-NEWSLETTER 4o1 Main Sk.eet, Vancouver. V6A 2TI (604) 665-2289

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

http://harvest~rs.sfu.calchodarr [Index}

7th -Annual DTES Heart of the City Festival Wednesday, October 27- Sunday November i

SELECTED FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS Monday November 1 to Sunday November 7

MONDAY November 1 Bill Quinn, longtime DTES resident, First Nation elder and artist shares his story and thoughts at the Aboriginal Front Door, 384 Main Street, 1 pm.

Carnegie Village Choir, with more than a dozen voices from the DTES, sings in the streets starting at 3:30pm at the Carnegie steps.

TUESDAY November 2 Day of the Dead celebration at Oppenheimer Park from 2pm-6pm with music, stories and pinata, followed by a 6pm procession led by Vancouver's Ca rnival Band.

Barrio Flamenco: Flamenco for the People will be at radha yoga & eatery, 728 Main, 2"d floor, 8pm-ll pm. A fundraiser for EWMA. By donation. Sorry- no wheel chair access.

WEDNESDAY November 3 Colin Ford and Karenza T. Wall host the Story Sharing Circle and Digital Stories session at the Aboriginal Front Door 1 pm-Spm.

Rick Lavallie plays at the Wednesday Celebration at 6pm, First United 320 E. Hastings. Then attend Stories of Music, Music of Stories with Joseph 'Pepc' Danza , Dave Paterson and Wong Wing-Siu in the Carnegie Theatre 7pm.

THURSDAY November 4 Maxine Gadd, Stephen Lytton and Diane Wood and special guest George McWhirter read their poetry at the Launch of the DTES Collection at I pm Carnegie Reading Room.

T hursday Writing Collective w ith author Michael Turner in the not-to-be-missed Write to the City: Adventures in Social Writing, Brickhouse Bar 730 Main. 8:30pm Free

FRIDAY November 5 Carnegie Street Band led by Brad Muirhead leaves Oppenheimer Park at Spm and parades to Gallery Gachet 88 E. Cordova for the 6pm-9pm opening reception of In Our Backyard Is Your Backyard, the 3rd Annual Community Art Show.

Carnegie Village C hoir presents an uplifting evening of music and song in the Camegie Theatre 8pm-1 Opm.

Thursday Writing Group

SATURDAY November 6 Sam George, Sunshine Choir, Dalannah Gail Bowen, Patrick Smith and the Oppenheimer Drum Group, and Carnegie Village Choir participate in the Celebration of Oppenheimer Park and the new carvi ngs of Chief Henry Robertson !lam-2:30pm.

Diane Wood and a host ofDTES poets speak out at the DTES Poetry Night 7pm in the Carnegie Theatre.

Carnegie Street Band and the Carnegie Village Choir enliven the Illuminating the Four Corners event with outdoor music whi le images Downtown Eastside residents are projected onto the side of the Bruce Eriksen Place at Main and Hastings. 8pm.

SUNDAY November 7 Marian Rose, Jennie Bice and Mary Boulanger lead us in the foot stomping Community Dance end to the festival at the Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender, 7pm.

Pay what you can. Sorry- wheel chair access unavailable.

For further details pick up the Festival Program Guide at the Carnegie front Desk, around the neighbourhood or visit www.heartofthecityfcstiva l.com. For information please call 604-628-5672.

Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre & the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, working with over 40 community partners.

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CRUNCH

t>o1fT WoP$y Bot) , W( e~tJ ~ujr P\l5~ ouR S1'of~ ~Ro\lNI> ALL OA.y

oN 1't'\o5( NEw1 'BU<E \..~t4ES.

"The boot-licking vipras [intellectuals and religionists] of the capitalists trick the hungry slwdras [workers, poor, illiterate] into believing that poverty is a result of their previous misdeeds, and they will have to be prepared to wait until thei r next life before receiving the inexo­rable decree of fate. This makes a group of people pas­sive fatalists and paves the way for the ruthless exploi­tation of the capitalists." -P.R.Sarkar

FESTIVAL MOMENTS

Relapsed In A Shoddy Place

Mine life's on a dangerous path, I relapsed in a shoddy place The rancourous aftermath: bloody ·n at death's door .. That's 'cause I'm a chronically abused child -<lisplaced.

Retrogression attracted my lower state of mind, Where remaining a victim seemed all right Yeah I still curse & accuse -I'm one of a kind Looking for trouble- can't hold back.

Indian Residential Schools? drunk tanks? what a life So I relapsed 'n now refuse to turn the page Where betwixt the lines reads 'there's no turning back' Is this the picture I painted -in a shoddy place?

Still I'm alive an' well- born strong Couldn't help but I realized what went wrong Mine spirituality drowned of poisons -in a shoddy place Lying in a dead state -<ouldn't sing my song.

Mine songs in a dark place -the lights are in between Buried ·n extinct, no mercy nor a dot of rescue My challenges are at stake -<lon't know which way to go Still my dreadful soul is relapsed in a shoddy place

All my relations,

in a shoddy place shoddy place

William Arnold Combes

HIV Presentations- UBC Continuing Studies

On 3 consecutive Tuesdays there will be free 1-hour classes/lectures on HIV at the Robson Square Campus across the street from the Art Gallery. On November 2"d: HIV Around the World

November 91h: Labels arc for Cans -HJV

Stigma and Stereotyping; November 161

h: Mapping the Body -Exploring HTV Through Art.

His Honour, Steven L. Point, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia

Blanketed by Kat Norris at the Opening Ceremon\ of th~ DTES Heart of the City Festival

Each session is from noon to I pm.

A New Roost:

TheDUNLEVYSNACKBAR Coffee I tea I baked goods & bagels

with lunch coming soon!

433 Dunlevy the illustrious TH£0 LLOYD KEITH

Downtown Ambassador Patrol records show thousands of removals from public space

On October 13 Pivot and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (V ANDU) made their final arguments in a human rights complaint against The Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association's (DVBIA) Downtown Ambassadors Program.

The complaint, initiated in 2008 on behalf of people who appear to be street homeless and/or addicted to drugs, alleges systemic discrimination against home­less people by the Downtown Ambassadors. Pivot and VA NDU argued that homeless people are protected by the Human Rights Code because of the disproportion­ate overrepresentation of people of Aboriginal ances­try and/or persons with mental and physical disabili­ties, including addictions, amongst the homeless popu­lation. '·The DVBIA argues that Ambassadors are a source of support for the homeless, directing them to shelters and other resources" says Doug King, staff lawyer with Pivot Legal Society, "yet evidence disclosed dur-

Oppenheimer Art Show Gallery Gachet 88 E Cordova

Opening, Reception Friday Nov 5th, 6- 9pm

ALL WELCOME! Come See What We Can Do!!

From Colleen Carroll I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to

attend my art show on November 4th to 30th. On Nov. 4th is the Opening Reception, 6pm to 8pm. It is at Radha Yoga & Eatery, 728 Main Street. (On

the East side o f the street, UP STAIRS). This is lo­cated between Keefer and Georgia Street.

I also have a few paintings in the Oppenhiemer Art Show located at Gallery Gachet, 88 east Cordova St. the Opening Reception is Nov. 5th at 6PM to 9PM

Both events s howcase art of the Downtown Eastside!

ing the hearing, including the Ambassadors' own elec­tronic patrol records, shows the Ambassadors removed "sleepers", "street people", .. drug users" and ·'panhan­dlers" from public space including sidewalks, alleys, lanes and parks thousands of times between September 2005 and March 2010."

In the course of the hearing, the DVBIA 's private security consultant Dave Jones and two Ambassadors videotaped interviews with people he believed to be homeless. The video they produced was submitted to the tribunal as evidence.

