N E W S L E T T E R September I, 1993

401 Main St., Vancouver V6A 2T7 (604) 665-2289 -

Inside: Alfie Mountain Oppenheimer Youth housing

Worms Potato Heads PNE

ELDERS CONFERENCE I N D U N C A N

I ' m George N i c h o l a s , My t r i p t h e r e wasuuonderful . Tony was a t h i s b e s t . E v e r y - o n e on t h e b u s was f u l l o f l i f e . Upon a r r i v i n g a t Duncan o u r l u g g a g e was confiscated and put somewhere unknown t o us u n t i l l a t e r i n t h e e v e n i n g when we 6'ound o u r s e l v e s t a k i n g o v e r a l lhouse on t h e r e s e r v e w h e r e t h e owners r e t r e a t e d o a n R . V . , l e a v i n g 17 C a r n e g i e members t o e n j o y t h e s e p e o p l e ' s l o v e l o v e l y home. The C o n f e r e n c e was v e r y e n j o y a b l e t o me, e s p e c i a l l y t h e p i c t u r e ce remony , ra t C h e m a i n i s , w h i c h t o o k a l m o s t s i x h o u r s t o c o m p l e t e . A l s o a t 6 0 y e a r s o l d it was n i c e t o h a v e young c h i l d r e n and young a d u l t s t o w a i t e hand and f o o t on me. I had n o t n e e d e d t o move f o r a n y t h i n g . The f o o d : s a l m o n , e l k , moose, c r a b l e g , o y s t e r s , bannock , o c t o p u s , f i s h e g g s , f r e s h f r u i t ! - Wow! ! I t t o o k a l o t o f work f o r t h i s e v e n t and t h e young p e o p l e b r o u g h t i t o f f w o n d e r f u l l y . Thanks t o you a l l .

f r o m G E O R G E N . SENIORS GROUP

NEW ADDRESS

The U I office f o r t h e Downtown Easts ide and Strathcona i s now located a t - :

Su i t e 103 4181 East Hastings Burnaby Phone: 291- 1674

WALK-FOR AIDS NATIVE HELATH PARTICIPATION SEPT 26 t h SUNDAY Volunteers needed cooking serving

clean-up c a l l 254-9949 by Sept 9

K i m Cambell How do you l i k e your soup? Mixed up with creamed Mulroney I am sure .

Do you e a t it i n a bowl with Right Wing crackers:

If you win - We w i l l a l l be i n the soup. (But you won't)

SHEILA BAXTER

\i 6:30 Wed.

Heigh ho, to the

I t took a l i t t l e persuad- ing, but t h e PNE has agreed t o make su re Carnegie g e t s t h e f r e e passes it needs f o r t h i s y e a r ' s f a i r .

The PNE had cut o f f Carnegie without any 'warning, but changed i t s mind a f t e r a strongly-worded p r o t e s t l e t t e r from t h e Carnegie Board, followed by a demonstra- t i o n by Carnegie members with p lacards a t t h e corner of Main and Hastings during t h e PNE pa- rade.

As Shriners , po l i ce and f i r e squads and B.C. Lions cheerleaders marched by, they cou ldn l t help but n o t i c e t h e banner displayed across t h e f r o n t of Carnegie: ''Shame on the PNE - Discriminates aga ins t the poor and disabled."

We s t i l l don ' t have a proper explanation f o r the cutoff . When we first complained, t h e PNE of fered a handful1 of passes, but only i f Carnegie members spec i f i ed t h e i r mental o r physical d i s a b i l i t y , This i s obviously unacceptable - an invasion of privacy and a demeaning form of means t e s t .

To make mat ters worse, t h e PNE handed out thousands of f r e e passes t h i s year t o groups a l l over t h e

we're fair

c i t y , including hundreds t o bingo players .

Indeed, people i n the parade who supported the p r o t e s t gave out handfuls of t h e i r own passes t o t h e Carnegie demonstrators.

The about-face by t h e PNE came a s a r e s u l t o f t h e strong and united ac t ion of Carnegie members.

The f a i r runs u n t i l Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 6. Any Carnegie member who wants a pass should apply a t t h e t h i r d - f l o o r o f f i c e of Carnegie between noon and 5 p.m. t o g e t t h e i r name on the l is t .

COMINGS AND GOINGS BIKI'HS- On August 7 a t 12:51 a.m., Todd Richard Ambrosia came i n t o t h e world weighing 6 pounds, 11 counces. A brother f o r . V i r g i n i a and Erica. proud parents a r e Todd and June Rose.

Ted and Cindy Chang a r e t h e proud parents of a 7-pound boy named Micah.

A t the r a t e babies a r e ar r iv ing, Carnegie w i l l soon have t o open a nursery. Congratulations t o a l l of t h e new parents .

DEATHS

August has been a t e r r i b l e month f o r los ing people who were close t o us.

Mary James was born on August 10, 1952, and passed away on August 17, 1993. Even though she was s u f f e ~ - from cancer, she ever complained.

One unique q u a l i t y about Mary - she was always doing th ings f o r o thers and never expected anything i n return. Mary's ashed have been sent up t o he r family i n Mount Currie .

There was a memorial f o r Mary James a t F i r s t United Chiuch, and it is very d i f f i c u l t t o r e a l i z e tha? one grieving woman would meet a t r a g i c death a few days' l a t e r . The repor ts say t h a t Pouline Joseph f e l l from the eighth-storey window of t h e Balmoral Hotel.

Alfred Richard Mountain was found dead a t t h e corner of Graveley and Lakewood. Alfred was only 36 years o ld and I o f t e n used

i m s i t t i n g on t h e Carnegie

s teps . He was a cousin of Margaret P revos t t s , and an exce l l en t carver .

Our thoughts and prayers go out t o a l l who a r e greiving. Put- t i n g t h i s column together reminded me of growing up i n Srsk.tcFeww. Things were so excPting t h e r e t h a t whenever you v i s i t e d your nea res t neighbor, you h i t t h e s o c i a l page of t h e weekly newspaper. We alwavs had p len ty oC human i n t e r e c t s t o r i e s ins tead of cons tant ly giving t h e n o l i t i c i a n s t h e publ i - c 4 t y they don' t deserve.

