Content
- The Stay-At-Home Tourists
- Shopping cart photo
- News from the Library
- Passing as Sane : Coming out Crazy
- Bacon and eggs
- Some questions –
- News Flash from the Carnegie Kitchen
- REJUVENATION
- Whatever
- The BoomaHarps: Another True story of Stolen Harmonicas
- A most courteous diver
- The Editor Re: Welfare rate increase
- Homelessness: too important to ignore, Pt. 2
- James Pau: Thirty-plus years of service
- The number of homeless in Vancouver has doubled
- Harm Reduction Conference
- Jean Swanson Receives Award For Citizenship and Community Affairs
The Stay-At-Home Tourists Living out of my theatrical suitcase.. Dare I say the least of our problems aren’t as bad as they seem, doorways are bedrooms concrete pillows and skin rather thin is their blankets, smiles erupt from the rich and corrupt feeling comfortable isn’t as easy as it seems. Why don’t they put the bible out in newspaper form.. it might actually be easier read until that moment let alone this one, ideas walking off a cliff apparently nothing can be done build your mile high foot thick brick wall if you don’t mind us watching you (pardon the laughter coming from the pew) authenticity doesn’t seem to agree with you when the next seismic shift occurs – and it will, I’ll bet the planet Earth that, this is not a promise I’d like to keep but fact… We’ve been screwed! (we are the stay-at-home tourists blink once for yes twice for denial, we are all going to be stay-at-home tourists unable to jmp these emotional turnstyles) It’s time to conform to manmade distress if time were a show down I know one person not showing up or showing off, my trigger happy Aguvares figure we will all walk away with smiles, an accident just waiting for someone to happen why not me I’ve never been chosen to christen world worry three, atop the standings that is the goal in this remorseless show.. I’m still picking pieces of glass from my soul (Everything looks so pretty on paper that should last awhile, just one more tourist turning his black you just lost another smile) I remember buildings I used to love, treasured rain falling from above, could this future be any brighter; I know it’s none of my business but that guy getting on the plane has a lighter, no more complaining from yours truly lock my mouth throw away the key. thousands of new faces to meet and greet every year, I don’t know or want to know how it all turns out because I won’t be here with love, from above, just another stay-at-home tourist. THE END? Robert McGillivery Shopping cart photo
The DTES A vibrant community. Same faces laying in same places. People call your name, say Hi Joe, Hi Frank. How are you today? Hey, can I bum a smoke, no but we can share one. Many café’s. Bright neon signs light up the sky as darkness falls. Murals splash the walls, but not on canvass or in a window But on the sides and fronts of buildings older than dirt. Usually some sort of parade comes by, generally weekly. Drumming and singing flow through the streets A van pulls up and hands out coffee A caring community. A small crocus pops up it’s head on the side of a dirty alley. Just a small plot of dirt but still …life from the crocus. Jackie Humber Shopping cart photo Things – clothes, pots and pans, books and a box of pills Mainly pain medication to end my inner pain. It’s someone’s world, but now what? Where will these four wheels go How far before a wheel falls off. Have I fallen off? Where am I going? I have to keep pushing my world till I come to a fresh life. Is it possible or is my next life just the same, Flop- house, low rent, but still too high No hot water but at least there is water. I need a roof, Oh! I need some bread But not for me, to feed the birds. I still have hope I will stop at Oppenhiemer and feed the birds. Maybe a friend will take me in, maybe not? But at least my world is with me…for now I feel o.k. The birds are singing, they are free Just like me. No walls or bars to close me in. Jackie Humber News from the Library
News from the Library - April 1 New Books In Waterfront: The Illustrated Maritime Story of Greater Vancouver (971.13), James Delgado traces Vancouver’s seafaring history from the Coast Salish peoples through early explorers and settlers, enterprising lumbermen, shipping magnates, immigrants and stevedores, to today’s busy commercial port. This book is beautifully illustrated with maps, paint ing and photographs. Interpol, the international police agency, currently lists more than 25,000 works of art as stolen. Museum of the Missing, by Simon Houpt (364.16) looks at what happens to the Renoirs, Rembrandts, Van Goghs and other art works that disappear. The book takes us into the backrooms of Scotland Yard, the FBI, and into a tangled world of money laundering, drugs, illegal arms trading and terrorism. The book includes illustrations