August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

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Transcript of August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

Page 1: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

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BC • ~s 150 years old

"The Best Place on Earth!" -so says BC Gov't

For crying out loud, taxpayers paid for the ad.

(j N I ·r

It would have been the coolest to see Indigenous I Latinos I Asians in the ad. We all helped shape & form this Province.

British Columbia is on unceded Indian territory

Yeah, BC is the best place on earth ............

F - it's not just for the privileged!

I) tl_

"In Budapest there were Gypsies who looked after their own - it seemed like more of an Old World bit of taking care of business so no one starved or died of exposure. But even in the poorest parts of the city it was nothing like here, with hundreds of homeless on the street and in alleys. A few people came up to me asking for money, but for the most part no feel­ing of desperation came across. Again it was noth­ing like here." This was a response to a question in casual conver­

sation, a Canadian who had been in Europe. Shock and shame at some of the most obvious and visible conditions in the Downtown Eastside coloured his return to what had been home - and he'd only been away for about 4 years. This reaction to the rawness of current trends and

plans isn't so shocking~ it seems that the iron fist in the glove of 'progress' has been wielded sans cover all over the world and we only learn of how distilled the daily news is after getting reports from people on the ground and in the way elsewhere.

Olympic promises made in 2001 by the govern­ment of China to improve its human rights record and have freedom of the press etc. (which helped in their winning of the bidding for the 2008 Games) are being exposed as so much hot air - whole sec­tions of Beijing where thousands of people have had

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Priscillia Wetsuwit'en

- -their homes and communities bulldozed for sports venues. Upwards of 300,000 security personnel (to be read as regular army in new clothes) have taken over all traffic and entry ports, subjecting every ve­hicle entering the city to tight inspection, and many Internet sites blocked that have anything to do with Human Rights watch-groups (like Amnesty Interna­tional) and any with Tibet mentioned anywhere .. . and justification under the umbrella of"necessity, security and correct information." Observers say the .: security is to prevent any kind of civil protest or demonstrations, and the correctness of information is determined by the Chinese government only.

What does this have to do with here? Our media is a different kind of animal, but the

spin-doctoring isn't: Hotel after hotel has been shut down as the umbrella of"Olympics" is used as an excuse to bypass or plain ignore social safeguards. The stepped up gentrification of our community is being sold in the media, when even commented on, as "good for everyone" while most of our residents are on the end of rising prices and falling vacancy rates. The continual change of rooming houses and hotek into condo-dweller-friendly housing leaves more and more people with no security of tenure and even ho~eless when forced out by greed. But saying "How blind can they be?" cuts almost no ice with those behind it.

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There was a summit in New Orleans recently be·­tween George W Bush, Stephen Harper and Felipe Calderon. The person reporting on their experience said that the poor areas of the city are sti II looking like hell, with almost no cleanup after Hurricane Katrina 2 years ago. The capitalist ideal is in high

gear with developers buying whole swatches of poor neighbourhoods and building condos and upscale shopping centres. The people trying to stay alive there have been hit with electricity and water bills for uninhabitable houses, with written cautions by the corporations that failure to pay will remove the 'customer' from the grid and make reconnection very costly. Getting any government help FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Administration) money is difficult and any sign of public protest, especially during the summit, meant jail and a crim­inal record. As the observer said, "l was shocked and ashamed

that such a brutal and uncaring treatment of the poor and victims of a natural disaster could happen and go without any response from our government."

As our Olympic spectacle gets closer look for such harsh and uncaring treatrhent of many poor and marginalized people right here. It's beginning now with laws prohibiting public activities associated with homelessness and poverty, with the seizure of peoples' belongings and expulsion. The housing conversion (read loss) to more expensive living is also part of the same trend - like the US and Mexico and China and civilisations around the globe, those who have are pulling away from any responsibility • for the rest of us and the conditions under which they leave or keep us. Accountability for the actions that result in such conditions is becoming a joke in the minds of those seeking a more fascist kind of society.

A national media program had an "expert'' on se­curity (a former CSIS agent) saying Security for the 2010 Olympics has 3 main targets: 1) Terrorists; 2) Social protest and unrest; and 3) venue disruption. You can be branded a terrorist if you give money to an anti-poverty group or maybe The Council of Ca­nadians; Social protest includes anything to do with housing, evictions, being labeled an 'undesirable' ... and Venue disruption could be arrest for watching any sport without paying, like from a hillside instead of in one of the $200 seats. Always read or watch reports on situations else­

where and substitute local places and government/ elite capitalist activities for the names and players in .· the other places. The parallels are frightening and ' the necessary responses more and more inevitable.

By PAULR TAYLOR

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Olympic Power: The Sport of Greedy Nations

I have many high friends in very low places And here we live Exchanging each other's graces Some ignorant people call it Skid Row where people come to die We call it A Village Fair and neighbours still really care Scared Straight Tours come and go and most will never know How we make each other grow We know about honour and trust and they only give us crusts We must teach our children well Before we all go to hell.

Gypsy Frog

HUM 101 AND SCIENCE 101 DOCUMENTARIES SATURDAYS- AUGUST 2008 CAR~EGIE THEATRE 6:PM

August 9: THE BURNING TIMES tells of times people with knowledge were burned in order to sup­press their knowledge and the powers of self re­liance. 56 minutes & BUILDING WITH AWA­RENESS Learn the conslruction of a Hybrid Home from foundation to finishing 2hours 42 minutes. August 16: UNREPENTANT- KEVIN ANNETT AND CANADA'S GENOCIDE. Featuring our very own Rickie Lavalie from the down town east side. I I 0 minutes. & ZEITGEIST A well written up documentary in our local rag The Republic of East Vancouver. 90 minutes. August 23: MEGALITHS, ATLANTIS AND THE POWER SYSTEMS OF THE GODS Presents fas­cinating evidence of an ancient power system that used a monolithic granite crystal obelisks and Tes­ta's system of wireless power. 90 minutes & THE WORLD OF FREE ENERGY A demonstration and lecture by Peter Lindemann Dsc. On Tesla's free energy machines and how they worked. 2 hours August 30: THE ANCIENT BIMINI HARBOR over ll ,000 years ago the oceans of the world rose and flooded this harbor in the Bahamas.73 Minutes

Correction: A story on the spiritual gifts of a little child, appearing in the July 15 edition, was wrongly noted to have been "submitted by Adrienne". It was submitted by Elaine; . .