I rene Schmidt

Mary James was a shining example - a woman who honored h e r c u l t u r e , helped o the r s , and never complained Why me?"

She was f u l l of courage and compassion and kept her work out of t h e s p o t l i g h t . Our community w i l l miss h e r and never f o r g e t he r example.

Longtime Downtown'Eastsider Tom Bayne d ied t h i s p a s t month. Tom was born i n 1912 i n t h e U. S. H i s pa ren t s brought him t o Canada when he was a year o ld , But t h e a u t h o r i t i e s got h i s b i r t h d a t e mixed up, so Tom went throught h i s l i f e with two bi r thdays - h i s r e a l one, on January 1st and t h e o f f i c i a l one on a l l h i s documents - March 3rd.

Tom come out west i n t h e e a r l y 1930s, during t h e Great Depression. He rode t h e r a i l s and l ived i n t h e hobo jungles along t h e way. #el,was a r r e s t e d severa l t imes f o r vagrancy and was evenyually s e n t t o a r e l i e f

camp wi th a l l t h e o t h e r s i n g l e , unemployed men. From the re ,vhe jo ined t h e r e l i e f camp s t r i k e r s and l e f t Vancouver with t h e On-to-Ottawa Trek i n i n 1936. Tomr~had t h e d i s t i n c t i o n of being one of t h e few Trekkers t o make it a l l t h e way t o Ottawa. A f t e r t h e RCMP a t t acked and j a i l e d t h e Trekkers i n Regina, t h e gave each of them a one-way t i c k e t back t o t h e i r home town. Tom s a i d he was from Car l ton Place, j u s t o u t s i d e of Ottawa. He made it t o t h e c a p i t a l j u s t as t h e marchers were a r r i v i n g from Toronto.

Af t e r t h e Trek. Tom re tu rned t o Vancouver, where he s e t t l e d i n t h e

A MAN LOST I N HIS OWN SKIN

The day was Aug. 20. Another body was found i n an a l l e y . The meaning behind t h i s s e n s e l e s s dea th has a l o t o f people th inking .

Al f red Richard Mountain was t h e young man's name, one who roame t h e s t r e e t s i n t h e daytime wi th h i s buddies. They a l l d r ink t h e cooking wine t h a t can b e bought i n some corner s t o r e s . I t ' s c a l l e d ginseng brandy.

Many of you know Alfred a s j u s a mean drunken bum. Most s t r e e t < people a r e d r ink ing because they don ' t have a home t o go t o . The i r l i v i n g a r e a i s t h e a l l e y s , garbage b ins , o r somewhere they can f i n d warm steam coming out of a bu i ld ing

Downtown Easts ide; He l i v e d f o r a time i n a houseboat on ~ a l s e r Creek, and made a l i v i n g t ak ing logs o f f booms and s e l l i n g them. He l a t e r worked f o r many yea r s a s a bookie, ou t of t h e o l d Broadway Hotel (now t h e Sun- r i s e ) .

Tom Bayne was always a r e b e l . For yea r s he donated $20 a month t o DERA out of h i s monthly pension cheque. And whenever someone asked how he was doing, he usgd t o r e p l y , "Good enough t o throw rocks. "

J .S.

Yes, A l f i e was looking f o r a p l a c e t o f i n d himself . I t seemed everyone turned him away. By t h a t I mean Treatment Centre , Detox's. e t c . A l l because A l f i e had t h i s mean s t r e a k i n him. He and h i s b r o t h e r s

It ' s un fo r tuna te t h a t A l f i e

were i n and out o f j a i l .

won't b e he re f o r Po l i ce Chief Marsha l l ' s t r ia l . You can b e t h i s fami ly won't l e t t h i s s l i p through t h e cracks.

A l f i e , y o u ' l l be missed. T i 1 we meet again,

Margaret

Uh oh, he's back! ~ t ' s not poss ib le t o w r i t e it a l l

down, but i t ' s a l s o harder than h e l l to t e l l it a l l i n a few sentences. --:

Eleven people, including t h i s wri ter , have j u s t spent 17 days i n Nicaragua. ~ t ' s the country t h a t experienced a fu l l - sca le revolut ion i n 1979, when almost the e n t i r e populat ion rose up and overthrew t h e corrupt , US-backed government of Anastasia Somoza.

Somoza was t h e fun-kind of guy who couldn' t t e l l t h e d i f ference between h i s own bank account and t h e na t iona l t reasury; who thought t h e earthquake of 1972 was t h e g r e a t e s t th ing s ince s l i ced bread, s ince he r e b u i l t a l o t of the c a p i t a l c i t y of Managua on h i s land, with ma te r i a l s supplied by h i s companies, using h i s t rucks , h i s e q u i p ment, and paying himself and h i s 'fam- i l y ' l i k e kings ... anyone who thought he was a greedy sack of s h i t was shot , o r tor tured and shot . I f he wanted en- tertainment he'd t ake a bunch of peop- l e from prison up i n a h e l i c o p t e r and throw them out while hovering over one of Nicaragua's volcanoes.

Somoza and severa l hundred of t h e r i ches t Nicaraguans escaped t o t h e US - t o Miami mostly - and took much of the country 's t r easury with them. Somoza himself was shot down i n Miami a year o r so a f t e r he got the re . He jus t had too many people who had l o s t family members who, f o r some reason, couldn' t br ing themselves t o ' forgive and forget 1 .

The Sandinis tas , a s t h e revolut ion- a r i e s ca l l ed themselves, d id amazing

th ings i n t h e following 11 years. Edu- ca t ion was guaranteed f r e e , medical ca re was open G a v a i l a b l e with c l i n i c s and workshops on preventive care , a massive campaign t o e rase i l l i t e r a c y went on f o r years and had g r e a t succ- ess , people who worked t h e land had a say i n t h e i r l i v e s , r a t h e r than being almost a s l ave t o t h e owner.. . i t went on and on. This i s not j u s t sub jec t ive r epor t ing - t he World Health Organisa- t i o n and t h e United Nations gave the Sandinis ta government spec ia l recog- n i t i o n f o r the r e s u l t s of t h e i r s o c i a l and h e a l t h programs.