of some of the paintings that have been recovered, and some of those that are still missing. Remember Vancouver in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s? Michael Kluckner’s Vancouver Remembered (759.21) looks at the time when “Vancouver was a small, quiet seaside city,”, when “ethnic shopping and dining meant either Chinatown or Robsonstrasse; a night out would likely entail drinking and philosophizing in the Cecil Hotel beer parlour or dancing in a Gastown club.” Kluckner’s trademark pastel-shaded watercolours are supplemented by hand-painted maps, historical photographs, brochures, postcards and cartoons. This book is available for use in the library only. You can see these & more new books in the display case in the library. Ask at the front desk of the library if you want to reserve one (or more) of them. Trades Books in the Library Are you working in a trade or looking for information about the various trades? Thanks to a generous donation from the KMC Foundation in memory of Ken Cummane, the library recently received a large collection of books on subjects like construction, plumbing, electrical work, first aid and janitorial work. Titles include: Residential Construction Academy: HVAC (697) Plumber’s Pocket Manual (696.1) Build Like a Pro: Painting & Finishing (698.1) Home Repair and Improvement: Plumbing (696) Build Like a Pro: Working with Tile (693.3) Machine Shop Basics (621.9) Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics (621.3) Home Wiring (621.31) Look for these books and more like them on the library shelves. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the KMC Foundation for their generous donation. Beth, your librarian. Passing as Sane : Coming out Crazy
Passing as Sane : Coming out Crazy Every day I pass as sane; pretending control and serenity; Appearing reasonable, average, “normal” I confess to taking pills that alter my state: that bring optimism, steadiness, A less subjective reality. Also church in very small doses, meditation, getting plenty of rest, staying away from the market. Temptation to come out eats at my sense of honesty But I did that before, remember? The time I gave away all the books and records. Suddenly, I was “crazy” in your eyes; Overnight I was changed into one whose word could not be trusted – whose touch could contaminate. So I will continue my careful way: passing as sane: Faking it . . . not till I make it. Because I will never make it – I am crazy for good, But because the prizes go to the winners – the whole – the sane – the happy. And sure, I want to win – I’m not that crazy. wmmiles Bacon and eggs
A whale has choice! Weather it wants Oatmeal or Bacon and eggs Eggs and bacon For breakfast… hmm. Breakfast is ready In micro bits Ready for swallowing In the vast waters of ocean Our garbage dump Disaster “Help” said the whale I’m choking On lunch p.s. this is no joke. © Montana King Getting out of the rain Has left me in a big Puddle, muddle All wet and drenched Sick and tired Of the big drop… plop Pounding on my head I feel crazy And cracking Soggy and wet Brain more divided Than ever © Montana King Some questions –
To Laurence of Kanoa What does a bird think about When he is imprisoned in a cage Does he long for freedom For the sunny sky and leafy trees For the company of his fellows Or does a bird have a rich inner life An ability to experience each day As a cause of joy Without boredom or loneliness. Wilhelmina Some questions – June, the month of pairing, or is it paring To wed or not to wed, that be the question Me, a maiden at the sixth level, as my older friends so kindly put it, Me, I am ready once more to plunge into the breach To seek sanctuary in the arms of a new-found friend Caution to the Winds! Mother Mona’s voice pricks my bubble “Don’t get jurt” But how can you do dat ting mon? Is there not More than garlanded flowers? What about Descartes? Cogitation was, alas, my folly Yea, but it tempted me To illusions of Instant Karma Of Peace in MY TIME And yet, after all, the beaten path grows much more than mosses. Wilhelmina News Flash from the Carnegie Kitchen
