibault
Pre-fertival Eventr
Strathcona Community Centre
10:40 Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden Strathcona Community Library
10:45am FESO, Admiral Seymour Elementary School
2:30pm Festival launch, Carnegie Tneatre
1:45pm FESO, Stra~hcona Elementary School
6:30pm Block Printing Workshop
4pm Yvon Paul Chartrand, Ray-Cam
Monday October 16
Gallery Gachet
Cooperative Centre
1:30pm- 3:30pm Day of the Dead Decoration
7:30pm- 1 0:30pm Dance of the Seven Veils Opening, radha yoga & eatery
7pm- 9:30pm Drum Circle & Seym our Taiko Drummers, Strathcona Community Centre
Bpm Dalannah Gail Bowen & Harris Van Berkel,
Bpm - 9pm Condemned - A Work in Progress
Vancouver East Cultural Centre
Carnegie Theatre
Workshop, Watari
Wednerday October 18 1 pm Michael Kusugak
Bpm White & Black Opening Night Costume
Stathcona Community Library
7:30pm Art Talk with Qiu Xia He and Takeo Yamashiro, call604-254-6911 for location
Thurrday October 1~ 1:30pm-3:30pm Day of the Dead Decoration
Party, InterUrban Gallery
Thurrday October 16 7:30am Hatha Yoga, radha yoga & eatery 12pm- 2pm Session 1: International, Arts+ DTES =Gentrification?, Gallery Gachet
~aturday
2:30pm The Shadows Project - a reading
9am Hatha Yoga, radha yoga & eatery
Workshop, Oppenheimer Park
Bpm M ichael Kusugak
Carnegie Theatre
Vantouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre
friday October 10 6pm Community Play Reunion
9:30pm East End Blues ... and all that Jazz radha yoga & eatery
October 18
10:30am The Vaudeville and Theatre Circuit
Bpm Red Mother and Gravity, Russian Hall
of the Old East End, starts at 50 E. Pender
9pm -10pm Play Reading, Arts Rational
12pm- 3pm Storyscapes Chinatown
on Co-op Radio
Chinese Cultural Centre
Carnegie Theatre
1 pm - 3pm Chinatown Day
7pm Video Premiere - Heart and Home: Inner City, Carnegie Theatre
Chinese Cultural Centre
7:30pm Dance with Whiskey Jar,
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Carnegie Theatre
4pm Vancouver Cantonese Opera
3pm ZEELLIA
Carnegie Theatre
Monday October 13 1:30pm - 3:30pm Day of the Dead Decoration Workshop, Watari
Bpm - 9pm Condemned- A Work in Progress followed by Q & A, Carnegie Theatre 9:30pm East End Blues ... and all that Jazz radha yoga & eatery
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Wednerday NoveMber 1
5atutday tfoveeer 4
1 0:30am Bruce Eriksen Heritage Walking Tour starts at Carnegie front steps
1 pm - 6pm Day of the Dead Lunch, Procession & Fiesta, St. James' Church Hall
9am Hatha Yoga, raclla yoga & eatery
1 0:30am - 3:30pm Sweet Sounds Sunday Brunch, radha yoga & eatery
2pm - 4pm Open House, Evelyne Saller Centre
10:30am Bruce Eriksen Heritage Walking Tour starts at Carnegie flmt steps
6:30pm All Saints Day Mass St. James' Anglican Church
1 pm Sacred Dance Workshop radha yoga & eatery
7pm Uzume Taiko, Carnegie Theatre
1 pm - 3pm Book latl"lch - Death in a Dumpster, Victory Square
5unday O(tober l7
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12pm - 4pm DTES Kids' Artswirl & Exhibition Gallery Gachet 12:30pm - 1:30pm Solo Piano &Other Instruments, Carnegie Theatre
1 pm Choral Gathering Exchange Workshop Ukrainian Hall
Thurfday NoveMber l
3:30 Documentary - Finding Dawn Carnegie Theatre
7:30am Hatha Yog a, radha yoga & eat ery
7pm Poetry Evening.CarnegieTheatre
1:30pm The Ret urning Journey Carnegie Theatre
12:30pm - 2:30pm Music Showcase First United Church
8pm Theatre in the Raw, Ukrainian Hal
2pm Dance Workshop, Carnegie Gymnasium
2pm - 4pm Cultural Story Sharing Aboriginal Front Door
5unday NoveMber 5
7pm - 9pm Carnegie CD Project InterUrban Gallery
9am Hidden LangUige Hath a Yoga radha yoga & eatery
9pm - 10pm Play Reading Arts Rational on Co-op Radio
1Oam - 1 pm Footpmts Mosiac Project Demonstration & T<U', Carnegie Theatre
3pm - 4pm Condemned - A Work in Progress Carnegie Theatre 3pm Gift of Life in Music From the Heart St. James' Church 4:30pm - 6:30pm Three Cases of Art Reception & Videos, Carnegie 3rd floor Gallery 7pm - 9pm The Tipping Point Cabaret Carnegie Theatre
Monday O(tober 30 1Oam Hatha Yoga, radha yoga &eatery 1:30pm - 3:30pm Day of the Dead Decoration Workshop, Watari 1:30pm - 4:30pm Addiction: Thinking Outside the Box, Carnegie Theatre 5pm - 9pm First Nations Cultural Sharing Carnegie Theatre
Tuefday O(tober 31 7:30am Hatha Yoga, radha yoga & eatery
friday NoveMber 3 8:30am Hath a Yoga, radha yoga & eat ery
12pm - 3pm VJLS &J-1 Food Bazaar Japanese Hall
12:30pm - 2:30pm Carnegie Band Class Carnegie Theatre
3pm AUUC Concert. Ukrainian Hall
1 pm - 4pm A Dialogue on Community Arts and Activism, Carnegie 3rd floor 3pm Workshop with Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden. Carnegie Theatre 7pm Portrait s of Dignity/DTES Women's Centre Exhibition Opening, Gallery Gachet 7:30pm Larry Loyie and Constance Brissenden, Carnegie Theatre 8pm The Silk Project Opening and f ashion show, Centre A
10am Hidden Language Hatha Yoga radha yoga & eatery
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7pm Urban Barn Danre with The ThreePotaoo Band, Ukrainian Hall
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Port-festival Eventr
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Monday NoveMber 6 6:30pm Block Printing Workshop Gallery Gachet
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Thurrday Novellber 1 1 Oam - 4pm The City as Stage Workshop Russian Hall
6:45 - 1 Opm Halloween Cabaret Coffee House Carnegie Theatre •
5:30pm Ukrainian Sapper, Ukrainian Hall
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12pm - 2pm Session II: Vancouver, Arts+ DTES = Gentrification?, Gallery Gachet
9pm- midnight Poetry, Music & Spoken Word Showcase, Radio Station Cafe/Co-op Radio
1 0:30am Sacred Sound, Sacred Song Workshop, radha yoga & eatery
5at & 5un NoveSer 11 &ll Bob Sarti
1Oam- 5:30pm B~ng Into the Biz Forum Russian Hall
The 3rd Annual Downtown Eastside
Heart of the City Festival
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Wed. 25 October- Sun. 5 November 2006
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'ith a focus on the rich and diverse communities of the Downtown Eastside, The 3rd Annual Heart of the City ~stival celebrates the creative artists and activists that thrive in the heart of Vancouver. This year's festival :atures an extraordinary breadth of arts with more than 250 artists. A few early highlights Visiting from Rankin Inlet for the Writers Festival, Michael Kugugak visits our community on Thursday tct 19 for an evening of storytelling, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, 1607 E. Hastings, 8pm. Free On Friday Oct 20, 6pm attend the Community Play Reunion in the Carnegie Theatre. Reacquaint with old ·iends, meet new ones, reminisce and get up-to-date. At 7pm see the premiere screening of Anne Marie .Jater's video Heart and Home: Inner City, which follows Kat Norris and Stephen Lytton during last 1 ear's festival as they talk about the challenges and the power of art in the DTES. Following the premiere, we , rill dance the night away at the Carnegie Dance featuring the blue-grass, old tim in' Whiskey Jar. Free I Help kick off the festival Wednesday Oct 25 at the Festival Launch where Sam George will welcome us .nd guests will entertain; including Bob Sarti, Dalannah Gail Bowen and FESO, with traditional ~imbabwean folk music. Surprise guests! Carnegie Theatre, everyone welcome! Free