What happened? I

The US government, first under Ron , Reagan, then under George Bush, was f ro th ing a t t h e mouth... 2 B continued 1

I and Third W d d s

1 are one and' the same system

I

angers gro KAREN GRAM Vancouver Sun

A long-time advocate for the Downtown Eastside is drawing the community's fire for his plans to build housing for street kids at Main and Hastings.

Youth agencies in the neighborhood say the plans by Jim Green, now a provincial government employee, came as a surprise to them and will be disastrous for the young people involved.

"This is the worst idea that could ever have been conceived," said Calvin Lee, who coordinates the Street Youth Action Com- mittee, a committee of teenagers from the Downtown Eastside.

"We are going to put kids right in the middle of a population that has given up hope."

Green, who now works for the ministries of finance and municipal affairs developing innovative financing for housing projects, plans to buy the old Bank of Montreal bui1ding;a heritage structure at Main and Hastings, with finance ministry money.

Using money from another government fund, street youths would be hired to reno- vate the building, giving them one year of trajning in all aspects of construction. The youths would then live in the building.

The ground floor would be a community bank; upstairs would be 30 housing units. Ten of the units would be for street kids; Green said he hopes the community would decide who would live in the remaining 20, but it can't be people with special needs.

Green has first dibs on the purchase of the building. He has also secured $3 million from B.C. 21, a government fund intended to provide money for projects that will pre- pare the province for the 21st century, to build the units.

He said he has verbal approval from the city to proceed with the plan, but still has to

The Vancouver Sun, Monday, August 23,1993

go through the formal approval process. "If it all goes ahead, it will be a tremen-

dous boon to thetpmmunity," said Green on Sunday. "It willactiieve all the things I want to do on this planet."

He reeled off the benefits: a community bank, desperately needed housing in a heri- tage building and job training for street youths.,

But youth and street agencies in the Downtown Eastside say the plan will back- fire and complain the project was sprung on them too late to change it. They say they only heard about it last week.

Lee said Main and Hastings is one of the busiest corners in the city, with sirens going all the time and more alcoholics and drug addicts per square metre than anywhere else.

"Why would we $ant to entrench kids down there?"

Lee said putting street kids together on that corner could create gangs where none existed before. As well, the kids would be vulnerable to all kinds of predators and drug dealing would likely proliferate.

Juan Rivera, an 18-year-old who lives in Stamps Place housing project at Campbell and Hastings and is a member of the Street Youth Action Committee, said he thinks the project is doomed unless it is moved from the proposed location.

"Many, many things would have to be done so that the building wouldn't fall apart in less than a month," lie said, adding he also feared a gang might develop there. He said kids should be housed in smaller projects off the main drag but still close to the action.

The youth council a t RayCam Commu- nity Center has written a letter to Green saying: "Young people deserve better care and attention than mass locations in high risk enviroments."

And John Turvey, of the Downtown East- side Youth Activities Society, said he doubts the street youths his organization serves would get the jobs because they have too many problems.

The jobs would go to youths from other parts of the city, he said.

8. 90 we'd be bringing in more kids to the area," he said. "You got to be brain-dead to do that."

Green agreed kids with drug or alcohol abuse problems are not suitable for the project but said there are lots of others in the area who are. He said he doesn't rule out youths from Granville because they are part of the downtown core too.

Besides, he asked, isn't it better to train youths from just up the street on Granville than hire adults from Alberta or Ontario as some contractors do?

Deborah Mearns, president of Vancou- ver Native Health, said she is upset the community wasn't consulted earlier.

She said the community just completed a 2%-month process in which the residents and agencies worked out three low-impact

,housing projects for street youth that have the complete support of the neighborhood. Those projects, located in Strathcona, the West End and the downtown South Gran- ville area, are set to go.

That process was done through the Downtown Eastside-Strathcona Coalition, which was set up after residents com- plained about being left out of the planning for the area. Mearns said Green should have used the coalition too.

"If there is that kind of money, why can't we work out how it will be spent?" said Mearns.

Green said his staff have had meetings with 41 agencies in the downtown core - including Granville Mall - but he had to keep fairly quiet about the plan so as not to endanger negotiations regarding it.

A house is not home

The p r o v i n c i a l government i s making t h e Downtown Eas t s ide a n - o f f e r it t h i n k s we c a n ' t r e fuse .

necessarily a

t h i n k of t h e i d e a of en t renching vu lne rab le k i d s on a "Str ip" known f o r i t s drugs, a lcohol and s t r e e t crime. (See t h e r e p r i n t e d newspaper a r t i c l e .)

I t wants t o b u i l d housing f o r s t r e e t youth r i g h t a t t h e most un l ike ly spot i n t h e neighbourhood, Hastings and Main, k i t t y - c o r n e r from Carnegie.

To sweeten t h e o f f e r , t h e province says it w i l l a l s o b u i l d housing f o r a d u l t s t h e r e and e s t a b l i s h a bank on t h e s i t e t o s e r v i c e low-income people who have t roub le s t a r t i n g accounts i n r e g u l a r banks.

In f a c t , t h e downtown Eas ts ide / S t ra thcona C o a l i t i o n has a l r eady co come up with a sounder approach f o r youth - small , more home-like hous- i ng away from t h e st r i p .

The government p r o j e c t is being plunked down with v i r t u a l l y no p r i o r community c o n s u l t a t i o n - even though l o t s of o u t s i d e i n t e r e s t s , from developers t o union o f f i c i a l s and a r c h i t e c t s , seem t o know a l l about it.

A t a pub l i c meeting i n Carnegie on August 22, r e s i d e n t s and s t r e e t workers t o l d government r e p r e s e n t a t - i ves i n no unce r t a in terms what t hey

I t will have a b i g impact on Carnegie, because t h e i n f l u x o f yo* youth w i l l a f f e c t programming i n the Centre.

