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THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WOMEN'S MEMORIAL GARDEN PROJECT

needs your help ...

For a number of years now the downtown eastside community has been talking about a "Lasting Memo­rial" dedicated to all the women who have died through violence in the DTES.- a place where they will be honoured and remembered with a living memorial garden. Our dream is becoming reality with your help. · The horrific tragedy of the disappearances and hei­

n9us murders_ of 68 women from this community continues to affect every member of this community and has a wide-reaching impact on our society as a whole. Pickton has been charged with the murder of twenty seven of these women. The Lasting Memo­rial, built by people from the DTES, will offer a place. to remember women who have died, acknowl­edge the impact of these losses to our community, and act as a reminder to all of us that every life is equally important, and of our responsibility to pro­tect and care for one other no matter our status. We envision a Healing Garden to include an artistic,

· permanent monument to honour these women's lives in a real way (a cob building to offering mas­sage therapy, reflexology, shiatsu massage, access to trauma counsellor) surrounded by a living memorial garden filled with native medicinal healing plants, trees and flowers (i.e. Lavender, Mint, Forsythia, Sa~al, Thyme, Oregon grape, Roses, and others),

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The site we have in mind is the vacant lot beside the Radio Station Cafe in the 1 00-Block East Hastings, as many women either lived or were last seen on Ha5tings. We see this it as a sacred space for people to remember and grieve those they lost, where they could leave a candle, a stuffed toy, a rose, or a poem and continue healing from their losses.

For further information, and to get involved please contact either Marlene Trick at Carnegie ( 604) 665-3005 email address marlene.trick@vancouver.ca or Sharon Kravitz at sharon_ dreams@hotmail.com

All donations are welcomed and appreciated.

Please send cheques to: The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre Assn: 302 Columbia Street, Vancouver, BC V6A 411 include "Lasting Memorial" in the memo section. All donations over $10.00 will be acknowledged

with at income tax receipt.

Yours truly, Marlene Trick

.' a visual art exhibition exploring power qf fove an~ <:1evotionRadha

the d1v1ne fem1n1ne force action of compassion and strength

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radha yoga & eatery 728 Main St (604) 60S 0011

lt30 -·-1t rnrl lV\.o·n--Fri thro~:.qh April

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Dear Carnegie Newsletter Thank you to the editors and to Ian McRae for men­tioning WISH and our search for a permanent drop-

l in centre for women working in the sex trade. WISH has consulted several community groups, most of whom see the need for WISH but have not been able

r to support the latest focus of efforts on 418 East I Hastings. While 418 East Hastings has created the

most dialogue, WISH has looked at more that 20 I sites over the last two years, with both positive and

negative responses from interested groups. We have learned lessons from this process and hope that through these consultations we will be able to work

1 in the community to strengthen ties with all groups.

I would also like to correct Mr. McRae's assumption about the role of City Planning in the process of WISH looking for a building. WISH has been helped immeasurably by Nathan Edelson, Senior Planner with the City of Vancouver, as he has worked tirelessly in the community and with his col­leagues at City Hall to assist WISH in every way. The City has been very supportive of our efforts to secure a building and will continue to be our partners in our search for the permanent location. WISH will be successful in opening the WISH W ellness Centre and we continue to work on opportunities to make this happen as soon as possible. ·

Kate Gibson Executive Director WISH Drop-in Centre Society

604 669 WISH (9474) wishdropincentre@telus.net

.FAX: 604 .669 94 79

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P.A. c. E . society Prostitution Alternatives Counseling & Education is pleased to make available

our cookbook: "A Taste of This Life" Recipes and Reflections from People Living with Hepatitis C

and our pamphlet. Hepatitis C Basic Infoz1nation" •

When hearts and minds join, Stories are shared, MYSTICAL things happen and then the MAGIC begins I" We see sex workers as our greatest asset and those living with

Hepatitis C as the experts. We dedicate our project to all those who face similar barriers. Join us and indulge in: "A Taste of This Life "

· - To view, visit our website at. www.pace-societv.ca or contact us at pace-admin@telus.net or at-604-872-7651

Study finds BC's welfare system denying assis­tance to people in need, 'diverting' many to homelessness and hardship

(Vancouver) A major study released today finds that BC's welfare system is systematically discouraging, delaying and denying assistance to many of the peo­ple most in need of help, with harmful consequences for some of the province' s most vulnerable residents. "Denied Assistance: Closing the Front Door on Wel-

fare in BC' examines why the number of people re­ceiving welfare has plummeted in the wake of changes to eligibility rules and the application sys­tem, and looks at what is happening to people who seek and are denied welfare. It is the first in-depth assessment of the new application system, drawing on data obtained through Freedom of Information requests and extensive interviews with people who have applied for welfare, front-line community ad­vocates and Ministry workers. "The provincial government says its policies are a

success. It claims that more people are leaving wel­fare for work, and that the new application system is 'diverting' people to employment," says Bruce Wal­lace, Researcher with the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG), which undertook the study with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alter­natives (CCPA). "This is true for some people. But our research found that many others are being 'di­verted' to homelessness, charities, survival sex and other forms of hardship." . "BC's welf8.[e application system is broken," says Seth Klein, the CCP A's BC Director. "It has become

Jean Swanson spin~ the Wheel of Misfortune Matthew Burrows photo

so restrictive, so complicated to navigate, and so rid­dled with delays and discouragements that people in need are being denied help. Policies like the three­week wait and the arbitrary two-year 'independence' test have been used to meet the government' s case load and budget reduction targets, not to help people get jobs." The study finds that in some cases, delaying and

denying people welfare reduces their ability to be self-sufficient. "Lack of assistance forces people to focus their time and resources on meeting basic shel­ter and food needs, rather than looking for work," says Wallace. ''When people go to welfare, they are usually already in a very difficult situation. The three-week wait' policy - which often ends up being a four- to six-week wait in practice - leads to greater debt and likeliness of eviction."

Debra Critchley of the Vernon Women's Centre is shocked by the situation in her community. "We are seeing a growing number of women who have been denied welfare and are turning to survival sex as a way to make rent or put food on the table for their children."

Susan Henry, with First United Church in Vancou­ver's Downtown Eastside, says the number of people sleeping in the church continues to climb. "Many of the people who come through our doors have a hard time navigatirig the system and advocating for them­selves, so even if they are actually eligible for wel­fare they end up turned away. Without the help of an advocate, they would have little chance of getting welfare. But even with help, the rules and timelines are so tight, sometimes there's nothing I can do, or a file gets closed before I can intervene."