& THE YUCATAN HALL OF RECORDS A visit to Piedras Negreas, Guatemala, the Yucatnn, Cerritos Island and Andros Island. Evidence is ac­cumulating than an ancient maritime culture, possi­bly Atlantis was in the Bahamas and Carribean circa 11,000 B.C. 83 minutes FREE ENERGY DJVICE VIDEO a video compilation of reports and patents. 120 minutes.

Summer love sends shivers down my spine

Lying on a bed of dandelions enlightens my body

Morning ntist cleanses my face

The beat of my heart sounds in the sunset.

Priscillia

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Great Beginnings- a proposal There is a new fund that contains approximately l 0 million dollars to clean up the Downtown Eastside in time for the Olympics. 10 million dollars to clean up the neighborhood for a game, well if you're real­ly serious, let's try this. Keep the money in trust. Do some genuine community organizing and start with gathering organizations with a little bit .of r~­sources that work directly with the commumty ltke the Neighborhood llelpers Project, Carnegie Co.m­munity Action Project and the Downtown Eaststde Neighborhood house to work in partnership with residents to ask every single person living in social housing, SRO's and on the street, what they want to do. What arc you good at? What do you dream of doing? How can we make this place safer, healthier, together? What are you willing to do to make it

happen? What am i wi lling to do? Then we follow through, no more talks, no more process. We listen. Then we respond and support each other in making this neighborhood a healthier, safer place for the people who live here, not for people who are coming to visit for two weeks, and not the condo dwellers who have capitalized on the neglect, but the people who have spent their lives in this com­munity, the kids who have grown up in this neigh­borhood, the Chinese clans and societies that con­tinue to gather in their spaces on Hastings Street amidst the chaos. Real change doesn't happen if people don't have a stake in the change, if the only people that are part of the discussion, are people who have been neighborhood mouth pieces for 20 years, City Staff, developers and others who are acting in the best interest of people who apparently can't speak for themselves.

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If you respond to this, i don't want to hear anything less than how can we get this started or a correct ion on the figures of the fund. I don 't want to hear that I'm passionate or naive. I just want to hear that you're serious, se­rious about real change, about really asking peop le what they want, rather than assuming. I want to hear that buildings like the Heatley block won' t be demolished for a Library that should go in the oldest part of Strathcona School (which is slated to be de­molished) because kids in this neighborhood shouldn 't have to walk to a highway (llastings street) to go to the library, and that we won 't destroy two more beautiful old buildings. I don't want to

hear about zero displacement anymore, because clearly that 's not happening. I want to hear, that Stamps and Maclean housing projects will remain affordable for the families that live there. I want you to do what you're paid to dp, facilitate change and listen. Also, you might want to hang on to that $10 million, you might need it in 20 II for the New Beginuings fund.

Sharon Kravitz

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.- Mother Teresa

Faith which does not doubt is dead faith.--­Miguel de Unamuno Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is

his twin brother.-Kah/i/ Gibran

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VANDlJ's TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

In response to epidemic rates ofHIV/AIDS infec­tion and general social unrest in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, The Vancouver Area Net­work of Drug Users (VANDU) formed in January 1998 to address issues of poverty, social exclusion, crim ina lization, and ancillary illness from the ground up. VANDU is now funded by the Vancou­ver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) as part of its harm reduction strategy. As a registered non-profit, V ANDtJ's primary objective is to increase capacity

· of people who use illicit drugs to live healthy and productive lives. This is accomplished through peer­based support, public awareness and education, out­reach, and legal advocacy. VANDU's membership has grown to over 2000 ·strong, making V ANDU the largest organization of its kind in the world. It has retained a high profile in the public eye, including the 2004 Genie Award-winning documentary Fix: Story of an Addictetl City, which chronicles the events leading up to the opening ofNorth America's first supervised injection site. On Saturday, July 19,2008 there was a two-part

celebration of V ANDU's first decade. Starting at 12:00 noon in Oppenheimer Park was a ceremonial launch of a memorial acknowledging those who have passed away in the Downtown Eastside, as well as an unveiling of a time line highlighting

·. VANDU's achievements since 1998. Following the ceremony were guest speakers, in­

cluding Bud Osborn, founding member of VANDU ; Ann· Livingston, Co-Executive Program Director, Libby Davies, New Democratic Member of Parlia­ment for Vancouver East, and an awards ceremony acknowledging longstanding 'members of the VAN­DU community. After there was food barbecue-style and refi·eshments, -- as well as outdoor activities.

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DVBIA, Civil City actions discriminatory

VANCOUVER- Pivot Legal Society, VANDU and the United Native Nations have filed I Iuman Rights complaint against the Downtown Vancouver Busi­ness Improvement Association (DVB IA) and Geoff Plant in his role as Civil City Commissioner. The complaint is filed on behalf of Vancouver's street homeless population and alleges systemic discrimi­nation by the Downtown Ambassadors program, which is run by Genesis Security and the DVBIA under the guidance of Geoff Plant. "Our constituents have had some concerns about the program for a while," said Pivot lawyer Laura Track, "However, the expansion of the program by Geoff Plant and the upcoming Olympics has .pushed us to try to clarify the rules around private security guard conduct in relation to the homeless." The DVBIA manages the Genesis Security Down­

town Ambassador program, and Geoff Plant, Civil City Commissioner, commissioned and secured funding for the Downtown Ambassador program. Plant is also in the process of expanding the Down­town Ambassador program to other Business lm­provement Associations. "Geoff Plant knows the populations that are getting 'moved along' by the Ambassadors," said David Dennis, Vice President ofUnited Native Nations. "He's commissioned a panhandler study that surely says exactly what we allege, that aboriginal people and disabled people are targeted by this program disproportionately. He's a lawyer, he knows that's discrimination." The complai~t alleges a number of behaviours it

calls discriminatory, including telling people who are sitting or sleeping on the street to move along, regardless of location or circumstances; telling people to stop searching for recyclables in garbage cans; identifYing particular individuals as undesira­ble and telling them that they are not allowed within a particular geographic area ("no go areas"); and following or staring at and taking notes and photo­graphs of individuals identified as undesirable. The Complaint asks the Human Rights Tribunal to

award $20 to every person affected by this conduct to a maximum of l ,000 people, and asks the Tribun­al to order the DVBIA amend their policies to pro­hibit all discriminatory tactics. The complaint also asks the Human Rights Tribunal to order Geoff · Plant and the· DVBIA to adopt an appropriate proce­dure for receiving and responding to complaints the public may make about the practices and conduct of security personnel funded by the DVBIA.