Government r ep resen ta t ive J i m Green t o l d t h e pub l i c meeting the government i n s i s t s t h a t i f we want t h e bank and t h e adu l t housing, we have t o t a k e t h e youth p r o j e c t , too.

Now severa l community groups a and s t r e e t agencies have banded together t o wr i t e d i r e c t l y t o

Vic to r i a t o say t h a t ' s not good enough, and t o i n v i t e the Minister responsible, Mike Harcourt, Finance Minister Glen Clark and Housing Minister Robin Blencoe, t o t a l k t o t h e community face-to-face.

The community's message is : We despera te ly need more decent housing f o r a d u l t s i n t h e neighbourhood and we a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n discussing t h e bank. But we don ' t want unacceptable schemes rammed down our t h r o a t s .

And any new p r o j e c t s should be discussed f i r s t with t h e community, not a f t e r t h e r e ' s j u s t a few d e t a i l s l e f t t o be worked out.

9 . The groups making t h e appeal represent a l l t h e main res iden t s ' groups : Carnegie, DERA, Strathcona Community Centre and Ray-Cam. And some o f t h e most a c t i v e s t r e e t agencies: DEYAS, Native Health,and Watari Youth Services. I

IIELP

LEAWERS CONFERENCE PLANNING COMMITTEE

Meets Every Other Monday

SEPTEMBER 7 (Tues) SEPTEMBER 20

We need help PLANNING - Food, Workshops, Decorations, Publ ic i ty .

A l l Learners and Students from t h e Downtown Eastside Welcome

The Learners ' Conference is f o r a l l l e a r n e r s t o t a k e par t in . GET INVOLVED! Become a member of t h e executive of t h e conference & t a k e pa r t i n t h e program.

It w i l l happen on September 30th. So f a r , t h e t e n t a t i v e program is - loam In t roduc t ion ,

( cof fee & muff ins ) llam-12 noon: Workshop i n t h e Theatre

lpm Lunch 2pm-3pm: Open Forum 4pm: Music by Soft D i r t

. Tables w i l l be s e t up. Chairs w i l l be placed around t h e room.

Brochures may be l a i d out . Advertisements may be presented.

Learners can a l s o get involved doing o t h e r th ings a t t h e ,Carnegie. Read s igns i n t h e c e n t r e , f ind out what i n t e r e s t s you and become an a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a n t .

Attention ESL Learners. Are you in te res ted i n acting? Become involved i n act ing a t the Learners' Conference. J u s t contact Dora o r Patrick.

NOISE A N D SUCH

H e r e ' s how i t was maybe t e n y e a r s a g o , e v e n i n t h e West End.

1 0 am: my c h o i c e o f s o u n d , u s u a l l y S c h u b e r t , The B e a t l e s , a n d c o f f e e p e r k i n g . I t s m e l l e d s o g o o d . Then I h e a r d t h e t o a s t p o p u p o r t h e r i n g o f my t e l e p h o n e , a n a r r a n g e m e n t made f o r t i m e o f f a t t h e b e a c h . The a i r s m e l l e d good , t o o . I n f a c t , l i f e was good .

Do I s o u n d l i k e a n o l d c a r p e r b y now? Someone whose

o b j e c t i s t o g r i p e a b o u t c h a n g e ? L e t s l o o k a t t h e s i t u a t i o n now, same h o u r o f t h e d a y . By 1 0 am I am b l i t z e d , up s i n c e 5 am, 4 a m , d r e a d i n g t h e n o i s e t h a t w i l l s t a r t a n y m i n u t e . And t h e s m e l l s now a r e o f o i l , g a s a n d d u s t .

D u r i n g t h e p a s t s i x y e a r s , we h a v e moved f o u r t i m e s . J e a n Swanson t o l d me o n c e when we embarked f r o m New West back t o V a n c o u v e r ,

" 8 n t i l l a t e l y , 1 8 m o n t h s was my a v e r a g e s t a y i n a p l a c e . Where I am now i s o k , b u t w e ' r e n o t a l l o w e d t o e a t f i s h , o r . . ."

We w e r e a s k a n c e . Some d a y , I vowed J e a n s h a l l h a v e some f i s h w i t h u s , Oh y e s s h e w i l l .

By 1 0 am I f e e l l u c k y e v e n t o h e a r B e e t h o v e n o r t h e t o p 2 2 . We h a v e t a k e n a v a r i e t y o f i n v e n t i v e m e a s u r e s a g a i n s t o f f e n d e r s s h o r t o f a g u n . T h a t we w h a l l n e v e r d o . L o r d , we m i g h t e n d u p i n j a i l . ( g o a l ) a n d h a v e e v e n l e s s c h o i c e a b o u t a n y s o u n d s .

You s e e , f o u r b l o c k s f r o m u s , a n d r e p o r t e d b y t h e Sun a week a g o , a man waved a gun a t two s k a t e b o a r d e r s . We h e r a l d e d h i s show o f a n g e r . Our m e t h o d s i n c l u d e : l o u d a n d e x p l i c i t u s e o f H a r r y R a n k i n - s t y l e w o r k s . ( I b e l i e v e I was m e a n t f o r h i s f a m i l y . C e r t a i n l y my own f i n d s me a n a p p a l l i n g m i s f i t ) The f i n g e r a n d t o s s i n g o f o b j e c t s t o w a r d s a l l m a n n e r o f c r u d : s k a t e b o a m d e r s boom c a r s , c e m e n t t r u c k s . A s w e l l , H a r l e y s a n d m o s t b i k e s

*

w i t h n o m u f f l e r s , a n y r e v Q i g g v e h i c l e , t o u r b u s e s , a b u s e d a n d / o r u n a t t e n d e d d o g s , a n d k i d s . Need I c o n t i n u e ? The n o i s e i n t h e West End i s m u l t i a m p l i f i e d b y t o o many t a l l , s k i n n y b u i l d i n g s , t o o c l o s e , t o g e t h e r . ( C o u r t e s y Mayor Tom C a m p b e l l , 1 9 6 6 . ) He b e g a n t h e c r a z e t o f i l l t h e t h e a r ea w i t h cement

A Supervisor I had a t t h e Welfare Dept. Elsbeth Wolverton, s a i d she and h e r family used t o l i v e he re i n t h e e r a of s a n i t y and green g r a s s happy k ids . Not now. Too bad.