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• Red Mother and Gravity, two new plays developed by urban ink' s Fathom Labs. Red Mother is written and )erformed by Muriel Miguel and Gravity is written and perfonned by Tricia Collins. On Thursday Oct 26 ~pm, at the Russian Hall, 600 Campbell. Pay as you can • The festival offers many opportunities for discussion and input on topics of concern to the community. Feedback on The Shadows Project follows the reading on Thurs Oct 26, followed by the seminar Addiction: Thinking Outside the Box on Mon Oct 30. Attend the Community Arts Network Forum Thurs Oct 26 and Tues Oct 31 Arts+ DTES = GentrifiCation? for discussion about concerns of the community. • On Friday and Saturday Oct 27 and 28 at 8pm and Sunday Oct 29 at 3pm, the Carnegie Opera Project presents Condemned- A Work in Progress in the Carnegie Theatre. Written by DTES writers, with music by I Earle Peach. See festival program guide for ticket information. • Join Candus Churchill, Tom Pickett and Leonard Gibson with jazz and memories of the black community of the DTES. East End Blues ... and All That Jazz, Friday and Saturday Oct 27 and 28 9:30pm, radha yoga & eatery, 728 Main, suggested donation $1 0. • Lots more! Drum Circle at 7pm Friday Oct 27 at the Strathcona School Auditorium, Chinatown Afternoon at the Chinese Cultural Centre and Zeellia at 3pm at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on Saturday Oct 28. Sunday Oct 29 is Carnegie Day, a full day of music, theatre, workshops and art, with The Tipping Point Cabaret at 7pm. Free •
For complete programme information, pick up the Festival Program Guide at the Carnegie Front Desk. •
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Speak out to save. housing On October 19th Vancouver city council wiiJ be considering a'motion that is vitally important to Downtown Eastside residents. Councilor Tim Stevenson has put forward a motion to stop conversions of single room accommodation (SRA) in hotels and rooming houses. This is the motion:
WHEREAS: Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)
Rent supplements won't solve housing crisis While rent supplements can have a place in a comprehensive housing strategy, t~e BC government needs to build thousands of umts of affordable housing to end homelessness and stop the housing crisis . in BC "Studies show that rent supplements cost more m the long run than building new af_fordable ho?sing," said Jean Swanson of the Carnegie Commumty Action Project. "For example, a study by the Unive.rsity of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Commumty Research shows that over a 30 year period 500 units of low income housing cost about $175 million compared to $200 to $250 million for the same number of rent supplemented units. In addition US studies show that rent supplement ' policies increase the rents of people who don ' t get subsidies. One US study of 90 urban areas showed a 16% increase due to rent supplements. "In BC especially Vancouver, there isn't enough ' . 70~ housing " said Swanson. The vacancy rate ts . l'o, ' way below a healthy vacancy rate of 3 to 5 0~ ~o. Rent supplements "give the illusio~ of chotce,. but when much of the housing problem ts a supply ISsues the choice is not real," says Andrew Yan, author,ofCCAP's recent report, "Solving the Housing Crisis. Swanson said the provincial government must also increase welfare rates at least 50 % so the poorest people in the province will be able to rent a decent .place to live. Find Andrew Yan's report at www.c-cap.ca
1. the number of homeless in Vancouver's streets is steadily climbing . 2. conversions of single room accommodation units is increasing despite the SRA bylaw; and , 3. these conversions within a few blocks of the Olympic village may constitute a violation of the City of Vancouver's commitments to the IOC under the Inclusivity Intent Statement with our bid to host the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Winter Paralympic Games;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED I. That council impose a moratorium on any conversions of SRA accommodation pending a report from staff on the threat to this crucial housing. 2. Direct staff to recommend measures necessary to strengthen the SRA bylaw, including increasing the conversion fee. 3. Be it finally Resolved that council, through the Mayor, call on both senior levels of government to commit to restore funding for affordable housing to confront the crisis. You can speak at city council on Thursday, Oct. 19th. First, you have to call Diane Claremont at 604 871-6371 to get on the speakers list. Don't be intimidated! It's your right to speak out about housing. Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) is holding a workshop on to help you figure out what to say, get on the speakers list, and know what to expect at city hall. Come and check it out from 1 to 3 pm on Tuesday, Oct. 17th, in the Art Gallery on · the third floor of Carnegie. --Jean Swanson, CCAP •W
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News from the Library New Books: The Library is starting a collection of construction and home improvement related books. The books we have received so far are in the display cabinet outside the library staff room. There are books on plumbing, tiling, wiring, and more. They are available to borrow. Ask the library staff to take them out of the cabinet for you. Book Club: The Book Club needs you and you need the book club. Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m. Goodies provided. This fall we will be reading short stories from I by local authors, many with local settings. Come to
read or come to listen. Bring your opinions. Discussion will follow the reading of the story. Michael Kusueak: Thursday October 19, 8pm Come to the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre ( 1607 E. Hastings) for an evening with Inuit author and storyteller Michael Kusugak. Michael spent his early years in Repulse Bay listening to the stories of his grandmother by the light of a soapstone sealoil lamp. In the fall of 1954 he and some of his friends were whisked away by the infamous Catholic residential school system. Eventually, Michael returned to Rankin Inlet, got married and had four 路boys. His children prompted him to write and the rest, as they say, is history. Mark your Librarian
Lazara Press invites you to a book party to celebrate the publication of Sheila Baxter's play "Death in a Dumpster: A Passion Play for the Homeless" on Sunday, October 22 from 1-4 pm at St John's United Church, 140~ Comox Street(@ Broughton).