The government claims that the shrinking caseload is due to more people leaving welfare for employ-

; ment. However, the study finds that the decline is · due to fewer people going on welfare - that it's a

front-door story. According to data obtained through Freedom of Information requests:

In the first year after the new welfare rules were introduced, the number of applicants who began to receive benefits dropped by 40% (from 8,234 'en­

, tries' or 'starts' per month to just 4,914 entries); The number of 'exits' also fell, but only slightly \from 8,388 per month to 7,631);

I The acceptance rate for those who apply for welfare has dropped dramatically from 90% in June 2001 to 5) o/o in September 2004. The CCPA and VIPIRG are asking the Auditor General to undertake an in-depth review of the prov­ince's welfare system to detennine if the current sys­tem is meeting the needs of British Columbians. The study calls on the government to end the arbitrary two-year independence test and the three-week wait immediately, and to re-design the welfare application

· system so it helps individuals in need. "Even people who may never need welfare under­

stand that it's important to the wellbeing of our prov­ince and communities," says Klein. The CCPA commissioned a poll with lpsos Reid earlier this month.' It found that 89% of British Columbians agree that access to welfare when in need should be a right for all British Colombians.

The study is available at www.policyaltematives.ca. To arrange an interview, call Shannon Daub (x226) or A vi Goldberg (x229) at 604-801-5121. "Denied Assistance: Closing the Front Door on Welfare in BC' is part of the Economic Security

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"A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS"

When one wishes to consider the economics of the Downtown Eastside all one has to do is quote that legendary scribe wh~ so el~,quently said, "is the q~~­ity of mercy not stramed . . . , well let me tell you tt s pretty damned strained if you're unfortmtate enough to find yourself unemployed or une~pl.oyable and dependent upon the mercy. of tho~e civtl servants who seem only interested m servmg the most advan-·

taged of our citizenry. . As CCAP coordinator Jean Swanson so conctsely

broke down for us in the last issue of the Carnegie Newsletter the disparity between what the current levels of U:come assistance are and the reality of how far that pittance actually goes, as opposed to a quar­ter of a century earlier when the rates w~re ~ctually a few dollars higher, and this is before adjustt~g the amow1ts to current purchasing power due to tnfla­tion. The dollar we have today is worth 28 % less than those very dollars (and those few dollars more) given so many years ago. Darned straight t~ings are getting strained down here, and else where m the

province I imagine. . . . What really stretched this already stramed sttua~on was the blatant disregard, disrespect and ~ow~ nght disenfranchisement of those already margmahzed and disenfranchised citizens of this greatest of prov­inces. Did Carole Taylor get into politics to ~elp the populace or hurt them? Seems to me, ~d qwte a few others I might add, that it is the most d~sa~va~taged who require the most attention when dtstnbutmg the wealth of this province in which we all are suppos.cd to have a stake. Why is it then that all the economtc policies of this current legislative assembly are aimed at either improving the already gross, bloated

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and obscenely huge profit margins of big business (don't forget the Basi scandal: over the one billion dollar sale of a state enterprise, BC Rail) or tossing absurd amounts of capital at Olympic projects with­out using any common sense (the Richmond speed skating oval). This type of blatant disrespect is called a 'dis' on the street and usually gets you a punch in the nose for your trouble. Carole gets a $600 pair of Gucci shoes gaudy enough (and ugly ones at that) to make Imelda Marcos proud,. Strained, that is the hunger of many residents of this

city after two weeks, maximum, and these are the ones who have not turned to hard drugs to forget the hopelessness· of their situations. Strained, that is what the citizenry of Cuba, Russia, Germany, China, Viet­nam, and more recently Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile had and have become over the quality of mercy that their public servants had tried to offer (no that's not the right words, pull one over on) them. Hmmm. Strained, that is what Ben Swankey had become in the 1930's when the same shit was pulled on the citi­zens of Vancouver, when he had had enough and dedicated the rest of his life, and he' s still going strong I might add, to that worthy cause of social justice. Strained, that is the quality of concern (as in strained, watered down soup line broth) currently being tossed to the most marginalized and economically chal-. lenged like one tosses a mad dog a bone to shut it up for another little while. Strained, that is my patience for waiting for this issue to be justly resolved and it would not take too much of a bite out of that huge budget surplus that the Lib­erals are hanging on to, like an old miser hangs on to that stash under the mattress, to right these wrongs. Until he/she croaks and then it goes back to the G anyway. Strained, that just may also be the patience and will­

ingness for larger and larger groups of our marginal­ized citizens to wait idly by while that marrowless bone is thrown. One day the hand that pretends to feed may very well get bitten and bitten hard. After all everyone who is under strain will eventually find their breaking point, even if they do wish for a civi­lized resolution to their dire economic circumstances. Guess that is why there is revolution, an attempt at forcing an evolution of the social dynamics in a new and revolutionary manner. Unless you are satisfied with the status quo as it exists today; but that could

only apply to those cronies of Carole Taylor and Gordian Campbell who happen to already have their sausage fat, bejeweled fingers into that fat budget surplus.

You know what they say about fattening up the goose before the axe falls . . . Well, this current legis­lative assembly is definitely fat enough and we citi­zens are well advised to remember that when next we go to the election polls to choose our public servants. For they do work for us, do they not?

Rabble Rouser

April Fool (This should be read out loud, fast and loud!!)

Mr. Campbell show some pride and step aside; step aside. I'm done with you dumpin' Riverview straight into the down­town Eastside. Pumpin' up the pushers passin' out the pills You fillin' up THEIR purses in place of the doctors and the nurses Dealers passin out the meds- down­ers and the uppers now we're livin' with dual diagnosis; ADDICTION added to mass psychosis. Excuse MY confused neu­roses BUT - where the HELL is the shel­ter? I'm staggerin' round down here; Hel­ter Skelter; Someone call car 61. I'm ready to run. I'm givin' up the ghost but my call for help is futile 'cos the social system is toast. And your vision is brutal. Compas­sion is not to be this Spring's latest fash­ion; You wearin' that three piece board of trade suit to give my brothers and sisters the boot; Kickin' single moms to the curb out on the street.. NOT ENOUGH for her kids to eat You cut her off welfare but there' s no daycare so she can work. It' s ~ catch 22 so what's she to do but talk with her feet and go to the street with the pimps and the pushers serving as Your ushers and YOU the chief Court Jester; your juggling act's gonna make this City fester; 2010 Olympics are anticipated; but to hide the big pile of misery your legacy has created MAN; this City' s gonna need to be gated.

maryd

re ~.

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Reports document welfare problems

At the end of March, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (also known as the CCPA) released a report which confirmed what most people in the Downtown Eastside already know - that lots of peo­ple can' t get on welfare these days. The repor:t, ~nti~ tied "Denied Assistance", used the welfare nurustry s own records to prove that the welfare rolls have not necessarily dropped because so many people got jobs but because so many people could not get on welfare. The CCP A's report states that "the accep­tance rate for those who apply for welfare has dropped dramatically from 90% in June 2001 to 51% in September 2004." The welfare minister Claude Richmond tried to deny

' the study, saying that the CCPA had just used "the same old information they always use" , however Richmond seems to have forgotten that the CCP A had to force the government to come up with the statistics. The government itself did not know how

' many people were being cut off assistance "at the front door". Only a Freedom of Information request by the CCP A produced the information. (You can

· read the full report at www. policyalternatives.ca. )

. 1 The day after the CCP A report came out, the Office

of the Ombudsman produced a report about a com­plaint that had been lodged with their office by the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (also known as BCPIAC). BCPIAC had assisted 15 major advocacy groups across British Columbia to document various types of wtfaimess they saw their clients experienc­ing in welfare offices.