JONENE B ICKET

I N E W S L E T T E R I

Getting tired of welfare bashing?

For the last couple of months the media and Liberal and Social Credit politicians have been talking a lot about so-called welfare fraud. The government has hired new "fi-aud inspectors." The Young Socreds at Simon Fraser University distributed a "hate poster" against people on welfare.

People from Terrace to Vancouver have told End Legislated Poverty that this welfare bashing in the media is having an effect in welfare ofices. People are afraid to ask for what they need. People are afiaid to apply for welfare. People on welfare cringe everytime they hear this welfare bashing, assuming it applies to them.

If you need welfare, or are on welfare, remember that getting welfare is a right in Canada. The

government in Ottawa purposely kept interest rates high, knowing it would create unemployment. That government cut back UIC on purpose, knowing it would throw more people onto welfare. That government brought in fiee trade, knowing it would destroy jobs.

J

When TV and the papers and some politicians produce stories that paint people on welfare as fiaud artists, they are guilty of bigotry *

and discrimination. The solution to this problem is to get them to stop. They are the ones that have to change, not the people on welfare.

Don't be afiaid to demand your right to welfare. If you have trouble, or if you think you are being investigated for fraud, go to one of the groups on the back page for help.

How much welfare fraud is proven?

Ministry of Social Services claims that there were 669 complaints of welfare fiaud in March, They say that only half of these were valid and that only 10 resulted in court convictions.

There are 323,000 people on welfare in B. C. These statistics mean that there was one conviction for welfare fiaud for every 32,300 people on welfare. This is a very low fraud rate. It is certainly much lower than the rate of conviction for Socred Cabinet Ministers in the last provincial government.

The government says that half of the 669 complaints are valid in spite of only 10 people being convicted. Why is this? They say it is because the Minstry staff cut off payments and made repayment deals with people "caught cheating". However, how many people on welfare are forced to sign repayment deals because if they dontt,their cheques will be cut off, they'll be evicted and starve? Why isn't it assumed that people on

welfare, like other people are innocent until proven guilty?

However, even if half of the 669 complaints were valid, that would still be a fiaud rate of about 2 tenths of one percent of the cases on welfare, far less than one percent.

14.

F O O D BANKS A R E LOSING THEIR PERSPECTIVE

I b e l i e v e t h e whole i d e a o f t h e c r e a t i o n o f f o o d b a n k s was t o s u p p l y p e o p l e w i t h f o o d when t h e y r a n o u t o f money a n d f o o d . I t was b a s i c a l l y f o r W e l f a r e , U I C , o r o t h e r low- income p e o p l e s s u c h a s s e n i o r c i t i z e n s n o t y e t o l d enough t o c o l l e c t p e n s i o n s .

The t r u e r e a s o n f o r t h e f o o d bank b e i n g t h e r e a t a l l h a s e s c a p e d t h o s e p e o p l e manag- i n g t h e New W e s t m i n s t e r f o o d bank a t t h e 6 t h Avenue C h u r c h n e a r 1 2 t h S t r e e t . They h a v e s e t d a y s l a n d h a v e had f o r two y e a r s . Each Wednesday i s f o r a c e r t a i n number o f p e o p l e . A l l h a v e b e e n a s s i g n e d t h e i r s p e c i f i c d a y s f o r t h e whole c a l e n d e r y e a r a n d c a n come on no o t h e r d a y . No r e a s o n i s

good enough f o r m i s s i n g y o u r d a y . T h o s e a s s i g n e d W e l f a r e Wednesday mus t come on t h a t d a y w h e t h e r t h e y n e e d f o o d o r n o t .

" S t o r e t h e b r e a d i n t h e f r e e z e r a n d p u t t h e o t h e r s t u f f away i n c u p b o a r d s . We h a v e t o b e t o l d t h a t b e c a u s e we a r e s t u p i d . A l o t o f t h e s t u f f i s d o n u t s , c a k e , p i e s t h a t would go i n t o t h e g a r b a g e s o o n anyway a n d it i s p r a c t i c - a l l y r e a d y t o g o g r e e n , o r I

a b o u t - t o - b e - t h r o w n - o u t c a n d y b a r s . High e n e r g y f o o d .

And y e t t h e w h o l e i d e a of g o i n g t o t h e f o o d b a n k was b e c a u s e you n e e d e d r e a l f o o d j u s t b e f o r e y o u r c h e c k was d u e . Even a week b e f o r e i s r e a s o n a b l e . But on W e l f a r e Wednesday! ! ! Most V a n c o u v e r f o o d b a n k s c l o s e on W e l f a r e Wednesdays . On t h e a s s u m p t - i o n t h a t t h e NW b a n k i s f o r p e o p l e r e c e i v i n g m o n i e s f r o m o t h e r s o u r c e s , f i n e . Why c a n ' t t h e y s o r t o u t t h e W e l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s and g i v e t h e y a c h a n c e . I t ' s v e r y inhuman t h e way t h e y do i t and t h e way t h e y t h e y t r e a t S e n i o r C i t i z e n s a s k i n g f o r an e x t r a l o z f o f b r e a d t o t i d e them o v e r . T e r r i b l e .

I h a v e t h e f e e l i n g t h a t s i n c e t h e New W e s t m i n s t e r W e l f a r e , S a l v a t i o n A r m and f o o d b a n k s a r e a l l wor g i n g t o g e t h e r on t h i s i t ' s t h e i r way o f t r y i n g t o c u t down on t h e number o f p e o p l e u s i n g f o o d b a n k s .

UE N+m S.nh 4'' I have a solution. .. Only one of us will eat."