News Flash from the Carnegie Kitchen Next Tuesday, April 3rd, a state-of-the-art oven will be installed in the Carnegie Kitchen. The Rational convection and steam oven is the latest in cooking technology. Not only will it be able to consistently cook regular menu items, to perfection, each time, it has some other amazing features. For example, it can be programmed to roast large cuts of beef and whole turkeys at night. And, on the nights when that isn’t happening, the oven can be set to clean automatically. That is amazing as well as time saving. Due to the steam booster, food cooked in the Rational oven will not dry out which means a better product and less wasted in the cooking process. A huge thank you is due to the Carnegie Centre Association and the City of Vancouver for making the purchase of this oven possible. This new oven is a wonderful addition to the Carnegie kitchen and will allow the staff and volunteers to improve the quality of food and service for the patrons who frequent the Carnegie Centre. This oven will continue to be a great community asset for many years to come. NOW for the difficult part: Next Tuesday, April 3, the kitchen will have to be closed for the entire day – to accommodate the installation of the new oven. The kitchen staff and volunteers will be selling sandwiches, coffee, juice, pop, muffins and cookies from the Seniors’ Lounge. We apologise for this closure and thank you all for your patience! Catriona Moore, Kitchen Coordinator REJUVENATION
REJUVENATION Book Club, Tuesdays 11-12, beginning April 10 Meet in the Level 3 gallery Well, now that the lady is back at work, we are restarting the MainandHastings book club. Beth our fearless and friendly leader is back to work and is anxious to get the old book club rolling again. If you want to join, come on April 10 and you'll get your own copy of the book Patrick Lane, one of Canada's finest poets, checked out of rehab after forty-five years of addiction to alcohol and cocaine. There is a Season is a memoir of the year that followed, as he uses his beloved garden as a kind of therapy. "I am withdrawing from the scourge of forty-five years of drinking. Two months ago I stumbled into a treatment centre for alcohol and drug addiction. Now, I am barely detoxed. Standing here among the sword ferns my senses seem to be thin glass, so acute at their edges I am afraid I will cut myself simply by touching the silicon edge of a bamboo leaf." We'll be taking the book club out and about once the weather improves, reading in parks and gardens in the Downtown Eastside and beyond. It’s a friendly atmosphere and we welcome people who would just like to do some fun stuff concerning reading. We usually have a very light snack, mostly cookies or whatever. We’ve even had fruit (chocolate covered strawberries once, I recall) some of the places we’ve been to include the Dr, Sun Yat Sen Garden, Crab Park, Shanghai Alley, Oppenheimer Park and even our own patio. Its only an hour and the people are kinda friendly but we can get over that pretty quick. Come and enjoy an hour of conversation and light reading. Some of the best times are spent just reading a book among friends. -hal Whatever
Whatever Nothing matters but Love; whatever it takes, fly higher and higher on the wings of a dove. Cool. Things that make you go hmmmm. Never give up! Whatever evil, dark thoughts intrude –lies, whatever, suicide is never the solution. Anxiety a constant threat; depression weighs on my brain. Feeling worthless, useless, pathetic, hideous, abandoned and alone. Not. Pointless negative thinking; drugs, alcohol, attempts to escape this emotional turmoil deep within. Switch it up. Get a grip. Suck it up. Pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Use your head for more than a hat or turban rack. Think. Remain strong. Breathe. Believe. Fear not. Just believe. Dream. Dream big. Go big or go home. Refuse to stay down. Strive to thrive rather than just survive. Kings and Queens are we. Let’s surrender it all to the Supreme. Remember, whatever: laughter heals. Phoenix The BoomaHarps: Another True story of Stolen Harmonicas
The BoomaHarps, ~~OR ~~Another True story of Stolen Harmonicas and Human Action, Right,Wrong, and Indifferent Another Wednesday in the theatre for the Music Jam, and I step around one of those big round tables for a minute when someone snags my bag with my harmonicas inside, along with my good electric guitar tuner, make-up, etc. Damn. This is the second time those harmonicas have been stolen (refer to the last issue of the Carnegie Newsletter ) and I was so lucky to get them back last time, it seems way too much to expect such an amazing thing again. I run to security and alert them, then run for the women’s can, and sure enough, the bag is in there, limp and emptied of all my valuables. The two strangers, a man and a woman that I had noticed were in the theatre, are now nowhere in the building and I don’t feel much like playing music anymore, so I go home and take advantage of technology to fill in a form on the computer to report my loss to the police. I write down my file number, put it in my pocket. Then I’m struck by a bright idea: Why not go to the Perma-Flea Market on Hastings street next to United We Can? Hard-won or Ill-Gotten, if it’s an item smaller than a car in East Van, chances are it’s being flogged in front of the open lot on 100 block east Hastings. I get down there. By now it’s about 3 hours since I lost my bag, but amazingly, just as I approach the milling mass of densely packed, sweaty, nervous men, I