The video itself demonstrates the DVBIA 's lack of understanding when it comes to the rights and realities of marginalized people, according to Ann Livingston ofVANDU. A synopsis of the video produced by Pivot which highlights some of the concerns it raises, as well as the full 30 minute Ambassador video with the identity of those whose did not agree to be inter­viewed removed, are available at PivotLegalTV on YouTube.

The tribunal is expected to deliver its ruling in this case someti me in 20 II. Pivot and VANDU were rep· resented by Megan Vis-Dunbar and Jason Gratl.

I just want to thank everyone in the DTES for all the cards, hugs, food, love, ceremonies, and kind thoughts about the passing of my partner Sandy Cameron. His celebration of life will be on Nov.l4 from I to 3 at the Carnegie Theatre where he wanted it. I think what he would want is that we keep taking care of ourselves and each other and keep working to end poverty and get more affordable housing built. Jean

Premier's pledge to aid the province's poor rings false Diane Brennan, Special to The Daily News Published: Friday, October 15, 20 I 0 Wlto best defines political hypocrisy in B. C.?

I nominate Gordon Campbell. When he addressed the Union of B.C. Municipalities last month, he said that voting down the HST would hurt the poor. This is a bit hard to swallow g iven it comes from the man respon­sible for the deepest cuts to poverty services in B.C. in decades. It is galling to hear Campbell extol the virtues ofl~el p­ing the poor because his government's cuts have diS­proportionately hurt them. The Campbell govern­ment's policies have plunged B.C. to the bott~m when it comes to poverty rates. We now have the h1ghest rate of poverty in Canada and Canada has o~e of tl~e highest relative child poverty rates among nch nat10ns. We have the lowest minimum wage in Canada. Hav­ing a job in B.C. doesn't mean that you will find your way out of poverty. In fact, it may just keep you there. So when Campbell lectures about not hurting the poor, 1 have to wonder, does he have no shame?

Campbell is responsible for so many affronts to the poor it is hard to keep track. There _have been c~ts to legal services, women's centres, ch1~d care serv.'ces, school meal programs, food banks, mcome ass1stance shelter allowances and disability supports including mental health funding. Non-profit service providers who still have funding have contracts that either dis­courage or prohibit them from doing advocacy work on behalf of their clients. There is a chill in the system and they don't speak up. Campbell is the guy who, in 2002, made cuts that changed the face of justice in B.C .. He cut legal aid funding forcing the closure of about 60 legal aid offices in the province. More cuts came last year when the funding shortfall forced the closure of all but two legal aid offices. That means there remain only two legal aid offices in all of B.C. This is what access to justice looks like to the poor who live under Campbell's regime. Campbell urging municipalities to be kind to the poor is the height of hypocrisy .. Homelessness skyrocket~d while he stood idle and left cih.:s and towns struggling

to provide shelter and services to homeless people. "") Finally city councils, overwhelmed by the pressure orl. citizens, service providers and businesses, started to push back. There wasn't a city or region in the province that didn't demand that the province produce money for solu­tions. So look for a few dollars to be spent on social housing, but of course after a decade of neglect it won't begin to meet the real need. After the current housing money is spent, I predict that social spending will dry up once more. Being kind to the poor looks like another one of Campbell's fl ights of fancy that won't amount to much.

I see there were 300 people at the Nanaimo Thanks­giving dinner at St. Paul's Church. Seeing those num­bers you have to ask if Campbell was sincere when he made his pitch about being kind to the poor. With his track record the only way I can see him getting excited about the plight of the poor, is if he perceived some political self interest. With the HST fiasco threatening to end his career, it seems even a veteran poor basher like Campbell can muster up a few crocodile tears.

A Saturday Morning

Drizzle falls A mist spreads over

The garbage bin resembles A bride with a train of gems

A window box spills emeralds Glistening at times

Shrubs wrapped by a misty white As if first snow chances to rest

Solid colours are softened By white in the s light sprinkle

What treasure I discover on this moist morning!

Grace Kwan

"THE CROWDED LONELINESS IN MY MIND IS SO LOUD AND NOISEY,

I CANNOT FIND A QUIET PLACE TO HIDE FROM MYSELF."

Henry George LOSTBOY@LIVE.C.'\

CAMERON, Sandy (Clive)

Memorial/ Celebration for Sandy

Sunday November 14th, 1 - 3pm

Dear Friends: Savannah and I felt great sadness and tears on hearing of the loss of our community's dear friend and cham­pion Sandy Cameron. Sandy was such a kind and loving man and he had a

huge impact on the work of Savannah and l. We first had the honour of meeting Sandy in 2002, as

Vancouver Moving Theatre embarked upon creating (in partnership with Carnegie Community Centre) In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Com­munity Play. Sandy's insights on recurring patterns o ali enation, sanctuary, resistance and radical possibility provided the foundation on which we constructed The

Downtown Eastside Community Play- an original play created for and by the Downtown Eastside. It is this same foundation which has served as a foundation for the DTES Heart of the City Festival. As Bob Sarti says: "Sandy has also given voice to

those who have been silenced through history, from Canada's Aboriginal people, to labour martyrs and dispossessed Japanese-Canadians to the lost and homeless in our midst.'" And as poet and Downtown Eastsider Bud Osborn says, "Sandy Cameron is not only my favourite poet, but the best poet I know. No­body else speaks both personally and collectively of our common histories, oppressions and resistances, nor do many poets speak so directly and clearly with such a beautiful cadence. Cameron's poems reveal our car­ing, wisdom and courage, and they also reveal our carelessness, ruthlessness and crimes against one an­other. But his voice is ultimately that of grace." Sandy encouraged our writers to voice and record their own histories; witnesses our performances, cheers on the artists; and publishes poetry to feed our spirit. To­gether with his life partner Jean Swanson, Sandy is one of those who make a difference, preserving the history that anchors the Downtown Eastside and keeps us connected to each other- and our location. Sandy's dedication to our community is an inspiration. And his profound and insightful writing will serve as a guide for decades to come.

In your own immortal words Sandy- 'Memory is the Mother of Community'. You, dear friend, will be re­membered in our hearts forever.

Terry Hunter Executive Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre Artistic Producer, Downtown Eastside Heart of the C ity Festival Savannah T .E. Walling Artistic Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre Associate Artistic Director, Downtown Eastside lleart of the City Festival

On S andy, by J ean Sandy (Clive) Cameron was born in Toronto in 1931 , the third of five ch ildren of John Duncan and Marian. As a child he learned to love nature at the fam ily farm and at summer camp, which he thought of fondly throughout his li fe. He also remembered the nightmares his father had of fighting in World War II and the impact of this on the family. lie always did well in school and was the Junior Ontario squash champion when he was 17. But reflecting

on his schoolwork in later years, Sandy thought he was pretty unconscious about it. During university Sandy worked at jobs in mining and logging and got to understand and appreciate a working class perspective. lie

prospected in Ontario, North Carolina, Labrador, and the NW Territories where he came face to face with a 1. grizzly and talked to it gently while backing away. Recently he remembered the day he refused a job offer to prospect for uranium because it was responsible for too many horrific things. After graduating from uni­versity, he taught school at Deer Lake in Northern Ontario, a then-isolated Native community. He got in trouble with the school inspector for wearing moccasins, not wearing a tie and refusing to " recommend"' children for residential school. He taught literacy in prisons, which gave him the perspective to hate Har-per's "tough on crime" stance. He started the Boyle Street McCauley news, a community paper in Edmon-ton that is still going. In 1965 he moved to Vancouver and lived at the Dominion Hotel in the Downtown Eastside while going to teacher's college at UBC. At the commencement the speaker made a racist "joke" about new teachers wanting to avoid teaching in Lytton, BC because it had so many Native students. So Sandy got a teaching job in Lytton, lived on the reserve and participated in the communi ty fight for a safe ferry to cross the Fraser River. He taught some of BC's now Native leaders and artists in an adult Native education program in Saanich on Vancouver Island where he met and become lifelong friends of the Paul and Weaver families. In 1985 Sandy came back to Vancouver and met people from the Unemployed Teachers Action Centre de­

monstrating against a bus fare increase. Since he was an unemployed teacher he joined in. Later UT AC dispatched him to End Legislated Poverty as their delegate to the newly forming coalition. This is where we met and began a 25 year partnership in life and social justice work. Sandy wrote a teaching resource unit called " Poverty in BC," and he loved the story of how the education minister pulled it out of his briefcase at the end of a meeting with the BC Teachers' Federation and waived it around, castigating the BCTF for pub­lishing it. Sandy worked at the Native Education Centre, Downtown Eastside Residents' Association, and volunteered with End Legislated Poverty, the Carnegie Newsletter, and the Carnegie Learning Centre, as well as several committees of the Adanac Housing Co-op. He became the unofficial historian of the Down­town Eastside with his poem, writing history poems li ke One hundred years of struggle, which sees the his­tory of the DTES as a struggle for human rights. In the process of doing all these things he made lots of friends with his gentle, accepting, encouraging nature.