The New W e s t m i n s t e r s a l v a t i o n Army won' t g i v e v o u c h e r s b e c a u s e a p e r s o n o n s t e a d y w e l f a r e s h o u l d n ' t r e q u i r e o n e . The SA s e n d s them b a c k t o t h e w e l f a r e o f f i c e f o r a v o u c h e r . W e l f a r e s a y s y o u c a n ' t manage y o u r money s o w e ' l l g i v e y o u a w e e k l y ( o r b i - w e e k l y ) c h e q u e , a n d p a y y o u r b i l l s f o r you . I f y o u ' r e q u i c k you c h a n g e y o u r mind a b o u t g e t t i n g a v o u c h e r . And e v e n i f y o u move away t o a n o t h e r a r e a , t o a ~ e s A d e n c e v i t h c h e a p e r r e n t , w e l f a r e c o n t i n u e s t o manage y o u r money b e c a u s e n you s h o u l d n ' t go h u n g r y .

T r y i n g o t h e r c o m p a n i e s t h a t m i g h t h e l p y o u r e t a i n a c e r t a i n i n d e p e n d e n c e h e r e i n NW i s h u m i l a t i n g a n d f r u s t r a t - i n g . A l l y o u ' r e l e f t w i t h i s a l e s s o n on who n o t t o a s k a n d how t o go h u n g r y , a n d t h e n i t s a d r a s t i c s e a r c h f o r m e a l s i n c h a r i t y o r g ~ n i z a t i o n s i f y o u c a n f i n d a n y i n New W e s t m i n s t e r . T h e r e a r e s e v e r a l i n V a n c o u v e r , b u t i f y o u c a n a f f o r d t h e b u s f a r e you c a n b u y b r e a d w h i c h i s c o n s t a n t l y g o i n g up i n p r i c e .

Moving t o a n a r e a w h e r e t h e y h a v e a s s i s t a n c e i s t h e o n l y a n s w e r . Yes . The New W e s t m i n s t e r Food Bank m a n a g e r s a n d maybe e v e n C i t y H a l l who p a y some o f t h e s t a f f t h e r e , a r e r e a l l y a h a r d - h e a d e d l o t .

A . V . ICTIM

A WARD :' The first Crummy Cockroach Award

'since we decided to revive this time honoured tradition will go this month to the Metropole Hotel.

The Metropole has been singled out for this attention because of the total state of disre- 'pair to which has been allowed to descend.

DERA staff visited the Metropole this month after some residents came in to complain about the conditions there.

The Metropole, according to staff who inspected it, is the armpit of the Downtown Eastside. Picture carpeting that has been so badly burned with cigarette butts that you have to search for a clear patch in order to determine the original colour, or three floors without fire extinguishers to put out the garbage can fires.

The garbage cans themselves had obvi- ously not been cleaned in a dog's age and were oozing with unidentifiable goo.

.The good news is that the City is looking into taking legal action against the owners, which means we'll only have to hold our breaths until midJanuary to see some action on this cess-pool.

We hope to be able to investigate any other local hotels and rooming houses which may be nominated for this award so that we can document their condition and report our findings to the proper authorities.

. If you know of a hotel or rooming house which deserves close public scrutiny of its compliqxe with health, safety or fire regula- tions call DERA at 682-0931. n

k

B 0

16 KITCHEN KORNER

Wednesday morning, 9 am, t h e kitchen is qu ie t except f o r Jan ice s t i r r i n g the oatmeal and working on one of the two soups she makes i n the mornings. No dishwasher, no; concession worker, few, i f any, volunteers i n t h e kitchen. No second f l o o r r ecep t ion i s t , no first f l o o r r ecep t ion i s t . What's going on here? Has everyone moved away? Have they been tossed i n t h e back of a van and taken t o a s e c r e t p lace fo r experimental s c i e n t i f i c t e s t i n g ? No, i t ' s worse than t h a t , i t ' s Welfare Wednesday! !!

Repeat t h i s scene f o r severa l days running and what have we got? A kitchen t h a t i s f i r i n g on two cylinders ins tead of e igh t , l o t s of unfortunate people t h a t do not f e e l well a t a l l , and a bunch of the same people t h a t have no money l e f t t o feed themselves f o r t h e next 30 o r so days.

I ' d l i k e t o say t h a t t h e City, (which funds s t a f f s a l a r i e s ) , does not provide e x t r a s t a f f i n g f o r WW

and t h e days t h a t follow, but I don ' t th ink t h a t w i l l appease many customers. We a r e s t i l l expected t o produce t h e same amount of high q u a l i t y goods and se rv ice t h a t we do f o r t h e r e s t of t h e month.

The cheque problem is an on-: going one t h a t has f a r reaching e f f e c t s . From t h e Mardi Gras atmosphere i n t h e s t r e e t s , t o t h e drunks and druggies t h a t our door men and s e c u r i t y s t a f f have t o deal with i n v e r i t a b l e non-stop fashion f o r more than a few days every month. I ' m not going t o o f f e r another opinion a s t o t h e b e s t way t o dea l with it. But f o r t h e people of t h e Downtown Easts ide who a r e caught up i n t h i s t e r r i b l e game i t ' s a c rue l way t o have t o e x i s t , and we hope t h a t it w i l l eventual ly be changed.

In t h e meantime we ask t h a t you be a l i t t l e t o l e r a n t with t h e f o l k s i n t h e ki tchen on these days and reccignize t h a t they a r e working a t f u l l tilt t r y i n g t o fill t h e gaps l e f t by our soon-to-be-returning volunteers , t r y i n g t o suppliment a l l your needs, food-wise a t l e a s t .

There a r e excptions t o every r u l e of course and good o ld Bob the c h i l i maker always shows up. (I th ink he needs t h e t i c k e t s ) , and of course David Wong never leaves. There a r e o t h e r s a l s o but I th ink you g e t the point . Yes?!!!

A s you may have noticed t h e r e have been a number of changes i n t h e ki tchen s ince we l a s t spoke. We've h i red two new workers; Sus i Hollman, and Carol Rrismer. They both have exe l l en t q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and having watched them work i t ' s obvious t h a t they w i l l be a bonus f o r t h e pa t rons here a t t h e Carnegie.

