Contents
- HOMES FOR ALL
- Board or Bored Member
- Looking at the past and future through finally clear and straight eyes
- VANCOUVER HOUSING FORUMS
- WHEREFORE ART THOU?
- Tory “junkie” flyer is mere fearmongering
- TAKE! TAKE! TAKE!
- News from the Library
- Sacred Child
- Vancouver Public Library – DTES/Strathcona Branch
- I am writing to express my outrage
- M I N D
- Gypsy Frog Farewell
- Carnegie Theatre Workshop
HOMES FOR ALL
Dear Carnegie ACTIVSTS friends...
I am semi retired now...I have been an anti poverty activist for almost 40 years......a member of Carnegie maybe 25 years or more. I started with Muggs and Bob...still active in my community.. liason with the housing coalition and St Johns church.....and support where ever I can.
Homelessness is my number one issue; it gives me such sadness and rage. After writing 5 books, poems and a play - all on poverty - .speaking out (I was an original DTES Poet....endless demonstrations…
I am so pissed off, so fucking angry that the people in power never listened; never had the political will to stop or prevent homelessness… When I first started to write there were some homeless but now it’s increased 500 fold......
Tthe poor gave jobs: a whole industry developed
re helping poverty but my polite way of protesting ?talking? proving? showing? didn’t work.....Sure social work classes used my books......but how many
of those university students who are now professionals have worked for change.. a few yes but others are living in their condos & getting a good
salary....????
We got sucked in to studies ‘n surveys but none changed a thing.........did they?????????
I think the internet will maybe reach many ..I know we have strong young new leaders organising re . poverty and homelessness and I will support them
as much as I can.... the Long Haul.
See you soon.
hugs Sheila Baxter
Board or Bored Member
Well it’s certainly not bored member. The Neighborhood Small Grants Program (NSGP) and the Carnegie Board are keeping me busy this summer. I try to keep them both in the front of my consciousness but that’s sometimes hard to do and I actually forget about one or the other at inopportune times. As a member of the Carnegie Board, I get to attend all these great meetings and learn about the neighborhood from people who live and work in this area. Working with the NSGP is also fun and kinda challenging. You know trying to get in touch with people and I find some people are very difficult to get in touch with. Aw, I guess that’s life and I’m glad that most of the things I have to get in touch with people about are rather minor. They are somewhat important in a business sense and it usually gets done in time. Thursday, these two different positions came together as I attended the monthly Oppenheimer Committee meeting. The meeting was quite interesting and if you want to find out about the park you should attend this meeting. Two of the people (Barb and Ali) are on my nsgp client list and they also work at the park, so I had a chance to meet and talk to them. They told me that they were having a meeting on Friday and I was welcome to attend. The nsgp client list is people who got grants and 3 or 4 of us board members were assigned the job of follow up at 7 or 8 per board member. You know, make sure that they are gonna get the project done and take pictures for the year end celebration in November and also assist in some way if they need it. I believe that my job was done at the selection meetings at the beginning of the year and now all I have to do is go around and celebrate with everyone. I ‘m gonna try to get to all the BBQ’s and party type projects, cause I like to see people having fun. The meeting was a new experience for me. I met all kinda peoples from artists to sponsors and some in between. Before the meeting, I actually sat and talked to a woman for a while. Even though I finally found out that she had nothing to do with the upcoming Art Show, she goes often to the park and we had a pretty good conversation and I think we are now some kinda nodding acquaintances. The meeting itself was very informal and everyone had a chance to say who they were and comment on the upcoming Art Show. The show will be held during month of October at the Gallery Cachet on Cordova Street. There is a lot of interest and people are kinda excited. I’m telling you now that you can get involved and have something in the show. They’ll take anybody, even me if I get kind artsy and make something. But i think the show is for the serious artist of which I am not totally sure I could ever be. There are enough serious artists who are using the park and I ‘m sure they deserve a chance to show their stuff. I was even talked into signing up to be in a sorta show that they plan on producing for the opening. I’m looking forward to see how this develops as it goes along. I wonder if I’ll have the stomach to go on the stage and be an actor or in my case a tree.