He took me to alpine meadows and to touch a g lacier, and introduced me to meditation. He taught me to respect and not to be afraid of bears or wilderness. He got me to slow down when I was being a workaholic. He supported me even when I was wrong, praised the pictures I took, the embroidery I did and the soup I made even when they were pretty bad. He edited everything I wrote and discussed and advised me on every action and strategy relating to housing and poverty. When I went out the door to a meeting with a politician or powerful person he would always say, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."

Sandy loved going to see his great niece, Cameron, and her rhythmic gymnastic performances and to his grandson Devon's school plays and recitals. He was close to his sister Ann. He was really happy when people he knew published a book. He told everyone they should write a book.

He wrote beautiful poems, could see who people really were and help them find the path that was right for them. Four and a half years ago he got shingles. The rash left but the pain never did. Social justice was such a huge part of Sandy that when he'd think of Campbell keeping welfare rates so low, or Coleman re­fusing to build enough housing, or the Harper government maligning Tamil refugees, the pain from his shingles would increase and he'd have to meditate or take a walk to try to push it down. In the last weeks of his liFe he often said , "The market is private power." l think he was hoping that if people understood the real meaning of the word "market" it would unmask all the things that are done in its name that create po­verty and injustice around the world. So many people have written beautiful things to me about Sandy. Here's what Tom Wayman wrote.

"Sandy's clarity of vision was always impressive. His ability to fully live his values was an inspiration to me; despite his firm convictions about the path to a saner world, he never saw his opponents as less than human. His life, as well as his marvellous poems, are a reminder that the struggle for j ustice--nc matter how fierce, d ifficult, or filled with setbacks--can be enriching, not embittering."

DTES residents make surprise appearance at Mayor Robertson's Terminal City Club City budget consultation

"Our priority is housing." Slogan from the October 22 action for housing.

A group of DTES residents and housing activists ral­lied at the 100-year-old clubhouse of Vancouver's big­business real estate to demand housing be built above the new llastings Street Library. Surprise action organizer Tami Starlight, elected

Steering Committee member of the DTES Neighbour­hood Council said, "It's incredible that city council can pretend that building social housing or not is a techni­cal issue. This is the same council that brags about having the lowest property tax rate in all the G8 coun­tries, and the mayor is holding a budget consultation with big business at the Terminal City Club? Of course we're here to raise the issue of social housing. The solution is s imple: raise taxes on business and the rich. We want the city to buy or designate I 0 sites for social housing in our neighbourhood before the next election. They can start with putting social housing above our new library." About city counc il's claim that the promised 14 sites

of housing will solve the so-called "street homeless­ness" problem in Vancouver, Dave Diewert of Streams of Justice said, "There were only 280 actual new social housing units built in BC in the last 5 years, when you look through the smoke and mirrors of announcements and there is not much there. The DTES is the place and the priority to purchase land for housing. When mayor Robertson says that he will solve the problem of 'street homelcssness,' we know he means 'visible' homclessness. We need enough social housing to end all homelessness." Nathan Compton, a member of VAN ACT!, speaking

about the surprise action and hinting at more to come, said, "We should have no faith in the future when the city can't guard and protect existing units.Counci l gave a token 6 units at the American hotel, approving the eviction of the tenants and the profiteering nip of the building. Council has no plan for after 2013 even though they know it takes 4.5,or 6 years to bring more housing on line. We're making our own plans for more actions to fight for housing."

Finally, Dave Murray, CCAP volunteer and DNC member wrapped up the intent of the surprise action by unvei ling the full list often sites DNC is demand­ing the city buy for housing before the next election.

et<a::::: ~ Murray said, "I have been homeless, lived in hotels, I've slept in a few doorways and parks and some lane­ways in Strathcona. This is really a no brainer. We want you to buy 5 properties a year for social housing and you don't even have to buy the library site. This would be I down and 9 more to go." The other DTES sites Dave Murray unveiled for the city to buy'· or des­ignate as I 00% social housing were: I) Library on llastings City owned 2) Buddhist Temple· Prov owned empty bldng 3) Pigeon Park Savings Prov owned empty lot 4) 58 W. Hastings Empty lot 5) 549 and 553 E Cordova Empty lots 6) Pantageous Theatre Empty buildings 7) 148 E Cordova Empty lot 8) Stadium Tlotcl on Cambie SRO for sale 9) 334 Carrall Empty building I 0) 780 Main Empty lot

Dave Murray, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council, (778) 320-5823 Nathan Crompton, VanAct! (778) 628-6252 Tami Starlight, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council [DNC) (604) 790-9943

Readers,

This happened at Central City Lodge. My boyfriend is Daniel King and he lived here. lie's very sick and had just gotten out of St Paul 's hospital. He has H IV but no matter, I love him anyway. This resident, Louie, owes me $60 but wouldn't pay

me so that's a write-off. On a recent day Louie threw his soup at Daniel (likely for being called a cheat) and Danny naturally threw it back at him. The next morn­ing Louie didn't come down for breakfast so the man­ager. Dale, went to his room. Next thing Danny is evicted for being violent. Put yourself in his place, now homeless and no place

to go. Danny was outside all night with his suitcase & wouldn't go to First Church Shelter because of the bedbugs. He came to my room next morning and told me and I was shocked. We went down to llastings and luckily there was a room vacant at the Regent Hotel. There weren' t 2 sides considered and no compassion.

What an atrocity. Marlene Wuttunee

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

Read CCAP reports at: ccapvancouvcr. wordpress.com Nov I , 2010

Housing on Library decision postponed

"That was a dodge," said Ivan Drury, resident of Strathcona and elected Steering Committee member of the DTES Neighbourhood Council, after Coun. Tim Stevenson made a motion at the beginning of the council meeting on Thursday Oct 7th to "look into" funding social housing on top of the new library on Hastings, but with "a catch". The city would move ahead with a stand-alone library if the funding doesn't come through in about 4 weeks.

About 40 DTES residents and supporters came out to city hall to demand social housing on top of the library. They were alarmed by a City staff report that recommended a stand­alone library despite community

~ 1 11

pressure over the last 6 months. No rationale was given for this decision in the report, even-though city staff were instructed by council to look into this option last July.

Housing advocates viewed the city staff report that calls for a stand-alone library as part of a pattern that proves the city is failing to address the loss of housing in the DTES, gentrification and (Continued on page 2)

(Continued from page 1) homelessness. (Read CCAP's letter to the Mayor and Council in this newsletter to learn more).

But despite this hint of hope for housing to come through after all, DTES residents and housing activists did not tone down their speeches and ramped up the pressure. Here is a little bit of what some speakers said :

Gladys Radek of Walk for Justice and family member of one of the missing and murdered women said: " In terms of the missing and murdered women, the one thing that is seriously lacking is the lack of housing .... the city should be looking after us. Start protecting our women and children."