Also i n case you haven't not iced J e r r y Sentino is back i n t h e Kitchen. He's returned t o h i s o r i g i n a l job a f t e r whipping t h e s e c u r i t y s t a f f i n t o shape, John has been sen t out of t h e ki tchen f o r awhile, something about too many Welsh items appear- ing on t h e menu.

Speaking of jams and preserves, Vicky Dutcher i s conducting a c l a s s f o r making those s o r t s of th ings . We have been pu t t ing out t h i s jam f o r your t o a s t , and it i s DELICIOUS!

And, f o r a l l you long-suffering t o a s t makers, we have f i n a l l y order- ed a new t o a s t e r , it should be here any minute now, so hang i n t h e r e and you may never have t o e a t a h a l f - burned, half-raw pkece of t o a s t again !

That 's a l l f o r now, so till next t i m e . . . Happy e a t in2 ! . . .

Oppenheimer Park

Oppenheimer Park is a prime example of how much power a commu- n i t y has i f they decide t o take back t h e i r t e r r i t o r y . A t one time, the drug pushers were con t ro l l ing the park, but now t h i s has a l l changed.

The most important i s sue was t o make t h e park s a f e f o r every res ident . The plan t o have so many events i n the park worked a s it drove t h e undesireables away,

Now it i s a p leasure t o a t tend Carnegie music programs, pow-wows, Japanese Powell S t r e e t Fes t iva l , Latin-Native funct ions and many oth- e r s too numerous t o mention.

Even t h e po l i ce a r e impressed a t t h e changes f o r t h e b e t t e r . Some- t h i n g 1 r e a l l y misseda t the park is L i t t l e League basebal l . Before Wayne was t o t a l l y involved with music, he used t o play f o r a team c a l l e d t h e Dodgers i n Oppenheimer Park.

Besides playing agains t d i f f - e rent teams, t h e chi ldren were taken t o Camp Capilano. Perhaps we could revive t h i s rewarding event f o r t h e young ones i n our community. Despite what some people th ink, the- t h e r e a r e numerous p o s i t i v e th ings happening i n t h i s area.

I rene Schmidt

Bridge over troubled rail-lines: Columbia overpass

TO: Editor, Carnegie Newsletter

Meanwhile, some misinformed a r e t ry ing t o shoot themselves i n t h e foot .

I mean, why would anybody t r y t o s top the Columbia S t r e e t Pedestrian Overpass from happening?

I t w i l l allow people from near- by housing p r o j e c t s t o use Crab Park, eas i ly- - for the f i r s t time.

Yet we see the scene o f a number of d isgrunt led people put t ing up phony arguements agains t the Columbia S t r e e Overpass.

Get it r i g h t . I t won't block views becuz.. . i t s a see-thru s t ruc tu re .

The Overpass l i k e l y would be locked a t n ight , so people w i l l NOT SLEEP I N THE COLUMBIA PEDESTRIAN OVERPASS.

There-will-NOT-BE COOKING WINE AND SHOOTING GALLERY "PARTIES", becuz, i t s within f i v e f e e t , a t eye- l e v e l of t h e Port Pol ice buildings.

There has been proper d iscuss ion and n o t i f i c a t i o n of meetings on t h e access f o r people with d i s a b i l i t i e s i s sue .

In f a c t , t h e r e has been seven years of meetings, a l l o f which I have at tended except the two meetings t o d i sp lay t h e a r c h i t e c t s 1 model of t h e s t r u c t u r e . I had a l ready at tended t h e c i t y h a l l meeting and had seen the well-designed, c l a s sy Columbia Pedestr ian Overpass.

This is a last-minute attempt t o s t e a l t h e Downtown Easts ide neighborhood's a c c t s s t o Crab Beach park, and t h e c e n t r a l waterfront area.

Gastown wants t o s t e a l t h e Columbia S t . overpass f o r r i c h tour4 ist access. L e t t s support the Columbia St . overpass, and see t h a t is i s b u i l t by next June, so t h a t we have proper access.

Don Larson

Anonymous Author First published on the bathroom wall at Carnegie Centre. August, 1993

Sometimes I get s01.j depressed about my life. . . . . like

For what? ! A

what have I done what have I accomplished where am I headed what will I do what am I doing here I feel so wasted - my time is wasted on drugs

few precious moments of euphoria - precious in that - those moments could have been spent more wisely - spent doing something (or working towards something) of value - like helping people.

My money is being wasted, although I do help out a lots of guys (and gals) who are in a lot worse situation than mine.

Say, that's another thing - I do have a lot more of a chance, more opportunity than a lot of people down here.

A lot of people down here can't. They have no choice. I do. I'm smart, I've got good looks, and I'm young - but I'm hooked on the f-ing drug!

I'm wasting my time, my energy, my youth on heroin! I hate it!

I hate myself. I'm a loser. I have no power. I'm weak. A Bum. I'm lazy.. A f-ing whore. I was brought up in a foster home. I was taken away from my family. I was taken away from my people.

Raised by white people who told me that my family hated me - didn't love me. That's why I was in a foster home. They said my family didn't want me, that I was no good. They told me my family was a bunch of drunks - losers, low-life Indians. SO I felt all alone at 7 years old. I know I didn't belong with the white people. Now I just try to forget. I'm still all alone. I didn't deal with my foster family, and my Native family are ashamed of me. I'm not as "Indiantt as them - too many "whitet1 ways.

So, my family is the "street" people. My home is the streets and bars. My brothers are dealers. my sisters are whores, whom I know will one day gently tuck me safely and snugly into the warm comforting cradle of my coffin. Close to her bosom where I will feel forever, eternally safe. I know she will take me home. It will be the only permanent place I'd ever know. The only place that I know I can call my own - and nobody can take it away. A warm, soft, comfortable, clean, safe place where no one will bother me.

Mother, I'll be ready whenever you call for me to come home to rest.

22.