Today, Saturday, I went to see another client who is having weekly juggling training for kids in his block at 540 Hastings. The kids, all boys, Timmy, Troy and Nathan,(Montana, Junior and Josh were absent today because of prior commitments) seem quite interested in learning how to juggle and I may go along to the rest of the class just to learn myself. Of course there are other distractions in a gaming room but they seem to enjoy the work that Douglas is doing I’m looking forward to any kinda show they might give us at the windup celebration in November. It looks like its gonna be another successful year for the Neighborhood Small Grants Program. I can be proud to say I was a member of the Board that allowed these persons to be able to get a few dollars to help offset the costs of each little community event. Talk to you again next month. In the meantime have a good summer
hal
Looking at the past and future through finally clear and straight eyes
Looking at the past and future through finally clear and straight eyes.
To all readers,
This is directed to all the readers and especially those who don't know about Insite, the supervised injection site, or about Onsite, the Detox and transitional housing over top of Insite. And to those who are not familiar with the life and feelings of an addicted person.
First I would like you to know that I've been a drug addict/alcoholic most of my life. I am a survivor of sexual assault, mental and physical abuse and am living with HIV / AIDS and Hep B and C. As a result I have suffered for a long time with emotional problems. I have been addicted to most drugs and have never been able to quit. I never wanted to.
I have been in every detox in Vancouver. I've been on and off the drugs for so long that I finally decided to try treatment. Through Insite I went up to the Onsite detox and am now in the transitional housing waiting for a bed in a recovery/treatment program that will be available for me in a week.
I feel very grateful to this establishment and the staff here. When I first heard there was a detox opened over the injection site, I thought, 'Oh this is stupid!' Well let me tell you that I have come to realize how beneficial this place is to my recovery. This is the only detox where you can look out and see people using, and overdosing, sick and doing the Hastings shuffle, people dealing and buying. In other places yeah, you are 'safe' from seeing it. But then WHAM, I'm done my 7 days and I walk out the door and there it all is, back in the hustle bustle of the DTES, 'up, down, rock, meth, pipes'.. blasting in my ears.. and right away all my clean time disappears and I'm right back into my drug habit even worse than before.
After years of that, what happened is that I go to Onsite over the injection site. I don't just sit around all day hidden for 7 days from the reality of my neighbourhood. I can see the addicts and watch where I used to be; see the suffering and I think how sad that is, and feel relieved to be in this place. Wow what an eye opener. I can finally realize what I look like when I am using. I took another look at my life and saw the reality.
I'm so grateful for all the programs offered here: meditation, yoga, acupuncture, smart, 12 steps, massage, music, art, and the detox tea. There is an A&D counsellor, a women's and men's group, nurses, doctors, the staff. This is the first time I have stayed clean so long, and felt so great about life. I am so grateful to be here. I can see the damage the drugs do with open clear eyes.
So, if you haven't been an addict, or have been and haven't gotten the chance to recover, I'm telling you that being able to see the whole real picture will open sober eyes; it can sure change one’s attitude and feelings towards drugs. I pray to God I never have to use again. I give the Injection site and Onsite a great big thank you and heartwarm gratification with love and praise. You are doing a great job. So for those who don't or didn't know I hope this letter will open your eyes. If you want a cleaner city we need more programs like these. Thank you for my clean time, I'll take another 24 and pass it on.
All my relations, a very very grateful recovering addict, and currently a resident of Onsite.
Grace Elizabeth Edge
PS. My long-term goal now is to be a peer counsellor for aboriginal sex trade, abused, addicted women. If there is anyone who can give me any advice in that area, please leave me a message at either the Carnegie Centre or the Contact centre.
VANCOUVER HOUSING FORUMS
VANCOUVER HOUSING FORUMS
Vancouver’s housing crisis: What's being done?
Eastside Forum:
Tuesday September 9th from 7-9pm
Heritage Hall 3102 Main St.