see one them flash open the flat black pack of my harmonicas and there they are, incredibly, all gleaming in beautiful uniformity, every one of them. He’s offering them to someone, but they shake their head no. “Those are my harmonicas” I hear myself saying, but no one notices and, feeling like a ghostly goody two shoes, I see that I might as well not be talking at all for all the good this tactic will do me here. I look at the crazed fellow who is holding them, his hair is lying in flat little greasy Caesar curls along the top of his sweaty bony forehead. His eyes skitter unthinkingly over my face like a long legged water bug and I realize he is so out it that he doesn’t even see that I’m the person he just stole from. “Hey, how much for the harmonicas?” I enquire casually. “$10” he replies. So far so good, but then I remember, I have no cash on me! I back away and look around for someone who I can trust. I see a man with a well fed dog and approach him, reasoning that he obviously cares about something else besides drugs. I explain my situation quickly, and that I’m going to get some money from the cash machine around corner, but I ask him to keep an eye on the thief and see if he goes, or if the harmonicas get sold. He agrees, so I run around the corner, literally, and grab some cash. Half way back to the scene I see a cop car. Completely disheveled, breathing hard, and unfortunately forgetting entirely about the police report file number I have in my pocket, I explain to them the situation, and ask them to just keep an eye on the transaction I’m about to make to be sure all goes well in the seething mass. “Those guys?” the policeman says, “we just rousted them outa’ there. They’re all gone” “BuBBBUttttt,” I stutter pathetically, “The guy was right there…..and he had my harmonicas……and I was going to buy them….” I trail off lamely. By now I’m taking in how the cop is looking at me, and it’s not with sympathy. “Yeah, well, they’re all gone” he says with finality, and they drive off. I turn back onto Hastings in a second. Everyone is right where I left them. I guess the police just said that as the easiest way out of the situation. The dog man tells me that the goods are still with the perpetrator of the crime and that he’s got some other things there too that he’s trying to sell……. I sidle up to the thief again, “ Got your ten bucks” I say, and the harmonicas are magically safe in my hands again. It feels like a miracle. On a roll, I enquire about anything else he might have, like make-up maybe? Sure, no problem, he pulls out my familiar red make-up case, and 2 bucks is given over for that. Got anything else? “Yeah, here’s this thing, I don’t know what it is though…” He’s holding my guitar tuner. “Me neither, but I’ll give you a loonie for it”. He agrees, and the deal is done, I have my things back, all for the low low price of $14. I’m feeling very good, and I stick out my hand for greasy Caesar to shake. “Good doing business with you man” I say, “What’s your name?” He meets my eye for the first time, and he seems softened by my asking, “Darryl” he replies, and with that it somehow feels like humanity is restored to the situation and I walk away feeling lucky. Rachel (Rosetta) Davis A most courteous diver
A most courteous diver We must have a courteous sort of dumpster diver in our area, Bute and Barclay. They are always polite and helpful and don’t leave a mess – even sorting out recyclables. When we moved in, two of them cut all our cartons and would not take any money. Last night, as I opened our back door, our binner was walking away when he noticed me – very elderly – and he came over and took the garbage and disposed of it for me. I always feel safe when they are around. They don’t knock seniors down for their money. Anonymous Rantline caller. [Buried in the Westender; submitted by Gena] The Editor Re: Welfare rate increase
The Editor Re: Welfare rate increase on cheques out March 28 As employment counselors and front line workers in the Downtown Eastside we see the impact of low welfare rate levels every day. We acknowledge that the rate increase coming on March 28th is a small step in the right direction. However, before we break into a chorus of “Happy Days are Here Again” let’s put things in perspective. In real dollars, the increase will only allow single employable recipients to regain the purchasing power they had in 1996 after the severe cuts of 1995. Those cuts put recipients well below the poverty line and well below a dignified or decent standard of living. If these recipients were on a ladder out of a very deep hole, the recent increases put them back on the same rung they were on eleven years ago – before inflation gradually forced them to the bottom of the hole. Welfare recipients face far greater challenges to conduct a successful job search because of the low rates. They result in a lack of resources that the rest of us take for granted, such as presentable clothes and bus fare to get to job interviews. In an apparent effort to spare the taxpayer the cost of anyone being “comfortable” on welfare, the government, in its wisdom, has made it harder for many job seekers to become independent. The rate increases are a barely humane gesture that leaves our clients only a few rungs up a very long ladder to a level the rest of us would deem tolerable. Michael Lanier, President of CUPE Local 1936 on behalf of Unit 4 members. [Hand-delivered to the Carnegie Newsletter Office, 26/3/07] Homelessness: too important to ignore, Pt. 2