AS THE WORM TURNS

A few weeks ago, Don, Heather and I went t o v i s i t C i t y Farmer on 6 t h and Maple i n West Van, a gardening o r g an i sa t ion t h a t s p e c i a l i s e s i n compost- ing. The people t h e r e t e s t d i f f e r e n t kinds of composting and methods of a c k ieving t h e b e s t d i r t , t hen advise t h e i r major funder, t h e C i t y of V a n c o ~ v e r y on j u s t what t o implement i n t o t h e i r programs.

We wanted t o t a l k t o Nicole, o f t h e S t ra thcona Community Gardens E my gardening neighbour, about g e t t i n g a worm farm f o r t h e Carnegie Learning Centre. Don't worry, it won't smell $ t h e worms w i l l love t h e food we a r e g e ing t o g ive them so much t h a t t h e y wouldnrt dreah of escape, o r s o Nicole assured us.

To begin, you need a wel l v e n t i l - a ted b in s t u f f e d with newspaper shred- ded i n t o 1-inch s t r i p s , straw o r leav- e s (calcium sources t h a t w i l l balance out t h e n i torgen) and about 400 l i t t l e wrigglers . Nicole had 4 o r 5 boxes s e t up, f i l l e d with d i f f e r e n t t ypes of bed- ding and worms, a l l a t t h e i r va r ious s t ages of product ion. Don, of course, had h i s hands i n a l l o f t h e b i n s 4 h i s f i nge r s i n t h e owrms immediately. Witk out looking up he handed both Heather and I one each t o hold nad examine.

Worm t r i v i a : * Worms reach ma tu r i t y i n approximate-

l y 6 weeks. Look f o r t h e r i n g on i t s saddle t o f i n d ou t i f i t ' s f u l l grown. * When nervous, l i k e when p laced i n

someone's hand, t hey s e c r e t e i a y e l l - ow ju i ce t h a t apparent ly sme l l s enough t o s ca re most p reda to r s away. Not us . * Worms have both male E female papts ,

However, they s t i l l need a p a r t n e r t o reproduce. They accomplish t h i s f e a t by s l i d i n g i n t o each o t h e r ' s pou- ch. You can a c t u a l l y s e e them do t h i s , n i c o l e says. -

What i s a l l t h e f u s s about worms, you ask? Well, t h e c a s t i n g s t h a t our

buy worms and t h e r i c h s o i l t hey c re- a t e . I ' d love t o have them on t h e back pages of !'Off t h e Wall" as t h e l a r g e s t body of funders , l i t e r a l l y .

Nicole is planning t o g ive u s a workshop on t h e whole process a t C i ty Farmer. We'll s e t up our k i t then. If you'd l i k e t o come along, Nicole can handle about 15 of us . I t may be worth t h e t r i p j u s t t o s e e t h i e r b e a u t i f u l gardens.

If you can' t make it then, someone, p o s s i b l y Don, w i l l be on hand a t t h e Learners1 Conference September 23 t o g ive a demo along s i d e t h e o t h e r work- shops t h a t a r e happening in i the Theatre.

By WENDY PEDERSEN

PS: I f you want t o s e e Vancouver's on- l y func t ioning neiohbnurhood-scale compoqting opera t ion , t a k e a walk over t o t h e S t ra thcona Community Gardens, 700-block P r io r .

l i t t l e workers depos i t a r e gardeners8 I

gold and when mixed wi th a l i t t l e com- '

pos t it makes a p e r f e c t bed f o r germi- n a t i n g seed l ings . And people a c t u a l l y '

?

F R E E

CONTACT: FLORENCE HACKETT

1)OWN'I'UWN SIU C l i n i c - C lo~~t l i~y t l ~ i . o ~ ~ g l ~ I : I+idi~y, gem - 5pn. I A S S l I W E bllil)l(:Al. (:I.INI(: - IFbll, Wcd, Fr iday, 5 : 30-7 : 3Opn1 YOU'I'I I NIIIDl.lr liXCllAN(;li - 221 Maill; uueryday, 9am-5pm. AC'SIVITI IS NbeJle ~XCII~IIIRC V ~ I I - OII t he s t r e e t evenings, Man-Sat SO(:18'I'Y N.A. n~ee ts eve r yb l o~d i r y n i g h t a t 223C Ia i nS t .

Out-to-Lunch D~IIIC~I mccls t l i ~ i l y a t 59 I 'owell, lOnm - 2:31).

1993 DONATIONS Eleanor K.-$25 S t u a r t M.-$50 Adbusters -$50 K e t t l e F.S.-$16 Wayne H.-$2.50 Bert T .-$lo Legal Aid -$SO Ueadl i n e Et ienne S.-$50 Mary C.-$25 NCX'I' ISSUE L i sa E.-$10 Paula R,-$20 12 SEPT.' Matt -$20 Steve T.-$15 SIINDAY Keith C.-$20 E r i c E.-$10 AbbyK.-$10 Anonymous-$70 u G' A r t l c l e s represent the v l e u s o f i nd l~ l411r l .

contrlbt~tors and not o f the A s ~ o c l r c Ion

el$ ili ' t he Downtown Eas t s i d e Cf unding) Soc ia l Se rv ices -$lo00 Vancouver Heal th Dept. -$I1 3 Employment 6 Immigration -$a00 P.L.U.R.A. -$lo00

NEED HELP ? The Downtown E a s t s l d e Res i d e n t s ' Assoc la t lon can h e l p you wlth:

, fi any w e l f a r e problem * lnformatlotr on l e g a l fi d l s p y t e s w ltlr l a n d l o * unsafe l l v l n g c o ~ r d l t * lncome t a x * UIC problems + f lnd ltag Iruus lng

r lg l t te rde i o n s

* openlng a bank account

Come I n t o the DERA o f f lce a t 9 East Ilost lngs S t o r phone u s a t 682-0931.

D E M ' s Gene ra l Menhe rsh i p m e e t i n g i s on t h e l a s t F r i d a y o f e v e r y month i n C a r u e g i e Thea t re , s t a r l i n g a t 10:30 am. - -

DERA HAS BEEN SERVING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE FOR 20 YEARS.