Hosted by Libby Davies MP, Vancouver-East and David Chudnovsky MLA ,Vancouver-Kensington.
Moderator: Ellen Woodsworth - Housing Activist
Speakers:
• David Cadman, Vancouver City Councillor
• Bill Siksay, M.P. NDP Housing Critic
• Diane Thorne, M.L.A. NDP Housing Critic
• Community Activist (TBA)
West End Forum:
Wednesday September 10th from 7-9pm
at The Coast Plaza Hotel 1763 Comox St.
Moderator: Spencer Herbert Parks Board
Speakers:
Michael Byer. UBC Professor
Aaron Jasper, West End Residents Association
Diane Thorne, MLA NDP Housing Critic
Vancouver City Councillor (TBA)
For more info, please contact Janet or Phyllis at 604-775-5800.
Libby Davies, M.P. for Vancouver East
2412 Main Street, Vancouver, BC V5T 3E2
T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811
E: daviel1@parl.gc.ca W: www.libbydavies.ca
WHEREFORE ART THOU?
Part 1
Young man from the old country
are you eating your popcorn dry?
The Becel is piling up, as are the ketchup packages
Have you been choir singing late at night, under the moon?
Has some young lassie roped and hog-tied you?
Are you on your back again? Is that the problem?
Your Carnegie kitchen dance card awaits,
as does your renewal to the chickpea club
upon receipt of past dues.
Are you pulling a Robin? Just in-choiring?
PS: Maybe because it’s summer, maybe you’re
paint-by-numbering your toes..
Waltz on by and show them off . . . Oops!
Forgot you’re a beatnik, Johnny Cash type.
so it would have to be shades of black, I guess.
Part 2
So you came back – still in black.
It’s summer man. It’s summer -
where’s the flower in your hair? A little colour –
Yes, there are black flowers.
So you’re going to the PNE to ride the wooden roller coaster.
This is B.C., man. When people talk about rolling it’s Uh Hm
usually with papers, the colour and quality high, man, high.
Beatnik man. Young man from the old country,
nice to see you again. Tory “junkie” flyer is mere fearmongering
Tory “junkie” flyer is mere fearmongering
In the week of August 15, the federal Tories started mailing out flyers—possibly targeting the Downtown Eastside first—advising recipients of the dangers of “junkies” and “pushers.” To quote: “Junkies and pushers don’t belong near children and families. They should be in rehab or behind bars. The Conservative Government will clean up drug crime.”
A Vancouver Sun editorial stated that the “thinking [used in the flyer came] straight out of the ‘50s.” (“Simplistic solutions to complex problems won’t win votes,” editorial, August 20, 2008, Vancouver Sun) That’s being kind. In actuality, the thinking is prehistoric, as in the remnants of the prehistoric Reform Party are what now make up the federal Tories.
Another article quoted the Downtown Eastside’s NDP MP, Libby Davies, (“Tory mailing targeting ‘junkies’ strikes a sour note in east Vancouver,” Catherine Rolfsen, August 15, 2008, Vancouver Sun): “Vancouver East MP Libby Davies says her office has received a lot of e-mails and phone calls about the mailings. ‘What they attempt to do is play on peoples' fear,’ she said. ‘And frankly, it doesn't go down in east Vancouver.’ Davies said the pamphlet is particularly offensive given the Conservative government's negative position on Insite, the only supervised injection site in the country.”
In the same article, Mark Townsend of the Portland Hotel Society says calling addicts “junkies” is the same as calling the mentally ill “lunatics.” (Too bad over-the-top comedian George Carlin isn’t still alive, he could’ve made a great routine out of this!)
A Globe and Mail article nails the reason why the Tories thought it was a good idea to send the flyers out, (“Supporting Insite unethical, Clements tells doctors,” Andre Picard, August 19, 2008, The Globe and Mail): “The Tories have lower support among women, and pollsters for both Conservatives and Liberals have found that women and seniors feel vulnerable to crime. A promise to keep junkies away from children is a direct pitch.”