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Human rights complaint re DVBIA, Plant

On July 17, Pivot Legal Society, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU), and the United Native Nations filed a human rights com­plaint with the BC Human Rights Tribunal against the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBJA) and Project Civil City's commissioner Geoff Plant. ("Downtown Ambassa­dors face human-rights complaint," Georgia Straight, July 18, 2008)

The complaint is directed at the conduct of the Genesis private security guards known as the Down­town Ambassadors for which both the DVBIA and Plant are responsible. It alleges that the Ambassa­dors are being discriminatory towards poor people (in particular, the homeless) by telling those who are sitting or sleeping on the street to move along, to stop searching in garbage bins for recyclables, by identifying certain people as "undesirables" and restricting them from certain parts of town, and by following or staring at or taking notes and/or photo­graphs of some of these individuals.

Pivot lawyer Laura Track said the gist of the com­plaint is that the homeless or poor people aren't be­ing treated by the Ambassadors in the same manner as other citizens. .

The complaint asks that the Tribunal award $20 each to as many as I ,000 people, and that the DVBIA and Plant adopt procedures to appropriately respond to complaints about the Ambassadors.

United Native Nations vice-president David Den­nis sa id, "I see this as a concentrated effort to con­duct an assault on poor people, to make sure that they understand that they are not welcome within city limits or within the Metro Vancouver area dur­ing the Olympics .... These programs in the down-· town area are running 24 hours. At I :OOam, you're not using Ambassadors to show tourists where their cruise ships are. So what's the real aim ofthe pro-gram?" ·

Dennis also said, "It's pretty clear to us that a clear majority of the people that are homeless in Vancouver are Aboriginal. What makes us very angry is that we see this Civil City project (and] the Ambassador program as a tool of the city to push homeless people aside." ("Not-so-civil city?", Wes­tender, July 24, 2008) ~~

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NPA City Councillor Kim Capri called the com­plaint "groundless" and part of a political agenda.

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But is it? Consider this: throughout most of July, the Vancouver police have been ticketing homeless people in parks (such as Oppenheimer Park) and stealing their belongings by having them tossed into city garbage trucks as early as 5:OOam.

(There is a nice photo of Wendy Pedersen of the Carnegie Community Action Project standing in front of a large banner reading "Homelessness is not a crime," holding a handful of tickets: www.flickr.com/photoslblackbird hollow/26895244 41/.) [NB: there is an underscore between "black­bird" and "hollow".]

Nearby neighbours like Cathy Walker have been camping out with the homeless in Oppenheimer Park in an effort to halt (or at least document) this cruel treatment of the homeless. According to Wendy, the police announced on July 17 that the tickets would turn into warrants for arrest.

My question is obvious: if the police act like this towards the homeless, why would the Downtown Ambassadors act any differently?

By Rolf Auer

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Cannibalistn in the Downtown Eastside The Spanish painter, Goya, painted a picture of a

monster eating human beings. That's what is hap­pening in our community now. The monster .of gen­trification is devouring the Downtown Eaststde, Vancouver's oldest community, except for First Na­tions communities which are much older. This same monster has already devoured most of

the downtown peninsula of Vancouver, with Burrard Inlet on one side and English Bay and False Creek on the other. The monster is insatiable in its hunger for accumulation. It is market-driven which means that it is profit-driven, and a city controlled by this monster "is not so much a place for people to live in and call their own, as it is a machine rationally and effectively designed for making money." (1) The market-driven monster of gentrification thrives on the war of all against all, to use the words of Tho­mas I Jobbes, and as Shakespeare said even before

Hobbes: "It will come Humanity must perforce prey on itself, Like monsters of the deep."

(King Lear, Act 4, Scene 2) Businessmen today talk about acting like cannibals

when they devour each other or each other's compa­nies. Gentrification - the pushing of low income residents out of their community so that developers can reap maximum profit from high land values and high rents- is a form of cannibalism. It is war, and as the term gentrification implies, it is class war. Referring to gentrification in the Downtown East­side, Lief Eriksen wrote, "The market cannot abide such expensive real estate being used by the poor." (2) The Downtown Eastside is a tiny David com­pared to the Goliath of development determined to build the corporate city, and the community is in crisis. An old-time resident said, "One day they're gonna come in here with a bunch of army trucks, and ship us all out to the sticks like POW's." However, the Downtown Eastside has a long history of struggle for respect and hmnan rights. ln the foreword to the excellent book "Hope In Shadows­Stories and Photographs of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside," Libby Davies, our Member of Parliament for Vancouver East, wrote that in North America most low income inner city neighbourhoods have been destroyed, but that has not happened in the Downtown Eastside. Then Libby, who has been fighting for our community since the early 1970's, went on to say, "The only reason (our community hasn't been destroyed) is because the people of the Downtown Eastside fought back. They asserted their right to live, to exist, to have hope, and to have a future. Their story is one of resistance - one that deepens the value of what community and survival really means to the lives of its residents and the place as a whole." Never have the peep le of the Downtown Eastside

been so united as we struggle to save our commu­nity from the ravages of gentrification. The Carne­gie Community Action Project (CCAP) has just fin­ished a report which covers the first stages of its visioning process. This report, entitled "Nothing About Us Without Us, .. (3) clearly shows how important the Downtown Eastside community is to the people who live here. It is the people who make the community, and the caring, non-judgemental, enduring residents of the Downtown Eastside reach out to each other and build communitv. As more

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Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

Visit CCAP office 2nd floor Carnegie or call604-839-0379 Aug 1, 2008

Here's what you say about your community

The Carnegie Community Action Project's (CCAP) new report is hot off the press and full of your comments about what you'd like to see in your community. The report is called ''Nothing about us without us." The title is borrowed from VANDU's motto with their pennission. We thought it was a good title because governments are always trying to do things to the Downtown Eastside (DTES) without asking the people who live here what they want. With this report, CCAP asked nearly 1000 residents what they want.

"Nothing about us without us" is a progress report on CCAP's visioning for the neighbourhood. We want to get a good idea of what the low income people

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here want the community to be like in the future so we can go to the city and province with good backing.

CCAP 's visioning process

So far there have been two parts to CCAP's vision process. First we held meetings with people at 15 community hubs like First United, V ANDU, and Carnegie. We asked folks questions about the community and wrote their answers on

flip charts. Then people used stickers to say which answers were their priorities. Almost 300 residents participated in these meetings. Thank you so much! Then CCAP and LILAHC, a coalition of people and groups who want the future of the DTES determined by its low­income majority, got 655 people to fill out a questionnaire about the community. (Continued on page 2)

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--(Continued from page 1)

What you said in the vision • sesstons

You said that this is a community where you like the people. "I wouldn't connect with the people on Broadway and Granville," said one woman. "They walk right by you there .... Here people stick up for each other and care for each other." "It's not going to feel safe if the neighbourhood is taken over." Another said, "It's good to be with people like you," and another: "I don't feel lonely here."