Refreshments will be served.
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Tickets for the Carnegie Opera
CondemnedA Work in Progress will be available starting at 9:00 am on Thursday, October 19th at the 3rd Floor Program Office The performances are on Friday, October 27th, at 8:00pm; Saturday, October 28th, at 8:00pm; and Sunday, October 29th, at 3 pm. The tickets are first come first serve and only two per person. Seating is limited so pick up your tickets earl . ! "My vision for this play is that it makes every city and province have memorials for the poor and the sick who die unnoticed; that eyes and hearts be opened to what is exposed here. " - Sheila Baxter Danny, a young fisherman from Nova Scotia, ends up on the streets of Vancouver and dies in a dumpster in the west end. Death in a Dumpster is a play about the community that exists on the streets but it is also a play about poverty -- it reflects the obscenity of people living and dying on the streets in a country of such affluence. Author Sheila Baxter read in the newspaper about a man who died in a dumpster in the Lower Mainland, and wanted to create a memorial that showed who he might have been. She became involved in the antipoverty movement in Montreal forty years ago and has been active in Vancouver's downtown eastside and west end for the past 25 years. On the back cover, Libby Davies, MP, says: . "When a dumpster becomes a refuge, what is the meaning oflife in the city? ... Poverty is only a word, but it is very loaded with life, death, grief family and denial. This play is about that word. "
•unions should educate their members about poveey * We've lost our sense of money, and costs; the · poor are beyond people's comprehension *We talk about health and education, but not poveey * Yet we're on a roll about fighting poverty; more people are on board *The National Council of Welfare's report finally got covered in the media * More and more people are paying attention to the matter, eg, Toronto Star series on poveey and the working poor has been very powerful- but why aren't they having the effect that they should? * In Toronto, people are working full time all year and yet are slipping deeper into poveey * T. Martin started People's Parliament on Poverty *Need to start a political movement that the government can't ignore * Make this a defining issue of the next federal election - the community can make it an issue but can we join you on a political level? * NDP should poll on poverty * Assumption that social system creates the deficit *But we're talking about a value system that is about humanity, and we need to concentrate on this NDP needs to take the lead, doesn't have a lot to lose
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Dear Friends,
October 5, 2006
Please find enclosed a copy of the notes from the Social Policy Roundtable that was hosted by me and Tony Martin (NDP MP, Sault Ste. Marie) last month. I want to thank those of you who participated, for taking the time to share your concerns and ideas. Your comments help us in our national campaign to fight poverty. As we know, life is harder than ever for many vulnerable Canadians, and more and more people are under threat. We want to hold the federal government accountable for this tragic and unnecessary situation, and we'll keep you apprised of our efforts. Sincerely, Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East
SOCIAL POLICY ROUNDTABLE Friday, September 22, Carnegie Centre Hosted by Libby Davies (MP, Vancouver East) and Tony Martin (MP, Sault Ste. Marie)
NOTES taken: Political Climate * Poveey is a critical national issue * Address systemic poor. bashing which has become entrenched in social policy. * It's bad to mention the word "poveey" in political circles - but we need to start organizing, mobilizing, and making noise * There's a division in perception of the poor; poor people are despised, seen to have made bad choices . * Disparity with those with decent jobs . * Can't assume that those with union jobs are secure;. they're a step away from poveey and we should view those on welfare as sisters and brothers
What Can We Do To Raise The Visibility Of This Issue?
* Canada is a signatory to UN conventions that Canada has repeatedly violated! * Focus on international bodies and treaties * Talk about it in Parliament * Be aggressive with politicians and the media * Poor people are deserving of respect - we show the participation of people doing the best they can * Be specific with goals; use sweat equity and make a school here, housing there showing people helping themselves * Poveey causes everything that is bad in society: racism, sexism, low voter turnout, low education levels
Welfare Rates • * So many are denied assistance as it is, and when people do get assistance, it is far below what is reasonable; people are effectively encouraged to not get welfare * Based on public opinion polling by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives there is an information gap, not a values gap -good news
* The public support is there, they just need to know how bad it is - then they will be on side * People think it's easy to get welfare, and that it gives more than it does (a gross misperception) * But politicians need to set people straight and give political expression to the reality that it's not easy to get, and that it doesn't give a lot of assistance * People need to know how low welfare rates are * People are a bundle of contradictions (be aware) * The federal NDP should talk to their provincial counterparts because they've been silent on this * We need to convince politicians and the public * Labour market strategy: take people off welfare and put them into low paying jobs, but this is worse because they lose transportation and health subsidies provided by welfare * Poor people want to work but don't want to put family in jeopardy * How welfare rates are set is a complete mystery *Market basket solution isn't ideal, but it's progress * Rates shouldn't be determined by government fiat but by actual cost of goods and services
National Standards *We have the highest rates of poverty, child poverty, and single mothers - and_this is due to deliberate, conscious decisions by the government *Due to cuts in legal aid, poor people can't access the legal system This is all due to the provincial Liberals * So we must fight for national standards otherwise people are at the mercy of provincial governments and then we don't have a nation; we have fiefdoms * National standards are now off the agenda WHAT kind of country do we want? . * Need a review of the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST), which is part of the systemic problem - now there are no rules, no accountability * On the other hand, we are allowed to talk about the fiscal imbalance, but it's always about money spent on social programs *We're talking about poor people; everyone's wellbeing. * Women's issues are connected to all of this H~using
* We'll have triple the homeless number by 2010 * Homeless people have increased in the community . * Feds should get into a national housing strategy; there aie fewer and fewer options for people
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* Should be incentives for landlords to make units affordable
Real Consequences * The struggles within the system cost people money; they are out of pocket for orthotics, things are taken out of basic health care; no places to get even basics like a shower, toothbrush, soap, other necessities * Young moms and women face great problems, especially young single moms okay to use the term "girls" and it's okay to differentiate between girls and women, so the girls' voices don't get lost * Landlords won't rent to them * For those exiting the criminal justice system, the Ministry of Child and Family Development tells you to go on welfare * Widows, by virtue of their young age, are cut off of deceased husband's disability pension * People are continuously told to sell their assets, to get on a list for assisted living; this should be, if it isn't already, illegal * People need home support and it's not available * Nursing homes are not standardized, should be * Seniors only get 1 bath a week; it will cost $66 million to cover a second bath for BC's 15,000 • • semors m care. Effects on Agencies * Crisis at the community level * Restricting/downsizing of accountability * Barriers for people to access services *Workers' wages in the non-profit sector not keep• mgpace *Clothing exchanges, free food are being lost