In other words, the Tories are attempting to boost their support by old-fashioned (dare I say, prehistoric?) fearmongering.
But what’s actually behind this particular fear in the Downtown Eastside? Vision Vancouver potential City Councillor candidate and Pivot lawyer David Eby nails it in his blog, (“Harper slams ‘junkies’”, August 15, 2008): “The flyer fails to note that most of the reason why ‘junkies’ are causing grief to Vancouverites is because Mr. Harper's government has failed to fund adequate drug treatment options, including detox on demand. Further, that many ‘junkies’ are dual diagnosed, with mental health issues, and that his government has also failed to provide funding for adequate mental health services.”
Vancouver Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh has said that the flyers are too “partisan” to be eligible for free mailings under Parliamentary rules.
But a Conservative Party spokesman—Ryan Sparrow—denies that they’re partisan. In the Globe and Mail article, he states that “You’re debating a policy and you’re asking which political party or which political leader is on the right track.”
Bullshit! They’re partisan, all right. There’s a picture of Tory Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the flyer under the caption, “Who do you think is on the right track on crime?” Then, beside him is a handwritten directive, “Check one” with an arrow pointing to his name on what can only be described as a ballot of all the leaders of the four main parties. If that’s not partisan, I don’t know what is. What this means is that the Tories are using taxpayer money to send out election campaign literature, and it’s offensive stuff at that.
This article is for all the brave souls at VANDU. For every addict who feels like crap because of the way society treats them. To you all I say never mind what those Tory assholes say. Be strong. Fight the good fight. Survive.
By Rolf Auer
TAKE! TAKE! TAKE!
This document is to verify this sad city’s back alley judicial system at best is the worst; Don’t let all that leftover excitement cloud your water let alone your judgement. IT’S TOO LATE! Oh well another path is removed for our inconvenience & incontinuity well kind of like when the cops take everything you room n board up to the ceiling you adored they don’t even leave twigs those thumb-up-the-nose pigs; wen will they start to seize streets & neighbourhoods?! Oh they did have another blemish on that patched-up scar... TAKE TAKE TAKE what nest – the not-so-great lakes??!
Unpleasantries, like killing a group of humans with your vehicle, now that’s just not nice but touch (let alone burn) anything progressive or olimpik and even Satan hates you! How many times have I told you there’s no such thing as luck, just when an all-time low was to be awarded the building in which it was to take place has been seized, shut down & up (whichever came first), loneliness or the physical traits, is there room in your heart for a second chance for first mistakes?
TAKE TAKE TAKE do you ever think Neil Armstrong lip-synched “one small step for man, 3 steps backwards for mankind” I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again: mankind’s debut is nothing less than the end of this planet’s mess.. this day couldn’t come faster than camcorders to a natural disaster; my turn to play with the toy blocks of time, if I could remember the truth we buried at the bottom of the bottomless pit I’d be at the head of the line to admit. Do you remember it was cold, could have been November, then King Alzheimer declared it was December if it helps in any way, shape or form our demise was spelled out in thorns light years before you & I were born When did talk talk talk become take take take? Probably around the time you kids learned you make more selling stolen goods & drugs than mowing lawns or operating a rake. Back on May 8th we had our 11th murder and a man is killed earlier this week and it’s #13 talk about the same page we belong to libraries in separate galaxies – forget the formalities and just TAKE! TAKE!! TAKE!!!
By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY
News from the LibraryNews from the Library
New Books
Greed. Corruption. Theft. A Game As Old As Empire (658.4) reveals the seedy world of economic hit men. From the IMF slashing Ghana’s health and education programs, to a consultant rewriting Iraqi oil war, this collection of chapters follows up on John Perkins’ controversial Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.
A new and gorgeous retelling of some of the oldest stories to come out of Europe, Greek Myths: Tales of Passion, Heroism, and Betrayal by Shoshanna Kirk (292) divides the myths into themes like cunning, vanity, jealousy and grief. Tinou Le Joly Senoville’s illustrations are stunning.