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You also said you like the community, the services and the non-judgmental nature of the neighbourhood. "People pushed from everywhere else work together here," said one ,,

person. "You can't starve · here," said another who mentioned free food and other services. "Here you don't have to justify who you are," said one person. "There's a lock of judging and a strong sense of loyalty," said another.

When asked, "What makes us strong?" the most frequent answers involved unity, spirit, friends and struggle. "All of us uniting and standing up for our class," said one person. "We're survivors. We come from turbulence and have inner strengths." said another.

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Anther question was "What is the first thing that would improve your life in the DTES?" There was a lot of consensus in the answers to this question. Housing, income and health services were the most frequent comments with housing ahead of the others. "I need ... a kitchen, private bathroom and room to work and store my stuff. .. so I don't have to get dressed to go to the bathroom," said one person. "I'm tired of having to choose

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Some of the visionaries at the Learning Centre.

between types of bad housing: mice running in the mattresses versus never clean washrooms versus bedbugs," said another. At First United, the comment that got the most stars was "knowing that everyone here has safe, clean affordable housing."

Folks also wanted more harm (Continued on page 3)

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(Continued from page 2) reduction services and a wal1~-in detox. They wanted the local clinics to accept new patients and another Dr. Peter Centre to help folks with HIV.

People also wanted decent paying jobs. better welfare rates, a $16 an hour minimum wage, and more meat and protein. What you said

on the • • questtonna1res

Can you believe this? Ninety five percent of residents who answered the questionnaire said they would like to continue to live in the DTES if they

had safe, secure housing.

Answers to the questionnaire also showed a lot of agreement about what we need in the DTES community. 86% of people said welfare should be increased to $1300 a month, the federal market basket poverty line. 88% said government should build new affordable

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social housing in the DTES. 76o/o said they wanted new social housing to be at least 400 square feet~ not mini -suites being built in some ne\v developments. 8 7% said we should have alcohol and drug treatment on den1and. and nearly 70% would prefer not to have to live in a renovated hotel rootn for the long term.

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(Continued on page 4)

Visionaries put stars beside their favorite answers at

• • • VlSIOfllflg

• sesstons.

Aboriginal Front Door (top) and First United Church (bottom).

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(Continued from page 3) There were several questions about condos. Virtually no one who answered wanted condos to take over the neighbourhood. But a majority feel that a few condos would be ok if the community housed mostly existing residents and low-income people.

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One of the many places questionnaires were filled out-6:30a.m. at the Dockside welfare office on cheque day.

When asked what they would do if they lost their housing in the DTES, the most frequent answer was "on the street" or "homeless" or in a shelter. Some said ')ail," or "suicide."

What's next? Over the next year CCAP hopes to work with the Low-Income Land-Use and Housing Coalition (LILAH C) to design and implement a neighbourhood

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mapping process. We also want one or two open houses to consult residents more. We'd like to learn about what problems folks experience in the neighbourhood and what their ideas for solving them are. We'd also like to know what places and attitudes they would like to preserve in the community,

and what they would like for the future.

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to participate in the vision sessions and to answer the

_ _,,_ questionnaire. And thanks also to all the volunteers who helped get the questionnaires answered. We couldn't have done it without you!

See a copy of the full report

To see a copy of the report go to the library or CCAP

office on the second floor of Carnegie. CCAP will be distributing them to city staff, politicians, and people in the community. Or you can go to CCAP's blog at http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com. ,....Jean Swanson

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Who is LI HC? Low Income Land use and

Housing Coalition c/o Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House [DTES NH]

501 Eas t Hastings [@ Jackson) Vancouver BC V6A 1P9

''Nothi ng about us without us"

- motto courtesy ofVANDU

Who weare LILAHC is a coalition of those who

live/work in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside [DTES] \Vho affinn that the redevelopment of the DTES must include the voices and reflect the vision of the predominantly low-income DTES community who make up 3/4 of its population.

DTES residents were promised a predominantly low income neighbourhood. Wise development or "land use" decisions as well as adequate government funding for housing will together secure the future of low-income people in this neighbourhood.

LILAHC is people of all anct=>stries, ages and classes~ the under[housed] and homeless, those in hotels, social housing and co-ops. LILAHC is DTES residents and service providers, families and individuals.

Downtown Eastside Residents The DTES constitutes a community of

intelligent, caring, creative people with a vision for the future of this neighbourhood. People are family to each other, use needed services and volunteer with organizations which would be crippled without the free labour of low-income DTES residents.

Impact of development New condo developp1ent outnumbers

social housing development at a rate of 3 to 1 as of2010. As of April2008, we've lost or are about to lose housing in half the privately owned hotels due to their closure, their transformation into student rentals and/or rent increases. DTES condo speculation is taking away land which could be used for social housing and is putting extreme pressure on our low-income rental stock - the residential hotels rooms which are the last stop before homelessness. 2008 is the watershed year for preserving any semblance of affordable housing for current DTES residents. We act now or are forever dispersed from our DTES home.

Vision LILAHC's process is grassroots and

takes its inspiration from the heads and hearts of 1 OOOs of DTES residents, harvesting a resident driven script for the future of the DTES which keeps low-

5 c c ont-\n v..e<.\ o-n r cuo ~)

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( c~+\nu~d ~"¥\'\ po.~~ 5) income residents at the centre of redevelopment plans.

What we're doing LILAHC surveyed a cross section of

650 DTES low-income residents with our coalition partner the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP), gathering residents' ideas for the future of the DTES. With CCAP, we are organizing a DTES Mapping for community members in the fall and synthesizing this with technical infonnation into a mock up for an ideal street ( charrette) after that.

LILAHC addresses developers, City employees, local politicians and private individuals who express an interest in the future of the DTES, to find out how they are including the Vision of current DTES low-income residents and to know if they are willing to lend their skill sets to the resident driven planning process.