Homelessness: too important to ignore, Pt. 2 In the March 22 Globe and Mail, in Patrick Brethour’s article, “Budget bashers displaying regional jealousy, Harper says,” PM Stephen Harper is quoted as saying, “Everybody is getting what they asked for [in the 2007 federal budget], everyone is getting a fair share that addresses the priorities of the various regions. We can either accept the good news, you know, whether it’s for BC seniors, families, or farmers or whatever, or we can just be jealous of the other regions [like Quebec, which received the lion’s share of federal largesse]. But I don’t think that’s warranted.” Not quite, Mr. Harper. There’s still the issue of homelessness, which your budget didn’t, you know, address in the slightest. In an article in the March 22-29 issue of Georgia Straight, by Carlito Pablo, titled “Harper government ignores housing crisis,” Vancouver East NDP MP Libby Davies—the Downtown Eastside’s member of Parliament—expresses her outrage. “It was the most glaring omission of a very basic human right. It’s not a lack of fiscal capacity. It’s the lack of political commitment. We’ve always supported what we call the one-percent solution, which is an additional one percent of the federal budget for housing. We need to see at least a couple of billion dollars a year.” How important is homelessness? According to an article by Sean Condon in the March/April 2007 issue of ThisMagazine, titled “No place for home,” “Because of major welfare cuts by the British Columbia government five years ago, Vancouver already has a growing homelessness problem that has seen the number of people sleeping on the streets double from just over 600 in 2002 to at least 1,300 in 2005 (2,200 across Greater Vancouver).” But the provincial government just increased welfare rates. So what’s the problem? This is: (Condon) “After years of neglect, the Downtown Eastside is now in the middle of a major development boom and city revitalization campaign that threatens to displace thousands of its low-income residents. With the 2010 Olympic Games only three years away, the city is accelerating gentrification of the … neighbourhood before thousands of visitors and international media arrive in Vancouver. At the same time, the city’s core has run out of land, and the Downtown Eastside is being regarded as its potential new frontier.” (Condon) “Kim Kerr, the executive director of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association (DERA), an advocacy organization, says that if the city doesn’t figure out how to stop the slide, the Downtown Eastside will become a neighbourhood for the affluent only. ‘You will see the social services move out of the Downtown Eastside, you’ll see folks thrown out on the street, and these people won’t be tolerated in what will become another wealthy neighbourhood in Vancouver.’” Residents are losing hope. (Condon) “Many people in the Downtown Eastside are beginning to get a sickening sense that time is running out on them. The Olympics are just three years away, and it would take at least that long to build a new housing project.” The Globe and Mail’s Gary Mason put it another way in his March 22 column, “Olympic visitors won’t see a pretty picture”: “There have been committees and task forces and studies that have recommended building permanent, assisted-living housing for the homeless, but the idea that enough can be built in three years time to accommodate all those who need it is also a joke.” (Condon) “It wasn’t supposed to go this way. When Vancouver won its bid to host the 2010 Winter Games, it promised to be the first Olympics to take care of its poor. … Vancouver created the Inner-City Inclusive Commitment Statement. This promised to protect rental-housing stock; ensure that people were not made homeless as a result of the Winter Games; ensure that residents were not involuntarily displaced, evicted or faced with unreasonable increases in rent due to the Winter Games; and to provide an affordable housing legacy.” So far, all of these promises have been broken. The blame could start at the top, with Harper, but Steve Burgess, in the March 22-28 Westender, in his column, “A protest against anti-Olympics protestors,” wrote, “There is no reason why the city cannot protect SRO [single-room occupancy] hotels as the Olympics approach. … Olympics and social justice need not be an either/or proposition.” By Rolf Auer James Pau: Thirty-plus years of service