In The Hanging of Angélique: The Untold Story of Canadian Slavery and the Burning of Old Montréal (921 ANG), poet Afua Cooper brings a little known chapter of Canadian history to vivd life. Marie-Joseph Angélique, a slave, was accused of starting a fire in Montréal in 1734. Tortured using la question extraordinaire, a process that shattered the bones in her legs, she confessed to the crime. Angélique’s trial offered the unique chance to tell her life story, which pre-dates any other first-person account of slavery by more than forty years.
Invisible Nation: How the Kurds’ Quest for Statehood is Shaping Iraq and the Middle East, by Quil Lawrence (956.7) is a detailed look at the history and politics of the invisible nation of Kurdistan. Lawrence also tells of how the Kurds’ ambition for nationhood may ultimately depend on the United
States’ Middle Eastern policies and ambitions.
Beth, your librarian
Sacred Child
Sacred Child
Savage Child, Moon Child, Sacred Child,
Children of love, afraid to run wild,
You followed your path, you did it well,
Turning away, where assimilating evil dwells
Sacred Child! Sacred Child Illumination Eagle calls
dancing in her radiant light b’fore night falls
whispering to you a warm message of universal love
Peace on Earth; listen to Truth of sacred hearts above
Self-teaching Coyote innocent house breath of peace
Teachers of honour, dignity and love
Sacred Child follows you in mind, body and spirit
Captivating immaculate Truth of selfless hearts.
Vision dreamer Grizzly Bear dancing on a star
Savage child Moon child sing magically to your sitar
Savage, sacred child! Your flowers fallen on the ground
Mother Earth beautified by your sitar’s magical sound.
Sacred Child, Mother Earth sheds tears for you
Ancient spirits circle a lade of tears and lift the dew
Chanting healing songs of ancestors – White Buffalo
Who acknowledge your completion of the circle of life.
Demise of Sacred Child – live an eternal spiritual life
bathed in goodness a material body laid away in strife
Sword of Truth rattles lies of the beastly wild
Endlesly admiring in prayer the tombstone of Sacred Child
Immaculate moments of your heart, Sacred Child,
Stills the ancient wisdom that heals the world
and angelic babies killed in Indian Residential Schools
Tortured, maimed, butchered souls are in massive graves
Savage Child, Moon Child, Sacred Child
Children of Mercy, of Honour, of Love
May you be at peace and guide the spirits of babies
In honour of our ancestors, you are all Sacred Children.
All my relations, William Arnold Combes
Vancouver Public Library – DTES/Strathcona BranchVancouver Public Library – DTES/Strathcona Library Branch
It was with concern that I read the article [Heatley Block by Sharon Kravitz] in the August 15th issue of the Carnegie Newsletter on the Heatley Block purchase by the City. The Vancouver Public Library respects the opinions of the neighbourhood regarding the development of library services. Several misleading statements were made however regarding the development of a new Downtown Eastside/Strathcona library, which require clarification. I am writing to correct specific statements in the article particularly with respect to the existing Strathcona Library and the Carnegie Reading Room.
The proposal to create a new full service branch to serve Strathcona and the Downtown Eastside is intended to enhance existing library services and resources, not to reduce them. Should a new branch be approved, regardless of the specific location in the community, there is no intention of reducing funding or services provided in the Carnegie Reading Room.
In 2004, Vancouver Public Library initiated a consultation project to gather community input on how best to enhance library services to the Downtown Eastside/Strathcona area. Consultant Darren Kitchen was retained to lead the process and prepare a report on the findings. The report with recommendations was submitted to the Library Board in July 2004. This report’s primary recommendation was the development of a new full service community branch library to this area, while a second key recommendation was to continue to enhance existing library services at the Carnegie Community Centre.
The existing Strathcona library is a joint operation between the Vancouver School Board and the Vancouver Public Library, primarily serving the needs of the elementary student population of the Lord Strathcona Elementary School. The Library provides limited service and resources to the older children and adults in the community through this location, but the lack of space, limited hours and the very real limitations of having a full service public library within an elementary school environment, preclude the ability to provide services to the adult population of the area. Should a new public library branch be built, the Library has committed to leaving the children’s collections in the Strathcona School.