Ann Livingsto!}, founder ofVandu and Pivot, mother of 4 DTES children, said if you don't follow through on tills then "you are sending a strong signal to our community and anything less is going to look like a no."

Dave Diewert of Streams of Justice said there were only 280 actual new social housing units built in BC in the last 5 years: " look through the smoke

Woodwords are going to move into all the

• t ixed up• SRO hotel

2

and mirrors of announcements and there is not much there."

Fraser Stuart, a hotel resident who was formerly homeless and collected 1495 signatures on a petition for housing on the library with CCAP: " I met a woman, crying who said she would lose her children because she lives in a hotel. For 1.5 year she has been on the BC Housing wait list. . .If it's a stand-alone library we don't need it."

Richard Cunningham, board member of V ANDU and elected steering committee member of the DIES Neighbourhood Council : " I am tired of promises, promises, promises. I'm tired of being treated like a 3'd class citizen in a 3'd world country. I have to worry about my health. I don't want to sit on a toilet after I 00 other people have. I worked on Woodwards for many years and look what we got: yuppies, yuppies, yuppies. You are spending money of frivolous things but hey, we are human beings, so treat us with respect." (Continued on page 3)

(Continued from page 2) Laura Stannard of the Citywide

Housing Coalition: This is a "symbol of push-comes-to-shove .... that arrives from enormous desperation and well founded fear that we're losing the battle against unfettered drive for profit. The day and age that we let Rich Coleman or anyone in the provincial government set the agenda for what we want to do and plan in our city is really the day we don't need a city government. I can say emphatically on behalf of CHC that the city needs to secure more property for social housing in the DTES. In order to stop the gentrification process that is literally killing DTES residents, it needs to curtail condo development until we have more social housing."

Dave Murray, CCAP volunteer: "I have been homeless, lived in hotels, all the greatest ones, including the Balmoral. .. .I've slept in a few doorways and parks and some laneways in Strathcona. This is really a no brainer. Carnegie Action wants you to buy 5 properties a year for social housing and you don't even have to buy

Did you know. they counted 659

3

this one ..... this would be 1 down and 4 more to go ... If we could get housing above the library ... .! could actually live there and be among my people. Give a man a home, he has a chance to move forward and has his dignity."

In the end, only Coun. Ellen Woodsworth of COPE argued and voted for including housing in the library (Coun Cadman of COPE was absent). Remaining city councillors voted to keep the library on schedule with an exploration of possibilities for social housing in the next 4 weeks. So, no guarantees. We're not super hopeful. Likely we'll get stuck with a political decision to have no housing on top of the library disguised as a technical decision about funding, timing and capacity on the site. Where to go from here? Stay in touch with CCAP to find out what happens with this campaign. - By Wendy Pedersen

Watch this council meeting on a computer: http://cityofvan­asl.insinc.com/ibc/mp/md/open/c/317 I 1200/201010071345wv150en,004

Letter to mayor calls for Housing above Library

October 4, 20 I 0 Dear Mayor and Council,

Please do not accept the staff recommendation for a "stand-alone"

library at 720/730 East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside. Instead, we ask the Mayor and Council to do everything in their power to ensure the city builds I 00% social housing above the library, if not now, then definitely in the future. There is a lot of support for

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social housing above the library. CCAP volunteers spent weeks collecting about 1500 signatures on a petition to build new social housing on top of that library.

CCAP presented that petition and our request for I 00% social housing to the VPL board. Councillor Reimer and to Jill Da\ idson of the City"s Housing Centre saw the petition too. The Carnegie board and library committee met with the consultant and told them we wanted social housing on top of the library. Wendy Pedersen ofCCAP spoke to Councillor Louie on the phone in July 20 I 0 and asked that the city. at the very least, design the building so that it could support social housing on top in the future when funding becomes available.

In terms of council policies, city staff do not consider the DTES I lousing Plan in their report to council on the library. On the 1st page of the report it sa)s: "COUNCIL POLICY: There is no Council policy related to this matter." This is wrong. On page 5 of the 1 lousing Plan for the DTES it says, "SROs are to be replaced with new self­contained social housing for singles, .. " Therefore, we expect council to do (Continued on page 5)

(Continued from page 4) everything in its power to meet this obligation (policy). At the present time there is not one unit of affordable housing planned for the DTES for after 20 13 even though bui ldings are needed about 6 years now from announcement to moving in day.

The need for social housing is getting worse. Only 12% of the privately owned hotel rooms in the DTES are available at $375 (welfare shelter rate) according to CCAP' s latest hotel rent study. This means semors on pensions and people on welfare are gettmg p out. lhe city is not living up to its policy of "Revitalization without displacement" in the Downtown Eastside. The city is not keeping up with its policy to replace the hotels one for one with a self contained unit of social housing in the boundaries of the neighbourhood. Housing crumbs at the bottom of condo towers and upscaling hotels are not enough.

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The conclusion of the council report says: "CONCLUSION: It is reconunended that the DTES/Strathcona Library Branch proceed as a stand-alone building. This project is a high priority for the Library Board and is supported by the community." A new library was not identified as a priority or even mentioned by any of the 1200 people CCAP talked to while doing our vision project. These people are "the cornnmnity." Thev did mention over

and over that affordable social housing was a priority.

It is short sighted to assume that senior governments will refuse to build social housing forever. The library is an awesome chance to get land for free for

social housing. The province has a $250 M Housing Endowment Fund that could be spent on social housing. There is a $2. 1 billion dollar unallocated BC government surplus over the next 3 years. Bill C-304 National Affordable Housing Strategy is coming to Parliament soon.

Should Mayor and Council decide to not put social housing on top of the library, CCAP will take this as yet (Continued on page 6)

(Continued from page 5) another indication that the city is not Planning to buy and designate properties for social housing in the Dov,rntown Eastside.

We' re tired of talking to councillors and having them say they want social housing but then do nothing about it. CCAP asked council to buy a very cheap property for sale near Oppenheimer for social housing this summer and staff. with Councillor Louie in the loop, said no. The Pantageous Theatre could have been sold to the city, and council said no. No social housing will be built at the

upcoming 60 W Cordova site. Only 6 out of 42 rooms at the American Hotel will be renting at $400 a month, which is still $25 over what most DTES residents can afford.

From your actions it is becoming clear that you don' t want new social housing projects in the DTES. Council can find money for bicycle lanes, for city hall renovations, but not for buying land.

We hope that Mayor and Council will take this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to low-income DTES residents, prove us wrong and do whatever it takes to get social housing on the VPL site. ~Wendy Pedersen

City staff agree with CCAP report, but actions lacking

Vancouver city staff agrees with "many of the conclusions" of the Carnegie Community Action Project's (CCAP) third annual hotel report, Pushed Out.

Brenda Prosken is the deputy general manager of the community services group at City Hall. She wrote a letter to CCAP organizer Wendy Pedersen. The letter says, "The preliminary results from our own survey of the low income stock reveal similar findings, including a steady increase in rents in the SROs and loss of units renting at welfare rates."

6

CCAP's report says that only 12% of the privately owned hotel rooms it

surveyed rent for $375 or less, the welfare and disability shelter rate.

Prosken also said, "(W)e share your concern that no new housing is planned for after 20 13."

"We agree that without replacement, continued loss of an aging SRO stock, together with rent increases, may lead to increased homelessness," Prosken added. Prosken also said, "We continue to review opportunities for site purchases in (Continued on page 7)

{

(Continued from page 6) the DTES as a first step towards continued replacement of SROs."

But Wendy Pedersen, CCAP organizer and co-author of Pushed Out, says the city needs to buy more lots in the Downtown Eastside now: "The city should buy at least five lots a year for the next ten years. If the city has lots, it will make it a lot easier to lobby for federal and provincial funds to build the housing," she said. "Unfortunately, even though the staff say they want to buy land for housing in the DTES, City Council isn't doing it." Pedersen said new social housing for low income DTES residents is key to protecting the homes of low income people in the DTES and the good things about the community for low income people.