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* Competitive and non-transparent process that governments put us thru to get funding * Government assumes that non-profits will keep providing service, but we are overwhelmed
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ie, the "social economy" - nonprofits & cooperatives are 16% of GDP; 11-13% of employable workforce * Should try to lift this sector * Social enterprise: starts businesses, and employs participants General
* Young males with drug dependence and mental
health issues plus health issues- they need a place to live; totally marginalized * I didn't give money to panhandlers 10 years ago, but now I do becaus~ people aren't getting enough * Childcare is a huge jssue, especially single moms trying to fmd work . * Migrant workers aren't protected; no Employment Insurance; no Workers Comp; being exploited * People are disproportionately impacted by poverty , and it's important to remember the different popula• t10ns * Can't find a policy that meets everyone's needs * Cross jurisdictional arguments about who is responsible * Look at h<Yw we treat our children *By 2010 there will be no poverty in BC (sarcastic) - the BC Liberals have cut all kinds of programs: women's; legal; seniors; disability- they wi11 no longer be in the papers, so it doesn't exist anymore * Should read "Impact of Inequality" by Wilkinson
DOCUMENTARY (Saturday) NIGHTS in October at Carnegie •
Oct.14: The Corporation
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Oct.21: Te"or Storm
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Oct.28: Blackout (Vancouver debut!)
Documentary nights begin on Carnegie's 3 floor at 6:30pm Saturdays. Coffee, tea and goodies will be available, as well as a $20 gift certificate as a door · given out at each showing. All welcome!
Home again and school to boot
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· Well I recently got home from a visit home. I went to visit my family and stayed a bit longer than I had expected to, about a month too long. As it turned out it was worth it and I probably won.'t ever do that again. My sis needed some help so I ended up watching her grandkids while she worked. I sure got to know them good and also my family who I haven't spent much time with over the last dozen or so years, except for the odd funeral or other crisis, if you know what I mean. Well I'm home now and I'm back in school or University to my learned (or any) friends. Last year I took the Humanities 101 course offered to us indigent people. I really had a good time and when they asked for volunteers to be available for the next class I threw my name into the ring and was accepted as a mentor for this year's hopefuls . The class has an hour or so of instruction, a ISminute break, and then we separate into 4 groups to discuss what has taken place earlier. Last Tuesday was my first opportunity to take part and contribute. I have to thank Margot, the Dean of Hum 101 (I think) for allowing me to come late. I wrote Margot and told her I would be late and hoped that would be okay. It was. What a wonderful experience being back to class. I'm looking forward to another great year. I know it can't be as good as last year, but if it's only half as good it will make the year worthwhile. We started out with a movie about someone cutting off the faces of young women to fix up his daughter, who he had caused to lose her face because of a car accident. It's rather involved and I don't really feel it is .approprii ate to tell the story and spill the beans. The story was 'first released in 1959 and you'll probably never see it but it brought up a lot of discussion in the breakup classes after the film. Aah! It sure is good to be back learning again and its really great to be back in the land of the poor and downtrodden. This is where I belong and I don't plan on ever staying away for so long again .... hal
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Bestowed with Charity, Robbed of Dignity: My Week in a Vancouver Homeless Shelter Two things made me decide to spend a week in an emergency shelter for men: The first thing was when Vancouver Burrard MLA Lome Mayencourt spoke to the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association at The Four Seasons Hotel. Mayencourt wants to make a detox center in a rural area for substance abuse victims to be put to work. The idea is based on the model of an Italian institution in San Patrigano that Mayencourt visited last January. The other thing that influenced me to check myself into a shelter was the much-publicized trips of Vancouver and Victoria mayors to tour European facilities to see how they deal with poverty. I found myself wondering that with all these .trips, how many of our wealthy leaders have even bothered to see what life is like in their own backyard? So I set off to document a week in the shelter over top the offices of the Diocese of Vancouver, and what I found was enough to challenge my faith in the church. It is eight at night when I climb up the two and a · half flights of steps. Substance abuse victims fidget in the comers. An old man struggles up one step at a time. The window sills are littered with bits of aluminum foil and scratch-and-wins. When I get to the top a man behind a plexi-glass window takes my • name and tells me to come back at midnight. At 12:10 there are 7 men under the sign of Jesus holding a lamb. A man's voice comes through a
little box on the wall and calls out three names including mine, the other men are turned away. Five minutes later a man opens the door and we climb up the stairs. We get buzzed through the door at the top and wait as each man is asked for his name, S.LN.#, birth date, and signature. Each of us gets two sheets, a blanket and a pillowcase. I 00 men sleep in four dorms with rows of a dozen beds down each wall. The beds are about I Y2 feet apart. I find my bed between a substance abuse victim who can't stop fidgeting and a tidy, young south east Asian man. The room smells of dirty socks, my neighbour never stops moving about, and several men snore, but I am tired and I'm asleep by lam. At 6 the lights come on, morning radio comes through the intercom, and a voice says "First call for meal tickets." I line up to sign for seven dollars in meal tickets and then stagger down the stairs and out into the cold. Many of the men are waiting for McDonald's to open so they can use their meal tickets. I decide to opt for the Senior's center and get a special omelet breakfast for my pink and white tickets, leaving me with a green 3.25. When I get back to the shelter at 8:30 the man at the window tells me I don't have a bed and that I should have been back before 8. There is an old sign on the door that says "Ministry referrals only after 4. Self referrals only after 8." so I thought I had to be back after 8. I come back at midnight but this time the voice does not come out of the little box on the wall until nearly I am. This time I get a bed illuminated by the light from the hall. I'm so tired I can't sleep. The man next to me 4tjects drugs into himself while watching for staff in the reflection in the window. Two men play cards in the hall. There is a smoking .room with church pews full of men fidgeting with 'crack pipes. The continuous noise of flicking lighters is everywhere. Finally, I wad up toilet paper to stuff into my ears in hopes of warding off the roaring snores in my dorm. On the third night I make sure to get back before 8. • The mail behind the window tells me I still don' t have a bed booked and to come back at midnight. If I want a bed, he says, I should get a referral from welfare. I overhear a man arguing that he works and can't go to welfare. The staff explains to him that this is a business and if they don't get welfare referrals, they don't get paid. The next morning I go to