LILAHC endor~es the results of 15 CCAP-led community Visioning sessions (300 low-income DTES residents as of April2008) and the results in an interim community visioning report called "Nothing About Us Without Us" that can be found at: http:/ /ccapvancouver. wordpress.com

• • • • Criteria for part1ctpat1ng tn LILAHC

• 100% allegiance to the DTES low­income community

• Confidentiality

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• Commitment to non violence • LILAHC is not about us, but about

doing the work • Ability to devote 2-5 hours a week to

LILAHCwork LILAHC Members

• Jennifer Allen, Founder, Jen' s Kitchen, UGM and resident

• Rolf Auer, Secretary, Carnegie Association and resident

• Linda Dewar, Ed, Inner-City Women's Initiatives Society/DAMS

• Carolyn Hall, Family Doctor, Downtown Community Health Clinic, Detox and Youth Custody & Sexual Assault Services

• Benita Ho, Project Manager, supportive housing for women and children and fonner resident

• Matthew Matthew, President, Carnegie Association and resident

• Lisa McDowell, Mental Health Advocate, Downtown Eastside Women's Centre (DEWC)

• Karen McNabb, Mentorship and support worker for parents and former resident

• Sarah Nunez, DTES community worker

• Tami Omeasoo, Director on leave, Aboriginal Front Door (AFD)

• Wendy Pedersen, Community Organizer, Carnegie Community Action Project and resident

• Joyce Rock, ED, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House (DTES NH)

( CoV\-h~v..e.J ~ ~ I)

Page 15: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

( c~hh~u~. ~ roJ3~ b; and resident • June Scudeler, Policy Analyst, United

Native Nations • Mandla Sibya, HIV I AIDS Case

Manager, DTES Youth Activities Society (DEY AS)

• Jackie Smith, ED, The Dug Out • Karen Stancer, Doctor, Downtown

Community Health Clinic (DCHC) & Pine Tree Clinic

• Jean Swanson, Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)

• Richard Utendale, President, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (V ANDU)

LILAHC acknowledges and honours the fact that our community lies within the Traditional Territory

of t he Coast Salish people .

Oppenheimer ticketing stalled Sometime in May

or June, police sweeps went into high gear in the DTES, likely as preparation for the Olympics. First we saw 'no camping' signs around the area. Then we heard the police would appear where people were sleeping outside, roust the 'homeless' sleepers, issue tickets and trash any possessions the sleepers couldn't

r···~· . ;~~~-.:

~ .

I

carry. Those who received tickets were well-aware that more than one could result in a warrant, an arrest, and jail.

Oppenheimer Park was one place hit by this "ticket & trash" campaign. But on July 16th park dwellers Tina Eastman

I 11

Photos of Tina and Brian (above) and one of the many ''no camping" signs recently posted in the DTES (next page) by tile Blackbird (look for the link to the whole photo series on CCAP's blog: http://ccapvancouver. wordpress.com)

7 ( c{YV\~\f\\A ett tnt f~ s)

Page 16: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

(photo), Brian Humchitt (photo), Bandit and other park dwellers took a stand with their neighbours and the sweeps were stalled as a result.

The stand began when residents of the colourful row houses across the street (Jackson Ave. Co-op) asked Brian and Tina if they could camp out with them in support. The next morning the police had to face some upset neighbours and their children as well. Then a defiant press release was sent out to all civic, provincial and federal politicians in Canada, the media and all the head honchos at the City Hall and the VPD.

In the press release, Kathy Walker, a parent of 5 who slept out with park dwellers said: "The Park is a much quieter and safer place when people are camping here, it becomes their home, they look out for one another, and they clean up the park. These are our neighbours and we want the city to exempt Oppenheimer Park from this by-law that makes homelessness a crime." Brian and Tina were quoted in the release

wondering where they were expected to go. They said: "We're homeless in our own land. We are struggling to survive in our home which is our tent." Later in a talking circle, park dwellers said they don't see themselves as "homeless." The park is their home and its better than a shelter, where couples are split up, conditions are inhumane and not accessible if located away from their community in areas where they get "stared at." As for hotel rooms, they said getting one with the combination of the right price and good living conditions is next to

8

impossible. They were pretty clear that affordable apartments were the answer. They also say they want their Indigenous rights to sleep in the park respected. They would like to see Oppenheimer designated as a "spiritually sacred space."

With a break from the sweeps, at least as of July 29th when this article was written, park dwellers are settling in . - . ,

~ "

more. They have a couch, a large drum, a talking stick carved for discussions about the park, beautifully painted rocks (by Leah) lining the path by their space, the beginnings of a code of conduct for the park and are talking about setting up tee-pees as a traditional symbol of "home."

In the meantime, neighbours remain on watch and will be called upon to show up when police arrive if the ticketing resumes. Park dwellers hope to keep the activism there small and manageable for now. PIVOT will help Tina and others challenge their tickets in court. ,... Wendy P.

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

Page 17: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

Vancouverites understand how strong and creative our communi ty is, they will join us in the fight to S(lve our low income neighbourhood through afford­able housing, adequate income, and necessary health services. The Do·wntown Eastside is the soul of Vancouver.

By Sanely Cameron (I) The Det1elopers, by James Lor imer, pub. by J;unes Lorimer & Co., 1978, page 79. (2) Vying for Space: Neo-libemlism (111(//he Crimiualisalion of Poverty, an unpublished essay byLief Eriksen, 1999. ' , (3) "Nothing About Us Without Us" is the motto of the Vancover Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). [VAN DU kindly gave the Carnegie Community Action Project permission to use its motto for the title of the CCAP visioning report.l

petty ego glorified violence might and intimidation

·-

the peasants have been made criminal sloth class

- . ··-

interested in petty accomplishments have mine you die the violence that is shown on the media morality film that says nothing of real life put the corruption of man on a sort of pedestal this is all a waste of time the ongo ing grudge the fear blanket the fist of right

D

there is a lack of acceptance of nature and mortality n fea r of death a lack of compassion for the self do to them you do to all do to all you do to yourself condemning yourself

lesadeetree

I

')~. ' ~

... • • < '

GEORGE WilliAMS

A memorial ceremony was held at Yandu on July I for George, who died recently in the DTES. George's ex-wife, daughter and other family mem­

bers attended the simple ceremony in the front of­fice ofVanclu . Friends and people who cared about George also attended to pay their respects and sup­port the family. Staff from the HCC thank George for all the good

work he had done for them as a peer worker. George was always kind and thoughtful , (!!ways industrious and reliable, and a friend we are sorry to lose.

Arohanui George. Go with the Great Sp irit.

Rails

1\.s far as I see Rails stretch toward the ho~izon .