At an Oct. 20th meeting with City Hall staff who work in the DTES, CCAP

7

presented a list of properties that the city could buy for social housing. But David McLellan, the manager of the community services group, said, "The cupboard is bare because of the Olympic Village." "It's still a high priority to keep an inventory ofland in all neighbourhoods."

"That means the city is still focusing on spreading DTES residents throughout the city, not on buying land in the DTES," said Pedersen. McLellan did admit at the meeting that, "The need (for social housing) is stronger than what's been provided."

Pedersen says CCAP and other DTES groups will keep up the pressure on the city to acquire land for social housing.

Pick up a copy of CCAP's hotel report, Pushed Out, in the CCAP office on the second floor of Carnegie. -Jean Swanson

November is gentrification month! November will be gentrification month

in the Downtown Eastside. Gentrification is the process where

richer people take over a neighbourhood from poorer people. It's happened in hw1dreds of cities across the world and it's happening in the DTES right now.

In early November, CCAP will distribute 5000 copies of a newsletter called "Word of Mouth" on gentrification to every hotel room and other p laces throughout our neighbourhood. This newsletter, wi ll explain what gentrification is all about and invite residents to a town hall forum at Carnegie on November 19.

Here are some of the things we want to do in gentrification month. If you can

Van city 8

volunteer, talk to Wendy in the CCAP office on the second floor of Carnegie.

• Go door to door in the hotels to distribute the broadsheet; • Set up a tent on Hastings street to talk to people about gentrification and get signatures on a petition for the city to buy five lots a year for social housing; • A gentrification tour for c ity staff and counci lors; • Other actions still to be determined.

But, whatever you do, don't forget the town hall meeting at Carnegie in the Theatre on Nov. 19111

, 11 to 1 pm. -JS

At the rate they ore going, it will toke 53 years to replace our hotel

rooms with social housing!

"Support for this project does not necessarily imply Vancity's endorsement of the findings or contents of this report."

~ U"4/J

News Frotn -the Library Hi everyone. I've been away for the last week and a

half and am hoping I can get this article in just under deadline (fingers crossed). Some items from ou r display case: Some of you may already be familiar with The Worst­Case Scenario Survival Handbook (613.96). If you've ever wanted to know how to leap from a motorcycle to a car, how to wrestle an alligator, or how to land a plane, this is the book for you. Just don't try any of these things inside the library.

1-le was the greatest of all time. The heavyweight champion of the world. The inventor of rap. Muham­mad Ali is one of the defining figures of the 20th cen­tury. A giant whose influence extended far beyond the world of boxing. Walter Dean Myers' The Greatest (92 1 ALI) is a sl im, but complete retelling of-Ali 's extraordinary life. From a figurative giant to a literal one. If you grew up

in the '70s, then you can no doubt easily conjure up the image of Julius Erving- ' Dr. J' - flying through the air, his afro blown back and a red, white and blue ABA ball gripped tightly in his outstretched hand ­just moments away from being slammed into the bas­ket. Dr. J will always be remembered as one of the most colourful and iconic basketball players. He is the classic '70s bailer. Vincent Mallozzi's Doc (92 1 ERV) tells the good doctor's story.

Finally, an exhaustive treasure from the library 's Aboriginal co llection. Native America I! Medicinal Plants (615.3203 M69n) is a very thorough dictionary of over 3000 plants used by Aboriginal people through out North America for medicinal purposes.

All of these books are in the library display case, and will be avai lable to borrow on Monday, November 8.

On a final note - please come out to the launch of the library's enhanced Downtown Eastside collection. This event is part of the Hearl of the City Festival, and will be taking place at the Carnegie branch on Thurs­day November 4th, from I :00 to 3:00 PM. Come check out the collection, and hear some great local poets, including George McWhirter- Vancouver's first Poet Laureate.

Randy, your librarian

City gives tax exemptions to billionaires and threatens to cut social housing above the new DTES library due to lack of funds

"We have the advantage of an extremely competitive tax regime here. Within a few years we'll be the lowest corporate tax rate combined in the G8."

Mayor Gregor Robertson , 2009

Of 41 major international cities, Vancouver ranks number one for having the lowest combined tax rate for businesses.

Competitive Alternatll•es 2010 Special Report: Focus on Tax

The Keefer is a "four-unit boutique hotel where rooms cost $700 a night. .. The entire project would not have been possible were it not for financial incentives of­fered by the City of Vancouver: A 10-year property tax exemption." "Lush Life," Canadian Architect (Vol. 55 No.9, September 2010).

The Keefer is located at 133 Keefer Street (between Main and Columbia). The oY.ner is millionaire Cam Watt, who made his fortune selling bottled water as the owner of Canadian Springs.

"The new Gastown Terminus condo homes on offfer: have to be seen to be believed. Act quickly [on] prop­erty tax exemptions for new home purchasers ." "FINAL OPPORTUNITY at the Downtown Vancouver Terminus Gastown Condos for Sale," Vancouver Pre-Construction Real Es­tate Condos, April 2009

"Engineered hardwood floors & Stainless appliances. · Woodward's owners are exempt from property tax for 3 years!!! GST is paid!!!" Lindsay Stefanko, Rennie & Associates Reali, April30, 2010 "Last week, two major retail anchors opened for busi­ness [in Woodward's]. One, the latest addition to Van­couver billionaire Jimmy Pattison's stable, is [Nesters]. The second is a London Drugs supermarket. .. Both stores were enticed by subsidies; they won't pay mu­nicipal taxes at Woodward's for the next I 0 years and their rental rates are rock bottom." "Vancouver Downtown Eastside s lowly crawls toward gen­trification, " National Post, December t 7,2009

"We don't have the money in the drawers ... we have nowhere near what we need for housing ... We have real limitations and uncertainty in the economy and city books in terms of what we can do ... we can't make a commitment." Mayor Gregor Robertson, on justifying city council's threatened exclusion of social housing from the new Strathcona Library, Octo­ber 7, 2010. After being shown I .500 signatures on a petit ion call­ing for housing on the city-owned library site. City Council passed a motion saying they would "investigate" the need for housing on the library. At a meeting on October 7, 2010, City Council voted to prioritize a "stand-alone" library, deprioritizing housing, citing financial limitations.

Activists who k,ow music is a pleasurable. powerfuttan;uage educating, connecting and reminding us of our strength and history

1Oth Anniversary Concert benefit for CCDA

Guatemalan Coffee Cooperative Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA)

An organizatbn promoti1g Iatour rights, access to land and Mayan culture for campesinos in Guatemala

SINGING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE: SOLIDARITY NOTES LABOUR CHOIR

CELEBRATES ITS 1Oth ANNIVERSARY

They've been called, "without a doubt, the finest un­ion choir in North America." Vancouver's Solidarity Notes Labour Choir have been making music and working for a better world for a de­cade now, inspired by conductor Earle Peach. They wi ll be presenting their lOth Anniversary Concert on Friday, November Sth, at 7:30PM, at the Unitarian Church, 949 West 49th Avenue in Vancouver.