welfare and ask for a referral to the shelter. The man at the window tells me that they can't write .a referral but he gives me a paper with an appointment time for a meeting with a social worker. He tells me that the shelter will like to see this. At the Gathering Place Community Center I meet a man in the cafeteria line up. Dinner is 3.75 so I have to supplement my green ticket with fifty cents, but it is ~ big meal. The man tells me that dinner used to be 3.25, but it went up a year ago. He stayed at the shelter nearly ten years ago and tells me that he got seven dollars in meal tickets back then too. He says he doesn't do drugs, drink, or gamble. He tells me of how he's been staying at the shelter for more than three months and working for a granite business in Richmond for six weeks. Welfare refused to give him a referral because he works so he had to check in at midnight every night. Finally, he started forging the referrals. He says he's really looking forward to getting out of the shelter, but he has no time to look for a place. He wprks six days a week moving granite slabs, and he only has a chance to shower on Sundays. If he can't find a place to rent soon he's just going to buy a camper and live on the park-: ing lot at his work. I show the man at the desk my appointment slip and he checks me in for a month. From then on I have the security of knowing my bed will be there. I also get a locker, but I must provide my own lock. My neighbour, a man so twitchy he looks like he's been ingesting bug poison, tells me I'd better get a lock because the place is full of thieves. Somebody had stolen his work boots before he'd had a chance to buy a lock and he's been out of work ever since. I try the showers. Bits of toilet paper are all over the floor. A man is rinsing hi~ socks in the sink and complaining that it takes more that two days for them to dry. There are no doors on the two toilet stalls. The toilet seat is melted. No matter where I stand in the shower room, I'm visible from the donn. There is no control on the shower, only a button that must be pressed every minute to continue the flow of hot water. I use my sweater as a towel. If men can come up with a dollar they can use the private showers and laundry facilities at the Gathering Place. They give me two towels and soap. One man gives me a pair of socks and says that it is not in the center's mandate to issu~ socks so I shouldn't
ex~ect .anoth~r pair for a month. As I'm showering 1
nottce ttchy httle welts on my wrists and ankles. That night I ask my neighbour about the welts and he tells me that they're bed.bug bites and that our dorm has them pretty bad. I hadn't noticed them ~fore, but now I can feel the little creatures crawlmg all ovetme. I take my bedding into the smoking room but I can't find one. Finally, I manage to catch one,.fuJJ of blood and therefore slower. It's nearly a centimeter long and looks like a tiny crab, normally flat but after they feed they swell up to an oval sha~e. The m~ on one side of me says that they don, t b?the~ him; he can feel them moving, but they don t btt~ htm. The man on my other side is tormented. He has incredible swelling up and down both anns. That night he puts on all his clpthes, 路 even gloves, and tucks his pants into his socks. He pulls th~ dr_aw~tring of his hood tight and aU you can see of hun Is hts face. The next morning his face is swollen with bites. He complains to the staff at the front and they tell him that they are aware of the problem. He goes to a clinic and they give him two s~uirts pf calamine lotion that does no good. I dectde to thr~w away all my clothes when my time is up. That rught we form a hunting party and kill many of the little parasites living in the seams of our mattresses, but they are fast and it is suspected that they are hiding in the ventilation system and in the cracks of the old building. The next morning I decide to attend the morning Eucharist at the Holy Rosary Cathedral. I remember . once, years ago, I had come into that cathedral and noticed that the tired were granted sanctuary and allowed to lie down in the pews. The policy must have changed because there is nobody sleeping in the pews anymore. The sennon is about how we should not be too poor or too rich. If we decide to become too poor, the priest says, we will become angry. The next day it rains. They say it will rain for a week. The choking stench of rotting feet is unbearable. I decide to take the priest's advice and never become too poor, leaving my brothers behind in their church sanctioned hell. By Tavis Dodds
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MUSIC APPRECIATION at Carnegie Shelf Life Made with love, just not my own Give me a life or death I can call home Indecision is killing me slowly from .the inside out The decisions I've made in my life are in doubt. [This information is top security. When you've read it, destroy yourself.] ·
Colleen Muriel will be offering five separate workshops covering medieval, renaissance, baroque, classical, romantic and modem traditions · in music. Everyon~ welcome! •
Thursdays, starting November 2nd 1:00-3:00 PM '
· .· Classroom IT, 3rd Floor '
Every hair stuck out like an open umbrella I have conceded where others have failed My deadbolt memory block thanks you for the fractions of memories for my tales; If this is going downhill too slow I could speed it up no charge, Redressing the balance is a work in progress, I just never knew it was this large. The insinuation is completely top drawer; when you' re finished the words stop Time to get back to my shelf life. When & where life & death hold hands, it's out of mine: my fonner captive audience are proof... one hundred proof is over the line. How many life sentences does it take to equal time served? The answer to this question is forbidden here. [This information is top drawer. When you have shredded it, Control Yourself.] Robert McGillivray
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A belated Thanksgiving to all you turkeys that vived the Thanksgiving holiday. I for one would like to thank the staff and volunteers that made our Thanksgiving dinner successful.. . What I really want to address is the fact that on Halloween night it wil1 be 20 years that I quit smoking. Yes it was hard but then if something is worth · fighting for it is not always easy. It took willpower and a lot of prayer to my Higher Power. It was a real challenge. carl macdonald
Carnegie Coiilmunity Centre
Federal Government Cuts Programs This list has been received over the internet. The first thing to question is why our newspapers have not printed the full compliment of cuts in one full article, versus feeding it to the general public in dribs and drabs? The second question is this: Does the general population fully realize that the cuts have been made to everything CANADIAN? The cuts to entire departments and programs are as follows; > Court Commission of Canada-eliminated, > Status of Women Canada, Community Access Program (internet access for communities at libraries, post offices, community centres) -eliminated, > Adult learning and literacy programs, > Youth Employment Programs. .> Workplace Skills Program, > Canada Policy Research Networks, . > Canadian labor Business Centre -all eliminated > First Nations and Inuit Tobacco Control Program eliminated, > Museum Assistance Program, .> Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative, > Foreign Affairs and Public Diplomacy Program, > Canadian Volunteerism Initiative -all eliminated > Health Canada Policy Research Program > Environment: Youth International Internship Program-eliminated, > School of Public Service. eliminated Submitted by Marilyn Young