Lives like rails

-

~-'li

Run alongside each other Joined by Ties

I

Anchored by pegs

Rails sing As a train draws close A lonesome car Joined by ties, separated by those same ties Into the distance The rails run on

Robert Bonner

Page 18: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

August Art Show

Acrylic Paintings by

Gyata Schultz

Opening Reception August 8, 2- 5pm 3r fl Gallery of Carnegie, 401 Mai n Street

News From 1:he LibrarY New Books Kabbalah and Islam Hre two fa iths that have been

getting a lot of attention lately. Kabbalah because of its popu larity among l lollywood celebrities, and Islam, sadly because of the 9/ I I attacks and the con­

flict in the Midd le East. Th e Betiefnet Guide to Kubbaltlh (296.16) & Tile Beliefnet Guide to 1.~·/nm (297) provide concise, unbiased overviews of these two fai ths, free from the sensationalism that often characterizes their coverage in the media. Tile Deserter 's Tale (956.7) is billed as the fi rst memoir of a deserter fro m the war in Iraq . Joshua Key is a U.S . Army deserter currently seeking asy­lum in Canada. ]n it he relays frankly his expe­riences in Iraq, how they infl uenced his decision to desert and how they serve to illustrate what many sec as the senselessness of the war in Iraq. Tlw Great Funk (306.09) is author Thomas Hine's term for the 1970s. This multi-purpose term de­scribes both the ' funk' that the U.S. fe ll into in the '70s - Watergate, the end of the Vietnam War, soar­ing inflation and the Energy Crisis - and the '70s penchant for ' funk ' as a style - polyester leisure suits, shag carpets, earth tones and streaking. This entertaining read describes how, and why, the 'Great Funk' came to be. Vanllalen, A Visua/llistory : 1978-1984 (784.54). Page after g lossy, high co lour page of everyone's favo urite ' 80s hard-rockers in their prime. For any­one who was there, re li ve the days ofTrans-Ams, leathered hair and mirror shades, from the perspec­tive of the band that provided the soundtrack for it a ll . for those who weren' t, a chance to touch the dream.

Randy, your librar ian whi le Beth is on vacation

I

Unfathomable loss consuming evet-y nanosecond oft imc and measurements of relief sad ly outdated this should read grie f; tragedies just don' t sink in fast enough these days one day you' re in Contro l the next you realize there's no one at the controls but completely full of empty souls must 1 go on? like putting on your seatbelt right before the traint racks or putting the shopping cart before the horse can you say crash-drop-roll & burn, looks like you' re the next one to learn so many lives change for the worst, ifyou were from another part of space would you honestly want to visit let alone live on this planet they call Earth? next up even the bees hate it here ( 12 mill ion made a break for it - maybe they' re able to sense fear & loathing); next up will be freedom of speech shoveling all those words back into your mouth as far as an arm can reach .. like dropping an atomic bomb to make things right you 'd need like 600 thousand or so wrongs and that's j ust not right, break ing news and splitting it in halfyou' rc break­ing my heart as we make a brake for the evolutio­nary path - I' m sorry your views may point in dif­ferent directions at times wi ll you join me at Earth 's Emotional Meltdown Observatory? Remember those measurements on the frame of that door?? It was in my family for twenty years or more HOW important a piece of wood can be! Another person growing up from the ground down in this hellish wasteland memories like measure­ments mean very litt le in the big picture & neither one of anything is free you'd think we'd know by now? One fina l thought to end the beginning of the day, not to be outdone by servants & sinners and all those last d inners- granted I've never read Sa int Swanson who lost all his earthly powers trying to provoke Saint Minus - then came his swan song; 1 ' ve heard he now sweeps the streets he thought they were his to keep .. . eterna I I ight for both day ' n night if that in any way helps you drag yourself through another day saying F'aith O n !! You scicntists-scenesters-sweepers & s leepers who s leep the entire day away ... PS: Stop your bawling for just one second and say checz! ;; now you may do what you please NEXT!! !

By Robert Mc<Jillivray

"Joy is the s implest form of gratitude." Karl Barth - Swiss theologian

Page 19: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

- --····--- · ------~~ .. -·· .. . . - _..;. __ .. .. __;_;= Ayisha, Diane and Harley are the hosts

of East Side Story, a weekly radio show of interviews, news updates I

music and poetry from the neighbourhood. We're the voice of the

Carnegie Action Project.

- . .. .. I •• . I I ..

" . '

CAP does research I public education and action to improve the lives of the

low-income residents of the D TES. Eastside Story comes to you live

. every Monday at 2:00,

on Co-Op Radio, CFRO 102.7 fm . Clearly Cryptic Concepts Where I wanna go, where I wanna be, down s~me

" certain yet twisted roads toward mo~ntai~s, sk1cs and seas; 1 have my dreamed upon d1rect1on locked _ 1 know which way to head. You see we've ~II heard stories/tales by hearing others speak or m books flipped through or intently read yet I still al­ways seem to get pulled and yanked by p~ople's ~nd my own bad habits (which way is t~p .. whtch ':ay ts down??) how to avoid the compelhng_rerenmal ru­narounds ... I get kicked about from p1llar to p.ost by others' sage advice, wisecracks, snapshots of mflt.J­ence peddling via what they say and ~hat they thmk they know only to twist my and your JUdgment to & fro and whether right or wrong I know (I better). I don't have time to give time to hollow, shallow plc<1s

The saga continues; it never ever really ends. It's about "What's the deal? and how you really, natu­rally feel; a state of siege is fifty-fifty, always a blast. The Art of War starts small then mid-range then inflatned and finally supercharged to beyond the pale to multi-coloured sections of hidden thoughts - until only I can say "1 won!" Meanwhile all is compartmentally partitioned to sift through, sort and hastily prioritize. Then pull out a card like a wonder from a magic Tarot deck and sink or swim by the luck ofthe draw. Your innards cramp, terri­bly tense with false premonitions!?!? Stay calm, don't panic, be sti ll and chill; that's the damn right correct perfect attitude when fnced with self-deficiencies.

Blow the dust off your lazy underuti!ized soul - the same one that used to rock 'n roll , of course nothin' ventured nothin' gained [it's a lead pipe cinch] I always prefer the truth, even when it's written down Don't believe the shysters, the charlatans; they tell lies, lay traps to hoodwink appointed hurdy-gurdy men with fa lse prophecies, premeditated pathologic punch-drunk piety's; condescending bafnegabbed buffoonery so old it's etched in stone but they shine

· on bellowing "A fresh idea!!" This cannot change as far as I can see- they re convinced that the cards are a ll laid out on the tab le to nirvana and enligh­tenment is pre-determined, a pointless pursuit. Their vision is us on a see-saw of wanton wishes, nightmarish, narcissistic and nurtured with noxious numbness until we're finally defeated. Hah! Our invisibili ties are revealed, under a layer as thin as skin, what was sunk deep in churning oceans has risen. I have conclusive evidence, sat isfactory to conjure a steady, peaceful beat of my once conniv­ing wayward heart and a serene state of mind. These two have res ilient, relentless strength when both are irrevocably and infinitely combined.