In the end, the Ombudsman investigated five prob­lems areas: (I) home visits (2) appeals and reconsid­erations (3) emergency needs assessments ( 4) denial of the Persons with Persistent Multiple Barriers (PPMB) disability designation and (5) medical docwnentation requests by the Ministry. (The current report only looks at the first three areas; the last two will come in a separate report later.)

At first glance, the report from the Ombudsman doesn:>t seem especially damning. It reads a lot like "the advocacy agencies told us this, the government told us that". But buried in the report is evidence of serious problems within the Ministry of Employment and. Income Assistance. For example, at the begin­ning of the report, the Ombudsman states "we re­ceive more complaints about the Ministry of Em-ployment and Income Assistance than any ot~ter . public agency in the province." (My emphasis, but It proves this Ministry is a problem.)

The report also confirms that the Ministry was ' . . obliged, as a result of the Ombudsman s mvesttga-

tion, to change some of its practices. For example, as of August 2005, "the verification of residency does not permit a Ministry staff to enter a person's home, and a home visit is for the purpose of providing as­sistance to the client". So the Ministry can no longer just show up at your door and muscle their way into your home (although they can show up to see if you live there), nor can they ask your children about your living arrangements, or nose around your closets. (This report is at www.ombudsman.bc.ca/.) . It's frustrating that so much work has to be done, m

order to get the Ministry to change its ways. And, of course so many things continue to be a problem, and · many ~ople continue to suffer. But some things have changed, and more and more of the general public are becoming aware that there is a big prob­lem with the welfare ministry. Let's keep up the pressure.

-Susan Henry, First United Church Mission

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Time to "Open the Door" to our Human Rights Obligations, says BC Association of Social Worlcets

The BC Association of Social Workers supports a call for an in-depth public review of the legislation, policies and practices that have closed the front door to welfare in BC.

This call comes after the release of the report De­nied Assistance: Closing the Front Door on Welfare by the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group (VIPIRG) and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA). BCASW members Bruce W al­lace and Dr. Marge Reitsma-Street co-authored the report with the CCP A's Seth Klein. A BCASW press conference on February 6, 2002

to voice the concerns of social workers about "the tragic social consequences of Black Thursday" and calling for a legal challenge of the welfare reform decisions which undoubtedly violate international law and in certain respects the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. On June 13, 2002 at the BCASW Annual General Meeting, members voted to censure Minister Coell expressing their loss in confidence in the Minister who identifies himself as a social worker but intro­duced legislation violating the principles espoused in the Social Work Code of Ethics and places social workers in BC in the position of being asked to carry out unethical policies. On October 17, 2002 BCASW wrote a letter to Min­ister Coell raising serious concerns about the Minis­try's Person's with Disabilities Client Review Proc­ess, concerns which were subsequently confirmed · ·through the BC Auditor General's report. At the BCASW Fall Conference in November 2003 mem­bers passed a resolution that raised social workers' concerns regarding the 2-year time limit to welfare.

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OMBUDSMAN INVESTIGATES INCOME ASSISTANCE COMPLAINTS

Acting Provincial Ombudsman Howard Kushner has released Special Report No. 28, Ombudsman Investigation of the Public Interest Advocacy Cen­tre's Complaints about the Millis try of Employment and Income Assistance. The report details the out­come of three investigations initiated in response to complaints from the BC Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Kushner stated that concerns had been raised about: 1. the ministry's response to individuals with emer­

gency needs; 2. the use of home visits to verify information; and 3. how the ministry communicated and reviewed decisions involving the exercise of discretion. Kushner said that in most cases, the ministry's stated

policies were clear and reasonable. However, PIAC provided numero~ examples of situations where policy was not complied with. The ministry con­curred that there were some gaps in adherence to policy and has taken measures to address this. The ministry also acknowledged that in some cases changes to regulations was required to bring more fairness to people applying for income assistance; for example, to exempt more individuals from the initial three-week job search. Kushner reported that in response to these investiga­tions, the ministry has made changes to staff training and orientation, and has amended or modified exist­ing legislation, policies and practices, and informa­tion provided to the public. The ministry has also committed to conducting audits to ensure compliance with policies. The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent

office reporting to the Legislative Assembly. The office has authority to investigate complaints about provincial and civic public services.

Special Report No. 28 can be viewed at http://ww'W.ombudsman.bc.ca/ online.

Writing starts with one word after another

I recently enjoyed my frrst Friday Night Dance with Cody's DJ Mix. What an eye opener! It was one of the few times that I've seen children at the Centre. A young mom with four kids danced up a storm with each one of them. So tender she was. A beautiful sight! The floor was packed but everyone made room for

an incredible 6 year-old break dancing and perform­ing. A future star indeed! ! Another child was totally mesmerized by the lights

and touched each flashing colour with a look of awe on his little face. It reminded me of long ago 'hippie dances' on

. Saltspring Island and I chairdanced in my walker with a smile on my face. 'The DE is just a bunch of druggies,' they say. I

don't think so.

The rower of r ra9er I kissed a frog into a prince But he turned back To his natural amphibian state After some years

Kelly

My kisses having lost their original magic.

Being pig-headed - and maybe pig-ignorant too, I prayed to St. Jude To help me with this lost cause IT being his area of influence.

Now froggie appears a prince once more Tenuously held up by prayer and pig-headedness To be kind, generous, and handsome Qualities unnatural to my dear frog, In hard times; and these were hard times.

I have never learned from the past, I guess I think change happens And then remains fixed in place. Some say the most beautiful thing is what you love best

Wilhelmina

Evergreen's Annual Earth Day Celebration(\ .. Everett Crowley Park, Vancouver BC

Sunday, April22, llam - 3pm

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Evergreen, in partnership with the Everett Crowley Park Committee (ECPC) and the Vancouver Park Board, invites you to this year's Earth Day Vancouver Celebration, presented by Starbucks Coffee Company. The Earth Day Vancouver Celebration is a free

' family-oriented public event. Throughout the day, you will be able to take part in various activities:

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• Tree Planting & Invasive Species Removal

• Mandalas • Children's Activities • Musical Performances • Guided Nature Tours • Native Plant Sales • ... and More.

Evergreen has held Earth Day celebrations at Everett Crowley Park since 2001, to celebrate national Earth Day and provide environmental education. Over the years, the event has grown into a continual restoration of a nature park that was once Vancouver's central landfill.