Humanities 101 Community Study Groups 2006
Social Movements and Class Conflict in B.C. G~oup Coordinator: Henry Flam & Bob J. Neubauer
This group will attempt to look at alternative interpretations of the provinces history. While we read and discuss the ideas and information in different sources, we will investigate the 'received wisdom' on a variety of topics pertaining to the nature of so~ cial, economic, and political change in the province. Most importantly, while history is often taught from the 'top-down' perspective of politicians, generals, and industry, our group will attempt to look at history from the perspective of the working class, immigrants, First Nations and others who are frequently left out of mainstream historical accounts. In order to look at these topics, students will be encouraged to think about divisions of class, beliefs, and ethnicity in British Columbian society. In this way we will hopefully be able to shed some new light on the places that are already familiar to us. Group will meet: Sunday October 1st 2-4pm Sunday October 15th 2-4pm Sunday October 29th 2-4pm Reading the City: Contemporary Vancouver Literature Group Coordinator: Maia Joseph In this reading group, we will investigate the ways in which local citizens are currently using literature to make meaning out of Vancouver's urban environment and to think about their relations to other members of our urban community. Participants in the group will read and discuss recent novels, short stories, and poems by a range of Vancouver authors, with the aim of beginning to piece together a picture of lived experience in the city from a variety of different points of view. The literary works on our reading list take up a number of issues, including
urban development and gentrification, poverty and class difference, agency and mobility in city spaces, appropriation of aboriginal land, locat history and public memory, ecology and sustainable living, and more. In our discussions, we will consider how each text imagines¡ urban community, and reflect on the barriers to communal attachments that are highlighted in particular texts. While we will focus on the representations of lived experience that the texts provide, we will also ask questions about each author's method of representation and the motives that appear to inform particular texts (in other words, we wiiJ ask: Who is representing whom? How? Why?) Meeting Time: October 1st, 12-2pm
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American Literature and Creative Writing Response Group Coordinator: Graham Winfield The course will deal with a selection of American literature ranging from colonial times to the 20th century. Some of the authors included in this course are Emily Dickinson, Ralph W. Emerson, Cormac McArthy, and Charles Bukowski. These and other works will be discussed and creative writing responses will be assigned. Meeting Time: Sunday, October Ist, 4-6 pm _Sunday October 29th, 4-6 pm Tracing our Personal History
Group Coordinator: Daniel Nanton This class will work from a foundation of historical theory (using authors and theorists such as Jenkins, Collingwood and theories such as subaltern studies and others) to look at general contemporary historical theory and specifically personal autobiographical theory. Questions that will be asked include, "what
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and "what is the difference between fact and fiction" as well as how this factors into history in general and personal history (or autobiography) specificalJy. After these discussions, research into our own personal histories wiJ] commence and by the end of the course each student will have gained written English computer/library research, and other skills.
Meeting Time: Saturday September 30th 12-2 pm Saturday October 14th 12-2 pm Saturday October 28th 12-2 pm Nutrition Group Coordinator: Jayne This course will exam a wide variety of nutritional
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to home. Aside from the general theme of the class being current events, the class will be steered by the participants as to which events we look at. We will consider how each event effects us personally, the ramifications it has on the world stage and the role that media plays in shaping our views on a given story. My hope is that each class wiJI offer all partic ipants an opportunity to express their thoughts on an event and that the class discussion enables participants to walk away with well rounded views of the subject matter. Participants will practice articulating their own thoughts verbally during the group discussions and in written form by essay writing. Time: Sunday October 15th 4-6pm
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issues. The first class will look at "Superfoods" l.k.a. antioxidants. What are they? How do they .vork? And why do they help? Many foods can help ~leanse our bodies and help up stay healthy, this ~roup will examine patterns of eating in the city and vork through information for individuals to better mderstand their own nutrition habits and potentially hange them for the better. There will be readings, utritional analyses and videos throughout the year. 1eeting Time: Saturday September 30th 2-4pm Saturday October 28th 2-4pm
Current Events: What's Making News Today? iroup Coordinator: Ben DelaRosa 'his group will look at a range of different issues tat are currently making headlines. Most classes ,ill consist of reading material from a variety of ifference sources and then discussing our views on te subject. We will explore current events from ¡ound the world as well as events happening close
Medical Science and History Group Coordinator: Hanah Tsao Flu is in again this season. Come and uncover the myths and facts surrounding flu vaccine. See how the flu virus has evolved in the course of history from 1918 Spanish flu to recent avian flu outbreaks. You will find out why it might be a good idea to visit your local clinic this season and what the flu shoot does not protect you from. Discussion starts at 4 pm on Oct. 14, 2006. Until then, stay away from influenza!" Time: Saturday October 14th 4-6pm
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The Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House Community Consultation and Community Development Strategy
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Our strategy for Community Consultation and Community Development has always been informed by our intimate knowledge o~ our DTES n~ig~bour hood the residents, the agencies, the orgam.zations. The decision making process of the DTES NH Steering Committee reflects our collective e~peri ence as low income residents and fonner res1dents who have lived and worked here for years. We approach NH growth incrementally, ne~er makin~ promises we can't keep and only makmg c?mmttments which come from the needs and desires expressed by fellow residents. Hence, our first program was the Parent-Tot Oro~ In in 2005 which we advertise across the commumty on an ongoing basis by the use of posters, handbills and continuous verbal communication. As our NH is first and foremost neighbourly, we maintain collaborative contact with agencies and organizations in our community, making sure those workers are not only aware of our programs but that they visit. We organize from the bottom up, grass roots. in everything we undertake. As DTES NH Steenng