The Solidarity Notes are a group of 60 people from many walks of life who have come together out of their shared love of song and the belief that music is an essential ingredient fo r positive social change. As is their tradition, the Choir will be donating the proceeds of this concert to others working for social j ustice who are in need of support. Th is special concert will benefit Guatemala's Camp­

esino Committee of the Highlands, known by its Span­ish acronym as the CCDA. The CCDA is a social movement which organizes cooperatives who produce Cafe Justicia- organic, fa ir trade 'plus' coffee that is

widely available in Vancouver labelled Cafe etico. Because the CCDA also promotes Mayan culture, fights for plantation workers' rights and struggles for land reform in Guatemala, they are often targeted by political opponents. They have recently suffered a se­ries of coordinated, vicious and debilitating attacks which include death threats, shootings, large-scale robberies and extensive vandalism. The Solidarity Notes I Oth Anniversary Concert will

feature performances of Mayan dance, the music of Marimba La Kanjobalita, and an appearance by the Big Sing (a g roup of five East End choirs who came together during rheOlympics), in addition to a full rep­ertoire of fabulous songs sung by the Choir itself. There wi ll also be a si lent auction, delicious Guatema­lan food and refreshments, and baked goods for sale. Tickets are $20 and are available from People's Co-op Books 1391 Commercial Drive; however, no one will be rur~ed away at the door for lack of funds. As one inspired audience member said of the Solidar­ity Notes, "Mus ic wins hearts and attention where words sometimes fail." On November 5th, please join us for an unforgettable and uplifting evening of mus ic and solidarity.

Dear Friends,

As some of you know, I've been singing with the Soli­darity Notes Labour Choir for the past several years ...

f...~ is our press release givin.g the details. for our 1Oth Anniversary Concert, commg up on Fnday, No­vember 5th. This event is expected to sell out, and tickets are acnt­ally selling fast. I have a limited number of tickets, so if you would like to be part of this wonderful event, please contact me ASAP to let me know how many tickets you would like to reserve while there are still some available! I lope to see you there!

Sarah 604.607.5204

Colleen's Corner Volunteer Committee Meeting Wednesday, November I Oth at lpm in Classroom II Volunteer of the Month is chosen by those at the meet­ing (not by staff) ALL VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Your voice is needed and appreciated. Volunteer Banquet Style Dinner- Carnegie Theatre Wednesday, November 17th at 4:30 Sharp! Your contribution and hard work is appreciated by the many people who benefit by your services. Let us serve you! Ski ll testing questions for mystery prizes. Please pick up your ticket from the Volunteer Program Office Volunteers of the Month

• Muriel Williams, Learning Centre

• Ray Lee, Kitchen Worker Bee

Celebration of Life for Sandy Cameron Sunday, November 14 from 1- 3pm Carnegie Theatre Sandy died peacefully I 0 October with Jean Swanson, his partner of25 years and his niece beside him. He was a logger, miner, prospector, teacher, writer, men­tor, poet, humanitarian, athlete, grandpa and surrogate grandpa, storyteller, gentle soul and strong antipoverty housing and human rights activist. People say about Sandy: "Such a totally beautiful person, always ready to tell your kids there was another path." "lie taught me that it is possible to fight for what you believe in while taking care of those around you."

Taking a step outside her blues/jazz musical career, Dalannah Gail Bowen offers an inside look at her ad­diction, homelessness and recovery. The Returning Journey is a collection of poems that was first pre­sented by the Firehall Theatre as a one-woman staged

play. . . Sharing her story of a troubled childhood, her.mustc,

homelessness, addiction and recovery from a dtfferent source, Dalannah Gail Bowen takes you thro~gh the pain , despair and heartache to the understandmg and

joy of overcoming a ·'limiting pas~." . Respected poet Bud Osborn provtdes the forward tO­

eluding the following: " In this collection are deeply moving poems about those things which both threaten to prevent us from fulfilling our possibilities as human beings, and those which bring new life to fruition.""Through Dalannah's journey, she makes poems for us that bring joy and compassion into our lives. So hold these poems close to your heart. These are poems that can save lives." .... -

...- ~ dfi d Dr. James Chi Ming Pau was nommate or an a war for his 35 years of volunteer work in Chinatown, th~ Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and the surroundmg

area. 1 am proud of James Pau, not only for being able to

volunteer with him in the H IV\IDU DTES Consumers Board. World A.l.D.S. Day, and other projects too many to count. but most of all because he is my dear

friend. James Chi Ming Pau is a great man not only in the

Chinese Community, but everywhere he has helped people cope with their illness, and again I say he is my best friend and will always be.

Kirk Hosie

THEY ALL WERE KINGS Now now now ladies and gents, a certain day is com­ing & will go with none of them knowing what it meant. November the Eleventh is the day in question now we can all try to never relive but to g ive, to those who accepted death knowing full well their life would be short-lived yet well spent? a shallow shell of hu­manity whom we're taught this & that plus a mountain of future calamity- get this right before even more horrific teachings are forgot, like a kangaroo court jumping over conclusions a brand new sport scraping them solutions your lapse of remorse will take its ugly course AGAIN. Past atrocities get tied up in knots, when just one for­gets what has been done it will prove Agatha Christie · right "and then there were none"- like pornographic comic strips and books or executions on pay-per-view their expectations of the future wiped out on the spot by self-made resentment which was caught on the newest gadgets that repel like a s ink full of maggots like St Minus' crawlspace residing in what once was beauty but now just lays there and rots; now look what this world has made us become not very pretty this extremely vacant kingdom Poppy Season is and will forever have the most heartfelt tearful day, now being born on the eleventh will never ever let my mind wan­der away. So manhy other events have taken place you condemn your own God for what we've done to this place .. commemorative stamps on sale or burnt into your skin if you wish go ahead & pretend you had a choice once again I find myself in a lonely place, what does it take

for you to worry not fear that has been made clear, house-warming parties last all year did you know keepers now make finders disappear, like the limou­sine lanes & all the rest driving me insane tell me when to fo rget the past these involuntary visionary dreams are not what they seem, now how many nites have I turned off the lites when it hits me I could solvt all these problems with a jug of kerosene; the beauty of war becomes the needle through the eye of the be­holder or so it seems;; this vacant kingdom will alwa) be a ghosthunter's dream.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY "To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be."

Miguel de Unamuno

\

My Grandfather

For Christopher Paul, a Saanich Elder

I like my grandfather. He is never in a hurry.

True love

With time separation grows easier But with separation time moves slower

With either time or separation my love does not waver The memory of you is forever branded in my heart.

The memory of feeling my heart expanding when we meet The essence of your scent tickling my nose

The strength of your body holding mine

He takes time to be himself. He gives me time to be myself. His clock is the tide.

The timbres of your voice purring though my brain, imprinted on my heart.

My grandfather is quiet. He listens when there is nothing to hear. He looks when there is nothing to see. We sit together in silence, sharing each other's company.

My grandfather does not fight me with words.

He does not ask many questions. He does not demand many answers. He speaks softly, but I never forget what he says.

When my grandfather talks to me, all of him is there. There is not some part of him which is somewhere else.

My grandfather respects my life. He lets me make my own mistakes. He waits for me as a mountain waits for the deer to graze upon its meadows

in the early morning.

My grandfather is patient. He is not afraid. That which he has done

has been well done, and therefore done forever

With wisdom as an aged tree, he waits in quiet dignity in silence and serenity for an old friend.

Sandy Cameron

With time separation grows easier But with separation time moves slower

With either time or separation my love does not waver The memory of you is forever branded in my heart.

By Emma Whitney

Community Arts Council of Vancouver ARTS FOR ALL INSTITUTE Lena Felde has a presentation about social change and community art; David Lee has ideas for increasing en­gagement with members, potential mbrs & supporters Tues. Nov. 9-Sun. Nov. 14 Oppenheimer Park, 488 Powell Info: coordinator Sharon Bayly at 604-628-5672. Afternoon workshops

Art-making workshops with the community that ex­plore garden designs, music. edible art, food and in­digenous plants. Mon. Nov. 8 7-9pm Talk with Ruth Howard of Jumblies Theatre -FREE

What Feels Important Right Now (in Community Arts) Mary Bennett,, CACV mary@cacv.ca 604-617-0142

"HAND UP, NOT OUT"

For the past while, I have been involved with the Car­negie Community Action Project, and it's been an ho­nour. I acknowledge the Coast Salish people, and thank them for allowing me to live and work in their territory. llomelessness is an issue that needs direct action, not

only from all levels of government, but also from the faith-based organizations. By this I mean the Catholic church, Salvation Army and any others that profess to aid the needy. Homeless people foster these organiza­tions and their need to be of service .. their ticket to heaven, perhaps. 1 suggest that these organizations pressure their mem­

bers and the politicians to take action and start to build the social housing that is so desperately needed. I sug­gest that these organizations should be at the forefront of accomplishing this. They own property and enough assets to build housing on their own.