The Carnegie Reading Room is unique as the sole reading room in the Library system, with special collections and policies developed specifically to serve the needs of the clientele in the neighbourhood. This Reading Room is funded directly by the City, through Community Services with staffing provided by Vancouver Public Library.
The Carnegie Reading Room is open extended hours and is recognized as a valuable service to residents in the Downtown Eastside. A new full service library for Strathcona and the Downtown Eastside will provide additional options and resources for the current patrons of the Carnegie Reading Room, but in no way is it intended to replace or diminish the role of the Reading Room or its place in the Carnegie Centre. The Director of Community Services and the City Librarian wrote the Carnegie Centre Association in 2005 assuring them of the continued importance of their work and ongoing support of the Library and Community Services for the Reading Room.
Vancouver Public Library is committed to ongoing consultations and community engagement with residents, community organizations and businesses as the planning for a new library proceeds. The Library Board is taking Strathcona community members’ concerns regarding the Heatley Block seriously, and further communication and consultation will be occurring during the coming months.
Diana Guinn
Director, Branches and Outreach Services
Vancouver Public Library
August 27, 2008
Greetings,
I am writing to express my outrage at this flyer that has been delivered as unaddressed mail across Canada. It was produced by the Conservative Government using tax payer dollars. It is not just from one local MP. It has been sent to numerous neighbourhoods across Canada with numerous different Conservative MP's names attached to it. Here in the riding of Vancouver-East, the flyer says "Compliments of Rob Merrifield" who is an MP from Edmonton-Yellowhead.
The language used in the flyer and the ideas presented border on hate propaganda. The idea that "junkies" (people with addictions) don't belong near families is absurd. People with addictions were born into families. Families are often an important source of support for people with addictions who want to get clean or take steps toward improved health. I'm extremely offended that the Federal Government is using our tax money to diseminate ideology that goes against all scientific and logical reasoning. It lacks compassion, it lacks understanding of a critical issue in our country, and it is an embarassment to Canada.
I sincerely hope your media outlet will consider running a story about this issue.
Sam Dubetz
M I N DM I N D
I heard a powerful voice like the sound of an ocean,
Like a voice, a voice calling me –
I look around but there was no body
Wondering where the sound or voice was coming from I got scared. I tried to run but I couldn’t..
I was terrified
Looking around there was nobody and then
no sound or voice calling me – it was all in my mind
because I was depressed
It’s all in my mind that makes my world turn
around me... no kids, family or friend but me
and my mind... that’s scary, believe me.
Ruth Matemotja
Gypsy Frog FarewellDTES Lament It was a ‘lifestyle choice’
Reflecting a proud past,
It is only now being mourned
Death, human darkness and
Total neglect... feel its blast!
The most vulnerable sucked dry
The Village has had enough
Yet all we do is cry and cry
and no one knows why...
Gypsy Frog
Ode to food line-ups
Please bring hunger and hope.
Open to one and all!
Take any of the main streets
to our village
Keep your eyes open
for the line of hungry sub-humans
with a spark of hope –
but the fire is burning out...
Gypsy Frog
Gypsy Frog Farewell
I rejected the collar of Christianity;
Now the moral authorities have me on a leash.
Lessons learned are lessons learned.
I met to give some value to this village
but like everyone I took what I needed
from Value Village.
The tools I now have allow me to go home
to my people –
This was the best education in our world.
G.F.
Carnegie Theatre Workshop
ACTING BASICS
How to…
Voice, Movement, Scene Study
Imagine
Prepare, Investigate
Emotional, Intellectual, Flexible
4 Saturday afternoons
Sat Sept 27, Oct 4, 11 and 18
1:30pm to 4:30pm
Carnegie Theatre
Free
All levels of experience welcome!
Led by Teresa Vandertuin
For more info
call 604-255-9401
email thirteenofhearts@hotmail.com
Or attend the first session!