Committee members also work h~re (both paid and unpaid), we are in daily contact with our fellow residents across the DTES, listening to community members. We are also.totally familiar with the programs and services existing agencies and organizations offer, as well as which ones are oversubscribed and what 'is riot offered. Our Community Consultation has always taken place where we find our neighbours - and not just the higher functioning ones: on the street, in lineups, in agencies, in Oppenheimer Park, at community events. DTES residents have long experience of projects discussed which never materialize. We also know that there are virtually no resident driven initiatives in our community. Residents of the DTES are the poor and the working poor, and the community is largely Indigenous. These are the voices which make a resident driven DTES NH all the more crucial. Historically, anything begun with that intent has been appropriated. In 2005 we embarked on two forms of consultation: a community wide public forum and face-toface meetings with individuals and organizations. This confirmed what we already knew, that is that the concept of a NH was generally foreign to DTES residents and further, that a meeting to discuss it had little appeal and that we were on the right track, building from inside our community, voice by voice. Therefore, in the spring of 2006 we approached Community Development for our Program Expansion by pounding the pavement and listening. Then we spoke with our colleagues in agencies which have great integrity and which share our core values. We asked them what programs their members are lacking and how we might partner with them to address those lapses. All of our new partners greeted our initiative of a DTES NH with overwhelming enthusiasm. The result is DTES NH program expansion with the Urban Native Youth Association (activities for youth), Building Blocks (food collaboration), C~ab tree Comer Housing (Mother Goose and Art), B1ke Works (Sunday Bicycle Club), the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre (grand/parents with children and hosting supervised MCF visits), the Downtown Eastside Community Health Centre (Women's Night), Lore Krill Housing Co-op (monthly elder~ Drop In), Oppenheimer Park I Carnegie Commumty Centre and The Jazz Cellar (Jazz in Oppenheimer)
and Sunrise Market (The Welfare Wednesday Banana Beat). The average DTES resident walks kilometres every day, just to access food, a telephone, services - bus tickets are rare and so we locate programs centrally, for easy access for all. We have a modest budget reserved for our new programs, thanks to gracious funding from the Alexandra Foundation. Several DTES NH Steering Committee members had a relationship with Sunrise Market (Powell at Gore), from previous community projects. True to fonn, Sunrise is once again our good neighbour, giving the DTES NH meaningful discounts on the food we purchase. It is part of our politic to support DTES businesses and Sunrise .is only the first of what will be many DTES NH business partners. We continue as we began, honouring our neighbours, building from the street up in our community on this Traditional Coast Salish land.
John W. Turvey
r.i.p. John Turvey was heroinaddicted at age 13 and rehabilitated in his early 20s, but he never left the streets, choosing to give back and work on the streets rather than live on them. With only a Grade 6 education, he has generously educated instructors and students alike · •
As executive director of the Downtown Eastside Youth Activities Society (DEYAS) for 20 years until his recent retirement, John Turvey was a principled, community-centered visionary, gifted social worker, brilliant educator and respected and elegant public speaker. He was a determined and outspoken defender of socially excluded citizens and a role model for aspiring social workers and community activists. In 1988, the Atlanta Certtre of Disease Control recognized John Turvey for running the most costeffective needle exchange program in North A mer ica. [John, also a member of both the Order of British Columbia and, most recently, the Order of Canada, •
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(see Turvey on 'DONATIONS' page)
To Be Led Astray Summer's ending; darkness comes , -shortened days. Betwixt, between, the rain must gather before it falls. It's pattered pall, forget it all, cooling solar rays. Well I have more important tasks to do and lots of words to say. The world revolves, transforms and continues to adjust, and I have to move- to here, to there - to avoid the ever present rust: I cannot be manipulated, controlled, as if on a muzzled leash No! No! I must resist and enjoin the ongoing battle For my given rights are tom and stripped away, but I will not be rattled. They can not intimidate, placate, nor play this power game and win it over me. Those fools who ride their high horses inanimately They hinch and glower and hide sneakily away because they' II sure as shootin' lose 'n be left with nuthin'! I will yearn, yearn to hear them sing some blues; they'll at long last hear the wolves I've held at bay. When these thieves and money-changers are finally chained, shackled, disheveled ... to be continuously led- not their choice this one time ... not as they wished to be ... astray. Robyn Livingstone
LAW STUDENTS AT CARNEGIE •
The Law Students' Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) is a non-profit organization that offers free legal advice for low-income earners throughout the Lower Mainland. We have been operating clinics for over 35 years, each year providing free legal advice and representation to approximately 4,000 individuals. Volunteer UBC law students, working under the guidance of supervising lawyers, provide legal expertise in various areas of law including criminal matters, small claims, residential tenancy and many more. Please call us or visit our website at http://www.lslap.bc.ca for more information. . We currently have 27 clinics located throughout the Lower Mainland, including one at Carnegie ·C entre 3rd
Floor, 401 Main St, Vancouver BC, V6A 2T7.
People in need of legal assistance can drop in at Carnegie Centre on Tuesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. For other locations, call (604) 822-5791
UBC Humanities 101: Undercurr~nts Public Forum Series "THE WEST AND THE MIDDLE EAST" Monday, October 16th -7:30pm- 9pm Vancouver Public Library Alma Van Dusen and Peter Kaye Room With Special Guests: Dr. Michael Byers, Deborah Campbell, Hadani Ditmars and Hila Russ-Woodland Moderated by Am Johal - Director ofPublic Programs and Outreach, Humanities 101 DR. MICHAEL BYERS is Professor of Political Science and Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at UBC. Prior to 2005, he was Professor of Law and Director of Canadian Studies at Duke University; from 1996-1999 he was a Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University. DEBORAH CAMPBELL is an adjunct professor of narrative nonfiction at UBC and has reported from Tehran, Cairo, Paris, Havana, St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv and the Gaza Strip. In This Heated Place she presents a literary journey inside the Israel-Palestine conflict. An associate editor at Adbusters, she has written for numerous publications including the Guardian Utne, The Walrus, Asia Times and Modern Painters. Journalist and author Hadani Ditmars reported from post-war Beirut in 1992, wrote for the first joint Israeli-Palestinian magazine post Oslo accord in 1994 era Jerusalem, and traveled to Iran for the Globe and Mail, Sight and Sound and Vogue magazine in 1997 (when Rafsanjani was in power). -HILA RUSS-WOODLAND is an artist and an educator. She was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Israel, and came to Canada in 2001. Hila has been working as a teacher since 1995. Living in Israel for 31 years before moving to Canada, she has been engaged with formal and informal dialogue groups and peace demonstrations. As an artist she was exposed to the power of visual and expressive arts as a tool to collaborate, outreach and impact public opinion and the media.