James Pau: Thirty-plus years of service For the second time in three years, a well-known and respected Carnegie person has received the prestigious Thakore Visiting Scholar Award for humanitarian services. In 2005, it was Michael Clague, the then-director of Carnegie. And now it’s Dr. James Chi Ming Pau, a member of the Carnegie board of directors and long-time health provider in the Downtown Eastside with a unique practice combining traditional Chinese and western methods. The award is administered by the Simon Fraser University Institute of Humanities on behalf of the Thakore Family Charitable Foundation and the India Club of Vancouver. It is given to worthy recipients who “while honoring tradition have not let themselves be bound by traditionalism in their seeking of well-being for the human race and the planet.” James Pau is in good company. Previous winners also include Ovide Mercredi, Tom Berger, Ed Broadbent, Ursula Franklin and Roy Miki. James came to Canada from Hong Kong in 1975. In Hong Kong he trained as a nurse in western medicine and as a doctor in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Here in B.C. he is a registered Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the areas of herbs and acupuncture, and a licensed practical nurse. He has lived in the Downtown Eastside since 1975, and he has been active in improving the health and well-being of residents all that time. He worked as a nurse with old people at the Banfield Pavilion geriatric ward, and got a first-hand appreciation of the problems many seniors face in adjusting. As a result, he started doing home visits as a volunteer with SUCCESS. And he got involved with Carnegie’s seniors programs as another way to help seniors maintain their independence. But he wasn’t just involved at the senior end of the age spectrum. James has long been an English tutor for youth, especially immigrant youth, and he was one of the founders of the Downtown Eastside HIV/ AIDS Consumers’ Board to help spread education and clean needles. For years, he ran a free traditional Chinese herb and acupuncture clinic, funded by donations. The list or organizations he has been involved with is very long, including the Elder Abuse Network, The Neighbourhood Advisory Committee of St Paul’s Hospital: Acute Care of Elders, Vancouver Health Board; Seniors Population Health Advisory Committee, Richmond/Vancouver Health Board; and the Vancouver City’s Advisory Committee on seniors. James has already received a number of volunteer awards, including a Community Service Award from the Canadian Red Cross (2001), a volunteer award from the Government of Canada during the International Year of Volunteers (2001), a Community Service Award for work in the Downtown Eastside, given by Volunteer Vancouver (2002), and the Lower Mainland Good Neighbour Award, given by the Association of Neighbourhood Houses of Greater Vancouver (2002). James draws his motivation from the Buddhist philosophy of service. As he once told Sandy Cameron in an interview: "I am inspired by the people in the Downtown Eastside. They are people with heart - kind people who help each other." When Sandy asked him what is the best medicine, he replied, "The best medicine is love." By Bob Sarti The number of homeless in Vancouver has doubled
HANSARD: House of Commons Mr. Speaker, The number of homeless in Vancouver has doubled since 2002, yet shelters like the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre are being forced to close their doors because they can't get funding. The 2007 federal budget completely ignores the homelessness and housing crisis facing Vancouver. Not a dime was dedicated for desperately needed housing. Nothing in the budget closes the growing gap between wealth and poverty. Nothing for a federal $10 minimum wage; Nothing to help the underemployed, highly skilled immigrant Canadians who can't get their credentials recognized; Nothing on the billions of dollars in E.I surplus; And to add insult to injury, a worker's rights bill to ban replacement workers was defeated last night because the Liberals ganged up with Conservatives to say no to fairness for working Canadians. When will this government get it? Workers want a decent wage, families want secure affordable housing, and we all benefit from fair labour practices. I'm proud to say, 100% of NDP MPs voted yes to the Anti-Scab bill. Libby Davies (MP Vancouver East) Harm Reduction Conference