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GET DOWN AND DIRTY

The original Earth Day was on the March equinox, when night and day are equal in both Northern and Southern hemispheres. Now we celebrate it on April 22. At the first earth day in San Francisco in 1970, Golden Gate Park provided schools with shrubs and tree saplings for children to plant, which the Red Cross delivered.

This day is devoted to Peace, Justice, and the care of Mother Earth. How can we do that? Celebrate with people of different creeds, races, or cultures. Spring clean your block, the streets, empty lots, play areas and coastal shorelines. Plant trees, shrubs, and gardens. Congratulate, with words or possible awards, examples of peaceful resolution of conflict, or pioneers of a sustainable economy. I can think of two, right off the top of my head, Muggs Sigurgeirson of the Strathcona Community Garden, and Ken Lyotier of the Bottle Depot. We need to remind each other that what we do is important, and to re-kindle hope in place of a burnt-out, cynical numbness. Make yourself and people around you aware of current policies and plans for environmental preservation and care: composting, clean energy, health alternatives, preservation of wildlife and green spaces, and reduction of pesticide use.

On April 21, the ancient Romans celebrated the festival of "Parilia" to honour Pales, the Goddess of shepherds, sheep, cattle and dom­esticated animals. She was prayed to for the health and safety of animals, and to avert drought, disease and famine. Sheepfolds were decorated with green branches and animals were driven through the smoke of fires of fragrant wood. This was the day to beg Her forgiveness for any unintentional wrong to nature in the previous year. Interestingly, this Goddess was sometimes considered androgynous or male, a force of nature, like Pan. Pan was half god half goat; he lived in the wild, played a shepherd's flute, and was believed by the Greeks to be the personific­ation of nature.

In recent times, Parilia has become Earth Day, when we remember our responsibility to the environment. We need to proclaim a world view called Gaia Consciousness that challenges the irresponsible materialism, which many have termed "the rape of our planet". This growing movement, that bears the ancient Greek name for Mother Earth

' holds the promise of healing our planet. Scientist James Lovelock coined the term to explain the earth as a single living organism in the 70's. This was a radical shift from the commonly held belief that the earth was dead matter with bits of life clinging to it. The moral implications that our planet is alive are enormous. First Nations peoples around the world have never lost their vision of the earth as the body of the Great Mother, and continue to tell Her story in their creation myths. The exploitive rule of humans over nature, justified by science and Judeo-Christian religion, has brought us almost to the point of no return. We need to say "no" to the dominant world order. The emergence of the Goddess in Western consciousness has led to a renaissance in earth-based spirituality, that sees huma~ity as part of the whole, part ofthe cosmos, and part of nature. The divine is within. Environmentalists have been

concerned with the impact of humans on the delicate ecosystem of our wilderness, since the 191

h Century, seeking to preserve our natural heritage for future generations. Earth Day in 1970 galvanized a generation of activists and forced politicians to. wake up to the world's environmental concerns. Are you aware that the BC Government

expanded salmon farming in February 2002, . remov.ing the moratorium on new open

netcage salmon farming licences? Salmon farming continues to pose risks to BC's wild stocks, in particular by incubating sea lice that appear to spread to wild stocks, as has been seen in the Broughton Archipelago. Sea lice have been a major problem in other salmon farming jurisdictions like Norway and Scotland. The BC government has taken several more steps to encourage salmon farming, including the forgiving of up to $2.3

; million in fines and rent for the aquaculture industry, and limiting the ability of local government to pass bylaws relating to salmon

'"' farming. The BC Government weakened pulp mill

pollution standards by rescinding legislation that required BC's pulp mills to stop dumping organochlorines into BC's waters, in July 2002. Organochlorines are mutagens, carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. The BC organochlorine standards are now weaker than those in Sweden, Finland, and much of

Europe. Regulations for other dangerous air and water emissions are weaker than those in the U.S. Canadian government data show BC leading Canada in the dumping of dioxins and furans into the environment, mainly from its pulp and paper operations.

In November 20Q2, the BC government urged the federal government not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the international treaty that takes the first step towards reducing global warming and emissions of greenhouse gasses. In October 2002, the BC government passed an Energy Policy that aggressively promoted the production and consumption of fossil fuels, and in January 2003 it passed a framework for what would be BC's first coal­fired power plants. The government has also given a range of subsidies to the highly profitable oil and gas industry and lobbied to remove the federal moratorium on oil drilling in BC's sensitive marine ecosystems.

"Most of the government's decisions on the environment continue to take us in the wrong direction," said Kathryn Molloy, Executive Director of Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, "for every one good thing the BC government has done like helping protect Bums Bog, they've done three things to roll back environmental protection in BC." .

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"The government's reckless record on spotted owls says it all," said Joe Foy, Campaign Director with the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. "They've silenced scientists and approved the logging of habitat of one of Canada's most endangered species. So much for the sustainable practices based on sound science that we were promised." Tim Howard, a staff lawyer with Sierra Legal

Defence Fund noted, "The government has not only continued to roll back important · environmental protection, they've also failed to deliver on their promise to protect BC's drinking water. BC has some of the lowest drinking water standards in Canada."

The website of the Sierra Club Defence Fund can give you more information. www.sierralegal.org

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A Mystery At Beaver Lake

Jean and I often go to Beaver Lake in Stanley Park. We go in the morning to feel the quietness of the lake, and to avoid the crowds that come to the park in the afternoon.

One morning we were standing on the wooden plat~ form at the north end of Beaver Lake, watching the water lilies and the ducks moving among them. A faint mist covered the south end of the lake, and the trees appeared and disappeared in the mist. Jean, whose eyes are better than mine, said, "There's something at the south end of the lake that looks strange." "I can't see anything, especially with this mist," I

replied. ·"Where should I look?" "Look in the direction of the place where we picked a ripe blueberry on May 25th last year," Jean said. " I remember. You gave me the blueberry as a birth­day present. I see only mist there now.'' " Be patient," Jean said. "The mist will move away,

and then you have to watch for something different." The mist curled gracefully among the trees, revealing the place where we had found the ripe blueberry. I saw a gray shape about six feet tall. It was absolutely still. "Am I looking at an abominable snowman?" I asked. "Let's move closer," Jean said, and we walked south on the path on the west side of Beaver Lake. "It seems to have feathers," Jean whispered as we

got closer to t~s strange apparition. "It's not mov­ing, so it looks like it' s been painted on a piece of wood." "It doesn't seem to have a head, and it's not six feet tall. The mist made it look bigger," I whispered back to Jean. From this point on, we would move as qui­etly as the mist that was disappearing as the sun rose higher in the sky.