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE

I

Page 20: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

ThinKing ...

Mind is the bui lder and mind can be your worst enemy.

I fa ll that's going on is you in your life, what you need, what you look for or seek to acquire, the heights or depths of your personal destiny are at best superficia l. The only way to progress is to be part of something greater than you. Doubt is healthy but is it all just academic, something to provide grist for circular reasoning?

Feeling stuck, static, nothing but the superficiality of our society providing various escapes from the empty reality of qu iet desperation. This is nasal­gazing of the worst sort every avenue, every oppor­tunity provided by the unknown & unknowable is pounded down to fit into the narrow confines of my world view - the unit consciousness that remains the crude cilia despite the lillie wisps of wisdom that wing forth or noat past.

Each morn ing the intcrual argument to refuse to change - and all lillie sayings or noteworthy Gnostic nuances of expression de flated, categorized and

. filed away as the body/mind seems to turn of itself and start over for the nth time. And another day goes by wi th only the barest of interactions with humans - from nearest and dearest to the utter stranger~ the utterly strange is virtually nonexistent. The way the mind can turn under pressure depends

as much 011 how that mind has developed as it does on the nature of the pressure - and perception is a fun ction of development. Expectation of a part icular outcome brings in the spectre of inevitability, dis­carding any possibility of a different or (gasp) no reaction at all . J\nd the feeling of having missed it again again and

no progress or the dreamt of destruction of the de­stroyer of positive microvita ... kill the ki ller to live free of killing.

Internal dialogue with the One has the undeniable dimension of being self·hypnosis, or just self-talk ~

nobility is a veneer of hope that a wall will come down and infin ity be ulimpsed for just one moment.

,, . . ... It IS not seen;

We hear about it yet it is not heard, we talk about it yet it is not ta lked about.

We know it and yel il is not known."

Lao tzu

Poetry Night at the Carnegie

Voices from the Downtown EaStSide Saturday, August 2, 7pm

Carnegie Theatre- Free ad mission & " Coffee

Artful Sundays Crafts, Music, ColleCtions

Comm ercial and Napier, every Sunday, 12 - Spm

North American Indigenous Games in Duncan August 1, 2, 3

Co me ex perience cultural cha llenges and spiritual teachings f.-om one another

May your Spirit live Strong!

PRISON JUSTICE DAY Memorial Rally

Sunday, August 10, llam Trout Lake Park

:M.arftyour cafencfar!

Powell Street Festival

August 2 and 3, 2008 Or pcnhei mer Park

(/)on't miss it!

Page 21: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

••

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE .

YOUTH •

· NEEDLE EXCHANGE VAN·- 3 Routes: •

. " . . . 604-685-6561 rity - S:4~pm - ll :45pm

OverniKht -l2:30am- 8:30am 0 •

ACTIVITIES

SOCIETY 604-251-3310

Downtown Eastside~ 5:30p~- 1 :30a• •

CFRO 102 .·7 FM CO-OP RADIO

-··

NEWSLETTER

• •

Snlludulon deadlll•t fur nezd fss~•~' •

I •

Tuesday,August12

Free Showers for homeless persons at 327 Cnrrall Wed 7·8:30am; Sat 7-10am; Frl WOMEN ONLY 6-BPM

TUJS NEWSL~TTER IS A PUBLICATION OII 'I'IIK · .. . ... .. ........... · . · .. · · · .. . ~ ' .. -------------""':' , CAUNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCI/\ fiON . We:aoknowledge thit:Ca;iiegft"Comm~~~~.'C.nlr~.le~d·thle

Arlldes re••rucnt tile views of lndfyJduAI I Newitetttl"Gre·h•bpenlnalch\;Cfjo.Squaml.h:Natron'e territory. (OIItrlbutors And not of the AssociAtion. • - - · .:,_ - f'- J · _ · ..- i1e 'JL: .._ .- - ~ . ' . . . . . ... . . . .. -· . .. . ~ ' .. . ·- ..

I .

: - 1 Edi tor: PaulR Taylor; layout assistant, Priscillia Tail , -: W 1 A N T E D

1 Cover art by James Dewar. 1 Artwork for the Carnegie Ne1vsleller ·----------------------- . • Small Illustrations to accompany a~ tlcles

TIM STEVENSON j\ ., , . , • and poetry

CITY COUNCILLOR ~!f:~1 :!. . ' • Cover art-Maximum size: 17cm(6·314") ' m·_,5))'~nt ....... ~)·1 1 wide x 15cm(6") high.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY WITH PRIDE

~f:;m~~~~ I • Subject matter relevant to Issues pertaining ''\'tltu:. to the Downtown Eastside fa preferred, but

CITY HALL ~53 wesr 12111 Ave. V5Y 1V4 Phone: 604.873· 7247 Em oil: \lm. stcvenson®vancouver. ca

1 all work will be considered ·

1 f • Black & white prJntlng only I • Sfze restrictions must be considered (I.e., If

your place Is too large, It will be reduced and/or cropped to fit)

Jenny Wai Ching K wan M LA • AU artists will receive credit for their work Working for You • Originals will be returned to the artfst after

1070-1641 Commercial Dr, VSL 3 Y3 being copied for publication Phone: 604-775-0790 • Remuneration: Carnegie volunteer tickets

Many of the drawings of faces used as illustrations in this issue were done by a talented woman calling herself"CJ"

.

- - I

Please make submissions to: · · .. · --···Paul Taylor, Editor~: .. :: ...

2008 DONATIONS: Barry for Dave McC.-$250 Anne P.·$40 Margaret D.-$40 Paddy -$70 Michael C.-$50 Judy E.·$10 Alayne K.-$50 Libby 0.-$70 Callum C.-$100 The Edge ·$200 Jenny K.·$22 Penny G.-$40 Wflhe1mlna M-$30 Jaya B.·$100 Mell.-$50 Pam B-$50 Rolf A.·$50 ?'.~~.!'-~.::~!Q~ .G!ela P J59 Anonymous -$50

Page 22: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

Do you have too much stuff?