The text of the Harm Reduction Tips Card: 1. To make your pipe last longer from breaking and cracking, move the flame along the whole pipe. Let the pipe cool down before using it again. 2. Avoid sharing pipes. Always use your own. If you have to share, clean the pipe with an alcohol swab and always use a mouthpiece. 3. Place a couple (4-5) mesh screens in your pipe. Pack them down. After smoking continue to add and pack down your screens. Brillo can cause serious damage and bleeding to your lungs. 4. Protect your lips by covering your pipe with a mouthpiece. Infections like HIV and Hepatitis can be spread by sharing through cuts and burns on your mouth. Harm Reduction Conference My name is Jewel. I’m here as part of the SCORE project (Safer Crack use, Research and Education). In an idealistic, perfect world the only 100% safest way is not to use at all, abstinence. Realistically a 'safer; crack user is better than no safety at all! I became part of this project over ten months ago, through the Vandu's (Vancouver, Area, Network of Drug Users) Women's Support/Harm Reduction group. When I learned about the project, and how it would be teaching and encouraging harm reduction/education as well as having support and outreach available, I became very passionate about being a part of it! I already do Peer support and Outreach though the Lifeskills Centre and the L.I.N.E.S. office (Life, Is, Not, Enough, Society,) I feel that harm reduction, by way of 'safer' crack kits, and other frequently requested items, (condoms, band-aids etc.) play a very important role in harm reduction and healthier choices for my peers in the Downtown Eastside. Perhaps what I've said, along with the others who are practicing and teaching harm reduction here today, will help to open everyone's ears, eyes and hearts! After all, addicts are very much people to! It's your Mothers, It's your Fathers, it's your sisters and your brothers! Addiction does not discriminate! In conclusion I would like to leave these parting words with everyone; next time addiction touches your self, your family or loved ones, try to be more part of the solution, rather than enabling the problem! Harm Reduction = Reducing the Harm Not necessarily preventing it! Thank you for listening, and I wish everyone another 24 hours clean and sober or at least safer! Jewel Jean Swanson Receives Award For Citizenship and Community Affairs
Jean Swanson Receives The Arthur Kroeger College Award For Citizenship and Community Affairs This is one of the five awards that make up the Arthur Kroeger College Awards for Public Affairs. These awards are designed to recognize individuals and organizations who, by their contributions to public life, have made Canada a better place to live in. This important Award recognizes the perseverance, commitment, caring and vision shown by Jean in her thirty-three years of work to build a fair, democratic society in Canada. Jean has never given up, and she is in the fight for justice for the long haul. Jean worked with DERA in the 1970’s, along with Libby Davies and Bruce Eriksen. She helped to save the old Carnegie Library for the neighbourhood, turning it into the Carnegie Community Centre. In the early 1980’s she worked with the B.C. Solidarity Coalition, and in 1985 she was one of the founders and a worker with the End Legislated Poverty Coalition (ELP). Jean worked with ELP for over fifteen years. In 1995-96, Jean was the president of the National Anti-Poverty Organization (NAPO), and in 2001 she published her book “Poor-Bashing – The Politics of Exclusion.” This powerful book on poverty has gone through five printings, and is used in universities across Canada. All royalties from the book have been donated to anti-poverty groups across the country. Jean is retired now, but she volunteers as co-ordinator with the Carnegie Community Action Project, and she is a founder of the Raise the Rates Coalition which works to raise welfare rates, raise minimum wage, abolish the barriers to getting welfare, and wants a $500 earning exemption for everyone. At the end of her book “Poor-Bashing – The Politics of Exclusion”, Jean wrote, “I believe that we can use the strength and intelligence of people who are poor, the understanding that people who are poor have of what’s really important in life to build power with, not over, all oppressed people. An understanding of poor-bashing, racism, and sexism can help unite Canadians with others concerned about the environment, peace, workers’ rights, and social and economic justice into a huge solidarity movement. Eventually, we will build a world in which everyone’s needs are met, and in which the systems and structures we set up are based on co-operation and human caring, not competition and greed.” This vision can inspire all of us. Congratulations, Jean, on receiving the Citizenship and Community Affairs Award from the Arthur Kroeger College. The Carnegie Newsletter