We walked slowly, stealthily, and deliberately to­ward the mystery. We could see that it was about five feet tall, blue-gray in colour, and it had magnifi­cent feathers on its back and neck. "I see its head,'' Jean said. "It's tucked between its shoulders, and its bill is pointing away from us." "A heron," I said, "a Great Blue Heron! The biggest one I've ever seen." "It' s probably a male. The males are generally bigger than the females," Jean said .

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"He's standing on his own land as if he has stood there forever," I said. " Herons have lived on this earth a lot longer than

humans," Jean said. " They've been part of the earth' s family for at least 14 million years. Modem humans only appeared on earth about 200,000 years ago." " The oldest known heron colony in British Columbia is right here in Stanley Park," I said. "And now the herons are considered a species at risk because of the growing human population." " They are under siege like the low income residents

of the Downtown Eastside," Jean said. "Where are they to live?"

Just then the heron moved his head, and we could see his long, dagger bill. He spread hls enormous wings, and with a harsh, croaking cry, he lifted him­self into the air and circled the lake. With his long neck folded back, his legs trailing behind him, and his powerful wings flapping slowly, he looked like an ancient messenger from long ago when the earth was young. " Your destiny is connected to mine," he seemed to be telling us. "If you destroy my living space, you will destroy your own." We watched the heron disappear above the trees, and we were left with is message and the memory of what we had seen. "He is our older brother," I said. "We have to change the way we live," Jean said.

Sandy Cameron

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Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

.. : ' April 1 7, 2006 I

Stadium fans poor-bash on radio and Internet

By Jean Swanson One of the big reasons many

Downtown Eastside residents don't want a new soccer stadium built next to our neighbourhood is respect. Will people who use the stadium respect local low­income residents who are homeless, panhandling, or simply on the streets of their own neighbourhood, maybe with a shopping cart? This is an important question, especially when thousands of pub seats surround the site of the proposed stadium and have the potential to create lots of drunk people who aren't from the community.

As some of us have been interviewed by the media about the stadium, and checked out some blogs on the internet, it has become too apparent that many people don't respect Downtown Eastsiders or our community. In fact, the poor bashing has been rampant and disgusting. Here are some examples:

On March 7th Stephanie Smith of DERA was interviewed by Mojo Sports Radio (AM 730) at about 5:20pm. Stephanie did a good job of explaining our concerns about traffic, noise, views, and she asked what the Whitecaps are

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going to do with the land they own over the tracks that goes all the way to Main St. Then the poor bashing started and it wasn't limited to callers. When Stephanie noted that 95 % of the station' s listeners would have issues with a stadium if it were proposed for their neighbourhood, the host, Bob Marjanovich, said about the Downtown Eastside, "Neighbourhood, what neighbourhood?"

(Continued on next page)

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Poor bashers attack Downtown Eastside residents ... (Continued from previous page)

One caller said, "Half those people that will lose their views are so high they won't know it." Another said, "It's whatever they can get for free. It's full of rubbies and drunks. Then the host said, "I'm for social housing, ... but if you're in social housing I doubt if you're working."

When I was interviewed on the same station that morning, callers were equally abusive to Downtown Eastside residents. One said we were "losers" with our hands out.

Then we discovered the Southsiders blog on the Internet, complete with a Whitecaps logo. The Southsidel . ,tppear to be a group of Whitecaps fans who hang out on the Southside of Swangard Stadium where the Whitecaps play now. This is where the beer is sold.

On March gth "Bill" observed that we were having a meeting at Carnegie about the stadium at 2 pm. Then "Johnny Monster" replied, "Sneaky F ..... s, See how they plan these things so that people with JOBS can't go? Wish I could suckle at the gov't teat my whole life." Johnny suggested that people attend the Carnegie meeting disguised as "vegan anarchist squeegee kids."

Piltdownman responded, "I'm going. I might dress down a bit though. It's at

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Main and Hastings for those who are going."

Then "Johnny" replied, "Main and Hastings? Leave your soccer ball at home, bring your crack pipe!"

"Piltdownman" followed with, "Eeek, what a location. If I went ... I would be scared to voice my opinon in case a urine smelling individual decided to poke his syringe in my bum."

After we had our meeting about the stadium at Carnegie, the bloggers started inventing chants for a possible counter demonstration to a rally they thought we might organize. One of the chants was "In your Eastside slums, you look in the dumpster for something to eat, you find a crack rock and it is a treat, in your Eastside slums."

Of course, not all soccer fans will be such disgusting poor bashers. But when you have 15,000 to 30,000 people attend a game where they can buy beer, and then leave a stadium surrounded by thousands of pub seats, there is a potential for mayhem in the neighbourhood if the stadium goes ahead.

The city should be doing a report on the stadium in May. The Carnegie Community Action Project will be calling on you to come to city hall to express your opinion at that time. ·

What could you buy with $802 a month? q,~ ~ $802per

month in $2006 The decline of BC welfare

purchasing power, 1980 to 2006

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Ever wonder why it feels like you' re starving at the end of the month? Here' s a possible reason: if single employable people on welfare today had as much purchasing power as they did in 1980, they would be getting $802 a month. Instead, the welfare rate today for this group of people is $510.

How did I come up with this figure? Here's how: The welfare rate for a single person in 1980 was $3768 a year if you were over 31 years old.

If you go on the Internet and google "Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator" you come up with a handy little inflation calculator. It says: "A basket of goods and services that cost (amount) in __ (year) . . . would cost (amount) in __ (year)." All you have to do is

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$510 per month

fill in the blanks and click. Voila, $9633 appears in the last blank. Divide that by 12 months and you get $802 per month.

If most people who aren' t poor knew that welfare is so low, would they approve? Hopefully, no. That's why the Carnegie Community Action Project is working with a group of people on a public education campaign to Raise the Rates and end the barriers to getting on welfare. The BC Nurses Union has offered some financial help. We're hoping to make a poster and leaflet or postcard to spread the word about how appallingly low welfare rates are. We' ll have more infonnation in the next newsletter.

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What CCAP wants city council to do to save housing in the Downtown Eastside

The Carnegie Community Action Project is meeting with City Councillors to urge them to work to preserve and upgrade single rooms in the Downtown Eastside and to build new housing. By the time this newsletter comes out, we will have met with Councillors Kim Capri and David Cadman. This is what we are urging them to do: 1. Lobby strongly to increase welfare rates, end the barriers that are keeping people in need from getting on welfare and restore the earnings exemption. Make a motion at council to urge the province to increase welfare rates by at least 50%.

2. Lobby strongly for provincial and federal money to build new social housing units in the Downtown Eastside.

3. Work hard to get as much as possible of the $1 .6 billion in federal housing money that came from the NDP-Liberal budget deal. It may not be necessary to have provincial participation to get some of this money.

4. Buy at least 2 Downtown Eastside hotels, one for last year and one for this year. Think of it as buying an asset for the city.