I have read that the Salvation Army is second only to the Catholic Church in wealth and property in Canada. They may want to explain the reason for this. I've heard that you can't take it with you. You may wonder why I've decided to say something

about this. I had to help someone find shelter, and the only place that was available was the Catholic Chari­ties Hostel. The sign says "Catholic Charities ", but yet a referral is needed by the Ministry [Welfare) to get a bed. The reason is that the ministry reimburses the Charities for doing this. So please tell me, where is the Catholic chari ty? We hear the Salvation Army touting that they provide

1/3 of all shelter beds in Canada. but they fail to men­tion that the provincial or city government reimburses

them as well. So I wonder when these organizations will step up and help rather than foster this issue.

As a people, we have to aid the homeless. I don't just mean the handouts of candy and socks, but our convic­tion to find homes for them; To build them if they don't exist. To bring to bear our energy to those who will listen and act. Far too much time is spent listening and debating; governments and others still shirk their responsibility. Someone, anyone needs to take action. suggest the faith-based organizations need to put both hands out and push our leader~ to act and solve this issue. I grow weary of reading how much money thest organizations pledge to other countries to aid their les! fortunate, then watch as they pass out candy, socks and stuff that, in all l ikelihood, was donated in the firs place. . (laving a home gives a person a chance to live, and b a productive member of their community. Having a home gives one hope. So please, as I do, ask the Crea· tor to help those in need, and those in power to act to get people off the streets.

All my relations. Robert Bonner

LOVE and FREEDOM

I was born to share, to give to love. As a child I wandered through olher people's lives. As an adolescent other cultures adopted me, Sharing with me the beauty of their ways. My firs! initiation into the realm of the universal soul.

In my youth I gave my love to one whose spirit was deao And he tried to crush mme because of fears of his own. He plundered my mind, my body, my love. And tore at my soul, my being, my everything. What was left was a shell with no life of its own.

The healing was long, and painful, and fruilless at first. But the strength of one's spirit can always be heard. Now I walk through fields of beauty and sight. Sharing kindness and happiness and spiritual love. I travel the world in beauty of mind, learning philosophie of higher ideals.

I know that something is worth more than freedom of m But caution please be, so as not to forget. That we are one of many, and all part of the now. A universal consciousness of mind, body and soul.

Judy Laverick

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful commined citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Meade carnegie~ NEWSLETTER carm~ws@vcnocca L...-----------------1

4·l' \1a r Stteel 11anccu.-er Canada V6A 2P (6041 665-2289

THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie newsletter

• Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry. ~ Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 o/.")wide x 15cm(6")high. • Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the • Downtown Eastside, but all work considered. • Black & White printing only. • Size restrictions apply (i.e. if your piece is too large, • it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit) . • All artists will receive credit for their work. • Originals will be returned to the artist after being

copied for publication. • Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

GET CLEAN! Shower up at the Lord's Rain

327 Carrall Street Uust off Pigeon Park) HOT SHOWERS

(towels, soap, shampoo, the works! & coffee) Monday 11am-3pm; Tuesday 7-8:30am;

Tuesday 1-4pm and LADIES Only! Friday 11 am-3pm; Saturday 7-1 Oam

lei on parte Francais Hablamos Espanol

" I have the audacity to bel ieve that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies. education and cu lture for their minds. dignity, equality and justice for their spirits. I believe that what self-cen tred men have torn down, other-centred men can build up."

Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Next Issue: SUBMISSION DEADLINE

.:..:...:..:..: Friday, November 12 ::..=.:.

We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

2010 DONATIONS: Libby D. $50, Rolf A 550, Margaret D. $40, Jenny K. $25, Sue K. $30, Michael C. $50, Jaya B. $100, Christopher R. $180, Barbara & Mel L. $50, Leslie S. $50, Sheila B. $25, Wilhelmina M. $10, CEEDS $60. LaurieR. $60, Vancouver Moving Theatre $100, Sarah E. $46

Welcome Donations to Relieve the Pinch: Michael C. $100, Michael F. $1000, C. $1000, Harold & Sharron $100, Rolf $100, Amy V. $30 Robert R.$20, Mary G. $100, John F. $50, Miriam $25, VMT $300, Jenny F. $100, Lou $5

carnnews@shaw.ca www.carnnews.org http://carnegie.vcn.bc.ca/newsletter http://harvestors.sfu.ca/chodarr

J enny Wai Ching Kwan MLA WORKING FOR YOU

1070-1641 Commercial Dr, V5L 3Y3 Phone: 604-773-0790

Solder & Sons 247 Moiu Street

Co!fee&Tea, Used Books Curious Audio Recordings

Dear readers (and permanent revolutionaries(

1 have fairly l ittle space to persuade you of three things 1. that the DTES is on the path to being gentrified out of existence; 2. the neighbourhood is worth saving in much the form it is now, and 3. stronger action is needed to save it.

One: The DTES right now, in October 2010, will be gentrified to death unless something changes pretty soon, and changes a

lot. . Gentrification is the term used to describe the change m an area when richer people and businesses move in, and existing residents and businesses are forced to move away to cheaper areas because they can no longer afford the rents, taxes or prices in the stores.

Over 20 years. between 1970 and 1990, K~tsil.ano changed from the heart of the Canadian west coast h1pp1e culture to a swank area for yuppies and the fairly affluent. Commercial Drive is now about 70 percent gentrified, and within 10 years, 20 to be sure, it will have barely any of the counterculture ap­peal it had in the 1980s and '90s. It is on life-su~port.

Next up is the DTES. My estimate is that gentnfication now stands at about 30 percent in our neighbourhood. The spread of Gas town eastward, beyond Carrall and as far as Columbia, and the Woodward's Building on Hastings, has pretty much conquered the west side of the DTES. To th.e south is China­town and Strathcona, which are markedly d1fferent from the heart of the DTES, and north is the industrial zone, railway and waterfront. Smart restaurants and higher-end condos are colo­nising the area - check out Alexander Street immediately west and east of the bridge over to Crab Park. .

Gentrification is now coming in from the east. The most obvi­ous example is the Les Am is du Fromage cheese shop and Au Petit Chavignol restaurant on Hastings between Hawks and Campbell. This chic bistro offers a small cheese platter for $29, and personal dining options at 530, $40 a~d $50 per per­son. The restaurant is doing well, as the west stde gourmands apparently think il is ' adventurous' to slum it in this "unsavory' neighbourhood, according to diner reviews. We.can be 10.0 . percent certain that the relatively cheap rents wtll attract s1m1lar higher end restaurants and other establishments in the near future. One thing about capitalism eh, good old "free ~nterprise ' .

never misses a trick and can smell a deal hke stinky cheese m a hospital ward. . . . . . Any appeal to entrepreneurs that they are pnc1ng ex1sting rest­dents and operations out of the neighbourhood 1s d1sm1ssed -getting in while land values and/or rent~ are low and watc~1ng them rise is the name of the game. Busmess 1s not sensttive to the fact thai it can locate anywhere else in metro Vancouver,

and this 0.1 percent of the land mass is reserved for the most marginalized. You don't negotiate with a sociopathic entity - it wants it all. There are spot gentrifications inside the heart of the commu­

nity as well - Waves coffee shop at Main and Cordova for ex­ample, a new art cinema on Main across from the police build­ing, a bridal store next to the Brandiz Hotel on Hastings. You might think the DTES is a better place for having a few smart stores, and 1 would agree. The problem is that one thing leads to another, and before long we will be at a lipping point where many of the existing stores that cater to the core population of the DTES will have to move. Let's be clear - gentrification is forced removal by market

forces . The end result is the same as if the government sent in trucks to the DTES with instructions for all the drug addicted, mentally ill, people on disability and welfare and no-income to be loaded into the trucks and taken elsewhere.