Do you collect books, newspapers, flyers and just about any written material you come upon? Do you have massive mounds of clothing piled up on your bed, spilling on to the floor and taking up the whole room? Do you find it impossible to let go of some­thing you found in an alley, because you might use it sometime or you think someone else cou ld use it? Are you simply drowning in your "stufr? You are not alone. Hoarding - and its sidekick, cluttering - are common problems. It's just that most people don't talk about it. It's embarrassing. In many cases, no one else can see the extent of the problem - you never invite any­one over, right? Often it only comes out when your land lord is threatening to evict you. Or worse, you accidentally start a small fire (because of all the oth­er stuff you have stored on top of the stove) and suddenly the fire department and mental health out­reach workers are bearing down on you. lt's unclear where the desire to "collect" stuff comes

from. One theory holds that it's a by-product of our animal heritage; there are, after all, many animals that store massive amounts of stuff. It may be that hoarding is an impulse disorder. Lots of times, people say it's related to obsessive-compulsive dis­order (OCD); however it doesn't respond very well to the medications that are used for OCD. We do know that hoarding can be seen in people with de­pression, schizophrenia and dementia, as well as obsessive- compulsive personality disorder. Some­times, there seems to be no concurrent diagnosis. Although I'm not a hoarder myself, I can under­

stand how a person gets there. (I may be a clutterer.) Hoarders are often intell igent, creative people, who have the ability to see many "opportunities" in an object. Perhaps they could fix the item, or use it in an art project, or save that book to read about that subject they intend to pursue some day. Because they can see so many alternatives, they find it diffi­cult to choose what to do with the object. They cer­tainly don't want to throw it out. Sometimes, as they collect more and more things

they view as useful. they like to keep th ings out in the open where they can see them, so they don't for­get them; hence the piles of stuff every­where.(However, this chaos can also be related to depression.) If they are willing to store items, they can end up paying significant amounts of money in storage fees. Hoarders who are wealthy sometimes have second apartments and homes as storage areas.

-A subset of hoarders not only collects things, but

somehow feel that items they touch become con­nected to them, even part of them This can make it very difficult for them to throw out anything.

Many people who are hoarders are uncomfortable with their behaviour, if only because their housing becomes impossible to live in and their stuff gets in the way of actually living their life. Although the subject was ignored for a long time, psychologists in the U.S. are now doing a lot of work to help people cope with hoarding and its effects. Here at Carnegie Community centre, a small group of hoarders are meeting every second Sunday at 6 p.m., to talk about their hoarding and how to manage it. The group is still in the formation stage, working on how to move ahead, however you are invited to join us. And if you know someone who is a hoarder, please tell them! (Just check the lobby bulletin board for dates.)

Submitted by Susan Henry

Page 23: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

WARNING WOMEN BE AWARE: A number of aboriginal women in the Downtown Eastside have been sexual­ly assaulted by both aboriginal and other men using

·: · Date Ra(!e drugs and horse tranquilizers. Women, please do not leave your drinks unattended

even for a short moment in any bar, even when you are with friends. Please report any incident of rape to the Vancouver

Police immediately. This is the only way these per­ators will be sto

t7>at7>at7>a~

Be Apart of Vancouver's Famous

PRIDE PA DE August 3, 2008

CCAP is looking for volunteers to march or help out at this year's Pride Parade. It's going to be an awesome day full of fun and festivities! You could ....

1) Wear a cardboard box home 2) Wear a Poverty Olympic Costume 3) Hold a banner 4) Help push the Poverty Olympic Torch 5) Assist with selling T -shirts, buttons,

handing out leaflets at the table

To walk in the march - you will need to be available to make costumes and possibly attend a dress rehearsal (dates tba). Your creative ideas are welcome.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Anna at 604-562-9912 or ann com

~~;:::,.~

FREE DENTAL HELP in the DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE The Eastside Walk-In Dental Clinic

455 E. Hastings 604-254-9900 Open Mondays aflli Fridays, 9:30- 12:30 Volunteer dentists will help with fillings, \ crowns, root canals, etc.

The Vancouver Community College 604-443-8499 For cleanings

1 ...

The OTES Community Arts Network Is happy to 3 announce:

The f;econd Annual Fearless FestiVal Sunday, August 24.h2008 from 3 to 9 pm

in and around Pigeon Park.

We want to get as many people who live here or work here or even who just love this •hood to come out and celebrate.

When we first came up with the idea for this fest it was in reaction to the Vancouver Sun article c~lling the DTBS "tltefollr blocks oflletr•. We thought: 14Why cnn't we have a party down here just to show em?., So we did. Those of you came last year had a

great time and our festivol was featured on Shaw Access Fearless TV a few times tool

We ore looking for ortists, performers, volunteers, and most of nil involvement from you. Even If you just show up on that afternoon, wo'll be happy. Our neighbourhood is under real danger from gentrifica­tion and developers: it I~ even more important that those of us we live here get together In solidarity to have some fun. If you wont to help us celebrate the diversity and

beauty of the DTES, either as a performer or avo­lunteer, please contact: Mlchelre at "[email protected]"

I 0 C

or Steve at "~rst,[email protected]" or give him a call at 604-788-8340

.

solder & sons 247 Main Street

Coffee, Books Electronics & More

• •

Reeular and Double-Shot Coffee

AUGUST SPECIAL: Ice.d coffee-· $1.50

'

Page 24: August 1, 2008, carnegie newsletter

~

Y!AJJ. lE.T.S G£\ FEARL€5), ER SoM{ii-UN(r,

Coo Coo/

• I

GET READY FOR THE BIG ONE Almost daily in the news, we see natural disasters

happening around the world . Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, Vancouver is not immune to such things happening, and it is your responsibility to be pre­pared to look after yourself in such a case for at least a week. Are you ready? Are you sure?

A documentary wi II be shown and a presentation made with handouts for all attending. Sign up at the Carnegie 3rd floor administration office to at­tend. Door prizes will be given out at the end of sessions. (Mini emergency Kit). So get ready, get set and go to the Carnegie Eme•·gency Prepared­ness Sessions. - Every Monday in August, 2-4pm ·

Do you Have a Legal Probletn? Are you charged with a critne?

Visit the UBC Law Clinic in the 3rd floor gallery of Carnegie Centre for free advice & representation.

UBC Law Students Legal Aid Program (LSLAP) Tuesdays 2- 8pm; Wed, Thor, Fri. 10 - 4pm

. . . . ' ' ' . "r I

'~ ~ .. ' '

TJ:II .II ' !} :.r.,_ ! ' It:;

0