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5. Beef up enforcement of the Standards of Maintenance bylaw by doing more inspections, using section 23 .8 to have the city go in buildings and do work the owners refuse to do and letting it be known that the city will get serious about requiring landlords who are reaping millions in property appreciation to maintain their buildings in a safe and healthy condition.

6. Implement a rate of change bylaw in the entire Downtown Eastside to prevent displacement of local low-income residents.

7. Use the $12.4 million in last year's capital plan for housing to build a new building for low income Downtown Eastside residents.

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Happiness and Justice Happiness is the goal of life, what all human beings strive to attain. The sumum bonum is to finally real­ize this sublime state of being. Happiness is the ex­perience of the Infinite, of limitlessness. ergo "There is in the living being a thirst for limitlessness."(l) Falling short of this desideratum leaves one in a

state of perpetual unhappiness, 'Hell' if you wilL In Socrates' finding justice to be an inalienable con­comitance to the soul (like a piece of paper having two sides), that is wisdom. Thrasymachos is greeted by Socrates and called

"clever" - he has drawn conclusions on what ap­pears real but defines reality in terms of what serves him best. He equates himself with the strong, be his twin a despot, head of a democratic state, or mon­arch. Power (and wealth) are the 'just' deserts for those, like Thrasymachos, who have risen to or in­herited or just taken such- and any methods, includ­ing aggression, subterfuge or outright thievery are 'just' in the minds of those who have tried to qualify and/or quantify the Infinite according to their limited intellect. Thrasymachos, in his arguments to justify such elite vs. non-elite actions and ensuing societal arrange­ments, refutes the irrefutable: power, no matter how much is accumulated or hoped for, is always limited; wealth, no matter the height or breadth of one's holdings, is always limited. For both of these desired things, there is always more that can be attained. Expanding this truth brings the limited quantities of 'name, fame, charisma and attractiveness' under the same rubric - accumulations of any or all will al­ways fall short, since the soul knows itself to be a spark of Cosmic Consciousness, of the Infinite, and to fulfill the soul's desideratum only limitlessness will suffice. Socrates' wisdom touches this when ascribing jus­

tice to the soul as its chief virtue and the experience of same only growing as its application leads one closer and closer to the divine state of being called Nirvana, Moksa', Rapture et al.

All spiritual practice is "the effort of completion". The intellectual's nomenclature is "psycho-spiritual paralleJism", the quieting of the mind to let realiza­tion of one' s essence be complete. This is happiness;

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. . . . . . . •, . . : . :. ' . . ' . .

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this is bliss. Anything less, any limited thing substi­tuted for this true sublimity, is unfulfilling and leaves one in a state of unhappiness. It is an axiom of this universal philosophy that perpetrating injus­tice, committing unjust acts based on a unjust out­look, whether the perpetrator is conscious of her. or his underlying reasoning or not, will leave a feeltng of 'not enough', no matter what is being pursued or accumulated. Just actions, based on a code of cardinal human. val­ues enable the perpetrator to ideate on the Infimte. Th~ soul allows its effulgence to be realized, in ever­increasing proportions, by one whose actions ~d ideation are conjunctive with the highest intangibles. There can really be no conclusion in such a discus­sion, but for the sake of this piece I hold with Socra­tes' statement that happiness and justice are a corol­lary of being a good person. The simplest ideation: "Love is all there is."(2)

ByPAULR TAYLOR

1 & 2: Shrii. Shrii Anandamurti (aka Prabhat Rainjain Sarkar)

CHAIALENGE An open letter to the Vancouver Police Department:

We, the residents of the Downtown Eastside in general and clients of the Carnegie Centre in particular, wish to cordially extend an invitation to frontline officers to join us in a couple of friendly matches of basketball and volleyball. The modus operandi behind this challenge is not some convoluted attempt at latent revenge, nor is it some

"Longest Yard" Hollywood fantasy. In actuality it is inspired by a program initiated at a progressive correctional facility in Alberta in the mid 1980's. The activities coordinator at Belmont C. C. in Edmonton had noticed a modicum of hard court talent amongst the inmate population and approached a half dozen of the most talented (and more importantly, more mature) men and women and asked if they would be interested in playing pick-up games against staff members who also had a love for the game. A mutual respect and rapport developed over time and both parties realized that there had been some positive .

benefits to what was traditionally an "us against them" attitude and atmosphere to corrections. Eventually a "big gam~" was organized with the idea that the positive benefits realized by accident might be promoted on a larger scale. It became an unqualified success to the point that a "house line" was established and good natured banter about shaving points and throwing the game were bandied about and enjoyed on both sides.

So come on men and women of the Vancouver Police Department front lines. We need at least eight of you (four men, four women or five and three) to step up and meet the residents of the area that takes up so many resources, effort and time in your noble attempt to make this great city that much more livable. We would sincerely like to get to know you beyond your important duties, and you just might find you'd like to get to know some of us.

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Call Sandy at 604-830-2544 to respond to the G.Ym Rats of Carnegie

IO We offer:

Supervisory and non-supervisory jobs in your area

. meaningful employment

. a variety of temporary positions

. flexible hours

. work from home

Ideal for: . those too young to retire . stay-at-home parents . students . those seeking job experience

Are you: . 18 years of age or older? . detail-oriented . organized and reliable? . knowledgeable about your community?

Can you: . pass a written test? . travel locally? . walk extensively? . use good judgement?

-----------------------~-Bow to apply ·- Online at www.census2006.ca I

For more information calll-800-862-6381 ·----------------- I --------

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A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH TO SERVING YOUTH AND FAMILIES

IN THE COMMUNITY

Saturday May 6, 2006, II am - 2 pm Strathcona Community Centre

60 I Keefer Street

Join us for food & food for thought Childminding available

If you have any questions you can call Karen @ 604-254-6995

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GOTrn Don't question.

Repeat after me. Do not think for yourself.

Sit down and do as you're told. We will tell you what is best for you.

I was schooled, but I did not learn.

To choose when you want to attend. How can that be?

To question a teacher. How can that be?

To enjoy learning. How can that be?

To receive only encouragement. How can that be?

To feel my participation is important? How can that be?

What's that I hear? Not knowing is not ignorance? I can think on my own? There could be more than one answer? I could feel excited about schooling? I can firtd education within me?

I don't have to look to experts for knowledge? I can decide?

Unstifled at last! Spirit-killed no morel Got education!

Miriam

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News from the Library

New Books:

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Gardening When it Counts: Growing Food in Hard limes by Steve Solomon (635) shows us how to grow food with little environmental impact - with hand tools, using just household waste water, and without chemicals. We've also got a series of Art Classics books, in­cluding Monet, BotticeUi, Vermeer, Mtehelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci (all759). In 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD (616.85),

Stephanie Moulton Sarkis takes a str&ightforward approach to common issues faced by adults with ADD, including "My mind wanders."

Take a look at the display case on the third floor for a whole range of First Nations books.