Perish any misty-eyed idea of the rich and poor living side by side. Sometimes you can have a minority of low-income mixed in

with a clear majority of middle class or more affluent. But any idea that the kind of people who bought condos in Woodwards or who eat at Au Petit Chavignol will tolerate living amidst the extraordinary core population of the DTES is wishful thinking. There is already trouble brewing in Strathcona, until now a

fairly friendly neighbourhood. The Strathcona Residents Asso­ciation (SRA) claims that Strathcona includes the area as far north as the waterfront, and west to Gore Avenue. This is a far cry from the traditional understanding that Strathcona is south of Hastings. The SRA's 2010 Community Vision wants to 'regain a healthy

balance' and says "the concentration of Special Needs Facili­ties in Strathcona for drug addicted and mentally ill people and for people attempting to recover from addictions has already reached the saturation point.' It says: 'The Union Gospel Mission expansion project ap­

proved in December 2007 will bring to more than 300 the num­ber of abstinence-based addiction recovery beds within two blocks of Strathcona Elementary School. Imbalances such as this institution creates put the Strathcona community and its health at risk. There are compelling needs for these services in Vancouver, but every day we see evidence that the City's long­standing practice of concentrating social services in Strathcona has failed.'

This brings me to my second argument - the DTES is worth saving in much the form it is now. What are the signs that the concentration of social services has failed? I would argue, and so would thousands of others, that it is precisely that concentra­tion that has created a neighbourhood that is a rare treasure, a sort of open drug colony and urban Aboriginal reserve where

the marginalized are in a majority, and as such they can live largely free of intolerance and judgement. The clustering means they can access many services with

ease, and that the webs of connectivity that have grown from the interaction among service providers and users has given rise lo an urban social ecosystem of special richness and com­plexity. II needs critical mass to survive -what it most definitely does not need is dilution and dispersal. The neighbourhood is more than the sum of its parts and superb, pioneering work in addiction treatment, prevention and rehab is done here. The Strathcona residents propose a number of steps to

achieve their vision. The first is to build more market housing than social or affordable housing -which is directly opposed to the Assets to Action vision of the DTES itself, a community plan endorsed by thousands of residents, nearly all major or­ganizational stakeholders and heavyweight professionals like former city planning director Ray Spaxman. • All new housing developments on arterial streets will contain a larger proportion of market than non-market housing,' says the SRA. "More market housing will help support retail business and bring a healthy social presence to our streets. No one should be afraid to walk Strathcona's streets. An increase in market housing will reduce the proportion of disadvantaged people in the total population without displacing them or the services available for them. More market housing will also reduce nega­tive impact such as dying business, unsafe streets, and the cycle of addiction and poverty perpetuated by the concentration of social services." The market housing increase will not displace the disadvan­taged or the services available to them? Wanna bel? Further, the claim that it is unsafe to walk the streets is overblown. There is crime against outsiders, but it is rarely serious and no worse than many other neighbourhoods. Another goal is to "Revitalize East Hastings, our shopping street' and also "incentives will be required for existing busi­ness to remain." What incentives? You cannot have it both ways- you either have an area with low rents so that stores which sell cheap goods, and not that many of them, can survive, or you don't. The government is going to subsidize the little convenience stores and dollar-a-slice pizza joints?

One of the most offensive and threatening steps the SRA calls for is to "Maintain the total volume of social services at the cur­rent level only." It says we need to "recognize that the propor­tion or people in Strathcona who are addicted or mentally ill is already too high for a healthy and balanced community. Re­dress the balance by enacting a moratorium on the building of new social service facilities. This moratorium can be selective, but must be restrictive enough to ensure that the proportion of the total population with addiction and mental illness issues

decreases to a much more healthy level.· Again, I say that Strathoona residents dents have many other options for shop­ping, that Hastings is not 'their" shopping street, and that the DTES is a special place in which the existing numbers of ad­dicted and/or mentally ill is just right.

The notion that these new homeowners are going to live hap­'Pily side by side with addicts, mentally ill and survival sex work­ers is not oonvincing. Where else does such a mix exist? Only other poor, working poor and lower middle class people can live so closely side by side. The result of the SRA plan will be the slicing and dicing of the DTES and its redistribution elsewhere, with a vestige of low­income remaining, and a few tiny pockets of isolated and barely tolerated addicted/ men-tally ill.

Three: Decades of inspired work by social service profession­als and activists have made the DTES what it is today, and have spared it the noose of gentrification thus far. But now, with hostile governments in both Victoria and Ottawa, and a succes­sion of feckless councils at 12th and Cambie, the writing is on the wall. The DTES can go the way or Kits and the Drive, or it can mount Vancouver's only successful anti-gentrification de­fense.

Without taking anything away from the successes to date, I say alllhe research, the marches, the rallies, the appeals to reason and fairness, to empathy, have fallen mostly on deaf ears. The DTES and its supporters have not been able to wring any truly meaningful concessions and commitments out of gov­ernment, and it is only government that can save it. So, it is time to go to the mattresses. I say we go Gandhi, re­

sort to a whole array of acts of civil resistance. There are scores available. One might be a partial rent boycott, or rent capping - paying only the $375 welfare shelter allowance, regardless of what the rents actually are. Landlords will move to evict, but eviction of hundreds and even thousands of vulnerable tenants will bring chaos and serious political embarrassment. Other options include a sit-in at the Woodward's building, the biggest gentrification offender, refusal to pay bus lares, or taxes, and other acts of non-cooperation with a system that consciously oppresses those who need its protection most. If not now then when? If not us, then who? If not civil

resistance, then what?

By DAVID BEATIIE

Job Posting - Researcher Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)

Purpose of the position: Assist CCAP to provide leadership in the Downtown Eastside community through research, education and actions that will slow gentrification and lead to more and better housing and income security for low-income DTES residents.

Responsibilities: Reporting to the Carnegie Association and clearing activities with CCAP's Coordinator, the Researcher will:

• Identify areas of research necessary to implement Assets to Action: Community Vision for Change; • Read, analyze and report on government planning and policies for the DTES; • Present concrete solutions to the housing crisis based on community input, research, and policy and program

alternatives developed locally and in other jurisdictions; • Write reports and press releases; • Organize andfor participate in community response to emerging housing and low income issues through city

planning processes and other opportunities; • Develop a local, national and international public awareness strategy regarding homelessness and the low in­

come housing crisis; • Develop leadership capacity and critical analysis by low-income DTES residents

Desired experience: • Research on housing, income, andfor planning issues • Excellent verbal and written communication skills • Ability to use computer for research, emails, formatting flyers etc. • Web or blog design • Good people skills • Grant writing and reporting • Facilitating workshops • Mediafcommunications • Developing campaigns for social justice with community groups • Ability to work in a team and on own, and with a community board

This job will .last for one year, subject to positive evaluations at 6 weeks and 3 months, with the possibil ity of longer employment if funding is secured. This job is 20 hours a week and may require work on weekends and evenings. Salary is $1 ,800/month gross.

Only people who are to be interviewed will be contacted and the job will start December 20 I 0. Please submit resumes with a half-page essay on the causes ofhomelessness and two references

who are familiar with your work by November 15, 20 I 0 to:

Jean Swanson, Coordinator Carnegie Community Action Project

401 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 2T7 Or email: jean.swanson@gmail.com

Preference will be given to applicants who are residents or community members of the Downtown Eastside.