Eulogy for Vancouver's Woodwards Building: Requiem for a Neighbourhood At 8:30 on the morning of September 301h, 2006, the Woodwards building at Hastings and Abbott came crashing down to make way for condominiums. It has been hard to watch the building come down; for many of us it }las brought up memories of the past. It symbolizes our heritage and identity. It is both a revitalization and a gentrification, a development in the interests of the ruling class. So many people blame the drug-slaves for their own decrepitude, and so many others blame the rich who benefit from the billion dollar industry built on the backs of downtown eastside residents. I blame myself for the victimization of substance abusers that makes it possible to knock down all the old buildings and put up .new ones. Albert Thompson told me of when he was up on the tower to receive the 'W' sign. "It came down in two pieces and I was there to weld them together. Back then there wasn't much higher. You can imagine the view I had." Lydia Jeal told me about how, as a little girl, she and her sister used to play hopscotch on the sidewalk out front. "People used to walk past and throw down money for us. Our parents scolded us for taking money from strangers, but 'what were we supposed to do,' we'd tell them, 'throw it back at them?'" Jeal had passed away before Eaton's moved to the Pacific Center, the Bay went bankrupt and the neighbourhood began its downward spiral. Thompson died around the time that anti-poverty activists seized the building and halted development. On Sept. 21st, 2002, Vancouver Police broke down barricades and arrested 58 people. Protesters were beaten, choked, and pepper sprayed. Then on Sunday night police blocked off traffic and attacked the people living around the perimeter of the building. People were clubbed. Police smashed one woman's face into the ground. Then there was a march and the protesters drove off the police and held the building until Dec. when the activists were relocated to temporary accommodation. The following March the City bought the building from the Province for 5 million. There was an unprecedented level of community involvement in the planning process. They arrived at a design with towers of condos, a tower of low income housing, an
employment center, and an outdoor garden-gaJieria. Blocks from the building could be purchased for 15 dollars apiece, (and they say you can't find affordable real estate in the city), the profits went to an organization that trains aboriginal youth in the trades. SFU announced they'd move their School for the Perfonning Arts into the building. Even Stan Douglas was commissioned to create a mural to commemorate the legacy of the community. On April 22"d, ' 06, the 536 units went on sale and in a day were all sola to the tune of $200 million. The initial buyers, apart from a group of friends of the developer, were identified by wristbands- buyers on the internet offered $1000 for a wristband, sellers were asking $5000. "Smart money gets in early," said Bob Rennie, the undisputed king of Vancouver condo sales. ''Vancouver can only move in one direction- east. This is your neighbourhood. Be brave or move to the suburbs. That's why I say Woodwards is an intellectual property." What the heck does that mean, 'an intellectual property'? Does he mean the stupid money will be left ·holding the bag? I have learned never to look for real meaning in the pitchman's hustle, and yet I cannot help but. be sold on this building. The designs a_re so beaut!ful; the trees planted on the upper stones are particularly moving:. I love this new building and that is why I'm ashamed, that is why I feel J have the blood of the drug-slaves and the prostitutes on my hands. We know what it means when derelict buildings come down. We saw the same thing when Montreal Mayor Drapeau knocked down all the places to N-'~f'
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beautify for the 1976 Olympics. We know that so many of our fires are property owners liquidating their assets. We know that the slum-lord, billion dollar, drug industry has been pennitted in• part because it lowers the prices for developments like Woodwards. Who's to blame for the slavery? I hope Stan Douglas is absolved. He is a very talented local artist, but we will have to see if he includes in his mural any references to the gentrification, to the oppression. By Travis Dodds •
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End of Summer
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DEYAS Needle Exchange Van Schedule
DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOU Til ACTIVITIES SOCIETY 49 W.Cordova 604-251-JJIO
Telephone (604) 6S7-6S61 AM Van 7:00am. 5:00pm (on the road lam-4pm) PM Van 4:00pm· 2:00am (on ~e road ~P,m· lim) 7 Dayal Week ·
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FREE .,. Donations accrplcd
2006 DONATIONS · Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC-$100 Christopher R.-$30 Margaret D.-$40 Bruce J.-$15 . The Edge-$200 Mary C-$10 Penny G.-$50 MP/Jelly Bean -$20 RayCam-30 Janice P.-$30 Wes K.-$50 Gram-$$ Glen B.-$25 John S.-$60 Leslie S.-$20 Michael C.-$80 HumanitieslOl-$100 Wm.B -$20 Sheila B.-$20 Ben C.-$20 Brian $2 CEEDS -$50 Joanne H.-$20 Wilhelmina M.-$1 0 Sa man -$20 Phyllis L.-$200 Paddy -$125 Anne P.-$20 ...
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THE NEWSLETTER IS A rUOUCATION OF TilE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRF. ASSOCfATION. Articles represent the views or individual contributors and nol o(lhc Auocialion.
Turvey continued
liked telJing the story of when a provincial Health Minister decided to stop all public fund~g for the DEYAS Needle Exchange. This was even after the recognition given _him and this cutting-edge program -----------------~--We acknowledge thai Carnegie Community Centre, and this in harm reduction by the Atlanta Center for Disease Ntwdtlttr, arc on the Squamish N,.lion's lenitory. Control. Somehow John 'ran into' this Minister after a sitting of the Legislative Assembly and there was Editor and layout: PauiR Taylor. 'coincidentally' a reporter there too. John said, Subnlission Headline "When a person gets AIDS he costs the taxpayers a . minimum of $150,000 in health care until he dies. ror ne1C luue: The annual budget for the Needle Exchange in the Friday, October 27. -. Downtown Eastside is $600,000. If we can prevent (Carntcai•• ommun •• . .c. • Ctnlrt JUSt tOur people from gettmg AIDS the whole thing pays for itself. What's your problem!?" The funding was quietly restored by the end of that day. Ed.l Mr. Turvey was a founding member of the B.C. Coni ad Aids Network and Vancouver Native Health Sociltnny ety. His leadership of the Downtown Eastside comlf'cd Cltln1 munity on the issue of sexually exploited children rc•.,,,, and youth resulted in Criminal Code changes, development of the B.C. Provincial Prostitution Unit, educated newsrooms and increased public awareness _ • _.. of the issue . , Pieta Woolley Contributors may not malign, anack, or relegate any person, group or class, including drug users and economically poor people, loa level referred to or implying 'less than human•.
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working tor You UI70-16.CI Commertfal Dr VSL JVJ • Phnnt: 77S..{)79n Fat: 77~-4l881 Downhntn [tU!Ilde Rc,ldent• Association •
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