Y en espaiiol, tenemos Nuestra Anna es Nuestra Palabra : Escritos Selectos, par Subcomandante lnsurgente Marcos.

Beth, your librarian

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Liquor manufacturers have accepted the Government's suggestion that the following warning labels be placed immediately on all alcohol containers:

. WARNING: The consumption of alcohol .may leave you wondering what the hell happened to your bra and panties.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a retard.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and over

. again that you love them .

WARN lNG: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can sing.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe that ex-lovers are really dying for you to telephone them at four in the

• mom mg.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think yo·u can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are tougher, smarter, faster and better looking than most people.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH you.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may lead you to believe you are invisible.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause a disturbance in the time-space continuum, leaving you unable to account for large chunks of time.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may make you think you have mystical Kung Fu powers, resuJtjng in you getting your ass kicked.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause you to roll over in the morning and see something really scary.

WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is the leading cause of inexplicable rug bums on the forehead, knees and lower back.

WARNING: the crumsumpten of alcohol may Mack you tink you kan tpye reel gode .

Happy Birthday -Sheri and Roland Baptiste -Jordan Alexander -Ronny Rizetto

Happy Easter -Jeff at Harbour Light -my family -coffee sellers -Lane level & 2nd floor reception -everyone who works and plays here -Colleen miss & love you -Doug Riebling & Linda - miss you -those at the Aboriginal Front Door

Love and Kisses

Norma-Jean B

l'm responding to your request for me to send you a copy of my poem (which I read at the Downtown Eastside Poetry Night during the Anar­chist Surrealist Jamboree in March)

NORTHERN EXPOSURE

(!he Call) Ladies and Gentlemen Thank you for inviting me. .

As many of you know from Whistler to Vancouver from Quadra to Victoria from Union Bay to the inland highway interchange in Cumberland Throughout the entire gulf islands We are following in our forefathers' tradition of European discovery and colonization Yes, We are the Land Developers Supported by your local realtors Together we devise convincing schemes to inculcate you with Our dreams for redesigning your communities into Prosper-Us commodities We're here on a mission to establish this whole region as a world class tourist destination. In so doing we inflate Millions

· into Billions of Dollars for our shareholders' gratification Now that's a respectable ambition within this system called capitalism

And I'm sure you couldn't help but notice the BC government is working for us Just look at how so many state officials scramble to gain our attention Grovel at our feet for some redeeming benefaction Solicit a claim for monetary contributions Bow down on their knees and cater to our every need It seems there's nothing we lack so our proposals are fast-tracked Why . some elected officials are so orgasnuc at the fmancial prospects They're ready to approve our projects even before we provide studies of the environmental impacts! Yes, there is no doubt We are the true authorities But hey, don't blame us We're simply answering the call after aU The neoliberal government advertises British Columbia is open for bizness Try looking at it this way We

• are your saVIours One regional mayor even proclaims we're a lifeline to your future Though I suppose sometimes we con~con-confound you with our expertise on investment properties Yet it's so ee~ee-eazy to hypnotize some of you with our offers to boostyourlocaleconorny Expand your market capabilities while providing a

multitude-of job opportunities and increase access for out-rage-ous shopping sprees! Oh, I know each development package is So complicated but

• nowornes We have our corporate lawyers to regulate it And those of you rabble rousers who criticize our assumptions with notions of what you call ah. ah. self-detennination We

• • are 1mpenous to your mediocre and delirious proclamations of liberty So get with the program because you can't stop progress with your sentimentality I just don't understand why you're so hard to please C'mon now, open your hearts and minds Perhaps we can entice you with our elaborate amenitee-ee-ease.

(Fhe Response) Tee-ee-ease me all you want I'll never do what you please I'll never succumb to your feudal mentality And furthermore We don't need no more missionairies to save we Cause unlike you we have the ability

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We don't want your prefabricated village We've had enough of your plunder and pillage Your fake lakes and condo estates I steadfastly refuse to coll-ab-or-ate In fact I'm gonna liquidate your ., Ass-ass-assss-Set the record straight Cause it's time to dis-low-cate YOU! I can see through your transparent manipulation Your insatiable greed spawning gentrification So with the fibrous sinew connecting my muscles and bones I'm gonna lassoo and entangle you til people recognize the tone of your deception I'll peel away the veneer to reveal your exploitation and transform your golf courses into community gardens So Listen up all developers cause this is for you I'm gonna summon the Orishas and the Preistesses of Voodoo the Sagalee Tyee and all radical ancestors too Together we'll conjure up a witches brew that will cast a spell to E RAD I CArE­YOU!

to imagine a poetic sur-reality

In the spirit of mad love and anarchy, Sheila

THE ART STUDIO'S Annual Spring Sale

Ma~ 12•\ 2 - 7pm 2005 E 44t Ave at Victoria

604-871-9788

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Education in School at TomTouh Religious Indoctrination on a par with Communism, but only from 9am-3pm

I've tried to keep the Ten Commandments but was both doubtful and cynical when they'd sprinkle the Holy Water and say "God Bless General Franco." He was an inspiration to Pinochet and that kind of riff­raff- Marcos, Bautista, Thatcher, Reagan, Bush:

The religious tenants in that place declared "No Servile Work on Sunday." My brother and I were fostered out to a farm where my brother got knocked down and kicked in the ribs for trying to be a 'good Christian'- I didn't and my chores before dawn in­cluded milking 2 cows and cleaning the lyre (cow shed). Later in the summer we had to go grouse diving and

wear pariah clothes just for being in Elgin - we weren't there to see the Marbles! At that point my brother decided to run away to Aberdeen; I refrained to go along because of the most recent Big Black Eye he'd given me. He wound up in Australia and served in the Royal Navy in the war. Alone on the farm, a replacement for my brother

was found. He took my work further to deli very to those who could pay. My job description changed to polishing the floors of the farmhouse without pay. Shop Stewards were invented about this time. I decided to make my brother's replacement be

mine too, and I left. The farmer's wife cried. She wanted me to drop in so I did, but she offered a bed and a cup of tea - the Biggest Insult in Scotland. I met the farmer on a bus shortly after and thought

•

how he'd like getting kicked in the ribs. We were only 2 roads out of the village so I put it off to a fu­ture time. Things were not bad at school. The nun wanted me

to read poetry by R-somebody and Shakespeare ­one of my life-long regrets is making a lady-teacher cry.

I ran away from 2 more homes and eventually reached Pop, but by that time the Red Wine had him . I wonder if Vintners get half the worth of their pre­cious product - my observations had it provoking insults leading to fights then making its bottles serve as something to throw on fires, producing delightful explosions- and never a cop in sight. ...

I got on board a pilgrim steam ship but while cross­ing to America, Jim, the 1st officer, found that it was leaking. The scalawag crew, engineers and skipper aboard this S.S.PATNA decided to abandon ship, leaving the 800 pilgrims on the road to Mecca. The vessel, however, didn't founder and was towed to port where the Captain (after trying to befriend Jim (dump responsibility on him)) was last seen trying a table full of lawyers -Getting near the end of the Story. . . thinking of my Alcohol problem, never realising there was a prob­lem, even after many incarcerations world-wide: Australia, in Canada from coast to coast, and, after a 3-year hiatus, in a small town in England where the comment of the local constable was "Back again Jack!" Now, with 25 years of sobriety & years of Arctic

employment, an understanding judge helped me and my wife raise.four children and almost always 2 cats - not forgetting the social, helpful structure of Can­ada in cases like mine.

In closing: One day, to get out of the rain, I entered the Carnegie Centre and saw the interesting pro­grams available, including Creative Writing, Drama, Economics, etc. So I won't take credit for how this story reads - I blame Carnegie! One of my wishes would be for a helpful presenta­

tion, by the media, on the benefits at large of the Carnegie. Concerning the staff, volunteers, librarians and security personnel, never have I heard an unkind remark and have been treated with grateful gracious­ness. If I had companies, you'd all be CEOs! Thank you alL

James McLean

God /s /n The /5/ank Spaces For Bruce Alexander

There is no such thing as nothing the void is populated with echoes and everything that ever happened exists inside the void.

Life has a forward motion nourished in stillness at night we slip easily into the void mingling there with no restrictions.

Having no specific form or content the void is always accessible a place of possibilities that exist as available archetypes for our infinite transformation.

In this world invisible influences can act as barriers that can keep us apart.

;,

In the void we are broken into elemental components reduced to essence we are equal.

So it is that the void the break the discontinuity the gap that we must leap or fall into will swallow us as we resist it will embrace us

as we leap in

Delanye

cobbled Reality: A stone prison cell - awful looking A bearded middle-aged man, in chains, . . smgmg Peace, Privacy. acoustics .. coolness .. freedom

Jude

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Khalil Jovan Williams at home now with parents Tre and Donna

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THE HOMELESS NATION PROJECT

Homeless Canadians have no voice in our media. This lack of representation is unjust and oppressive, and we at Homeless Nation want to assist the street community in creating their own media, to break down stereotypes, empower their unique voices and fight for social justice. Homeless Nation, at www.homelessnation.org. is a website that provides a forum where you can repre­sent yourself, tell your story, or express any of your thoughts or point of view to the rest of the world.

We currently have hundreds of members signed up on www.homelessnation.org across Canada.

We travel the streets of Canada, communicating with homeless people and street level social workers to collect as many first person homeless testimonials (video, audio or written) as possible and post them on our website. The Homeless Nation team records your "story" in 3 simple steps: . we video record your testimonial - if you want it . your testimonial is uploaded onto the internet . we create your web page on site and train you how to use it so you can get started right away These steps are done live, on location. We make

sure you can express yourself, how YOU want to.

OUR MISSION: . empower the street community . build a community both virtual and actual . provide a place for homeless Canadians to present themselves in an unadulterated fashion . build an online national lobby group to impact on public opinion and legislation assist the street community in telling their own stories and claiming the right to self-representation

WHAT CAN YOU DO ON OUR SITE . View testimonials from people living on the street and advocates for the cause; Search and communi­cate with members on the site;. Write your own blog, record your own videos, your own music, put up your own photos - we'll help provide the tools! Find local help (food, shelter, legal aid, drug and alchohol counselling) in cities across Canada

. Get the latest street news; Chat live with other members;. Keep track of your friends . GET A FREE EMAIL ADDRESS

CARDBOARD BUTTERFLY l was advertising a sale.

A trash & treasures, White elephant,

Bake table Rooftop sale, With coffee for $ J, goodies extra

An all in one rooftop sale.

Wanting to make our signs noticeable, To attract as many as I was able

I put out an A shaped signboard with the label, "All welcome at our trash & treasures table. "

The two large sheets of paper were A shiny orange with black writing that would

Catch the eyes of every John and Mable .

But to be sure to attract attention . I used 2 large cardboard butterflys

You know they were originally called Flutterbys? I was sure the two foot long, foot high butterflys.

Would attract more attention to the signs So I tacked the two to the top of the signs,

By the bottom of each bendable wing . My lovely buttertlys .

When a wind came up each cardboard butterfly's Cardboard wings moved as if they were trying to fly They looked like large birds trying to lift the sign .

The wind tore one butterfly away from the sign, It's cardboard wings carried it up and over the street.

lt looked like some strange creature flying And attracted the attention of passerby as it moved

quickly over traffic, disappearing behind a high-rise .

The other butterfly followed, startling people, What Is That!

But it landed down the way, And was picked up by a curious child,

who ]oved the strange bird that had worded people. Their fears turned to smiles on fmding it was just a

Cardboard Butterfly .

Dora Sanders

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DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

. 49 W .Cordova 604-251-3310

•

FREE - DonaUona acc:apted.

J 0 0

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DEY AS Needle Exchange Van Schedule Telephone (604) 657-6561 AM Van 7:00am- 5:00pm (on the road 8am-4pm) PM Van 4:00pm- 2:00am (on the road 5pm-Iam) 7 Days / Week

currently under reviel - . - - - -- -· . - -- '"'

2006 DONATIONS Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC..$100 Christopher R.-$30 Margaret D.-$40 Bruce J.-$15 The Edge-$200 Mary C-10$ Penny G .-$50 MP/Jelly Bean -$20 RayCam-30 Janice P.-$30 Wes K.-$ 30 Paddy -$60 Glen 8.-$25 John S.-$60 Leslie S.-$20 Wm.B -$20 Michael C.-$80 HumanitieslOl-$100 Gram -$20 Sheila 8.-$20 Ben C.-$20 Brian $2 CEEDS -$50 Joanne H.-$20 Wilhelmina M.-$5 Anonymous -$

NEWSLETTER HilS NEWSLEITER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE

CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association

CJFlli([J) n®~o /IFIMI CC([J)<=>(Q)IF ffi.All})JI(Q) tiC:=-··--= ·· · I I Ill! I I .. , )!::::J

Editor: PauiR Taylor; cover+ layout, Diane Wood

Submission Deadline fnr nPrl i~~~~P~

Carnegie Community Centre

Thursday, April27 ---- ----------------1 W~ ~p that C•ntelle Conunmdty C~ntre, md thll 1 L N.!'"~~r.!n .!'-ue~!. on_!~ s,_~N!!fo.!!'• ~"!!to!1. _ ~

Contributors are not permitted to malign or attack or relegate · any person or group or class, including drug users and poor

to a level referred to or implying 'less than human' . '

Working for You

Contact Jenny Wai Ching Kwan

MLA

1070-1641 Commercial Dr VSL JYJ Phone:77S-0790 Fax:77S-088l

DoWf'ttown Eastside Residents Association 12 E. Hastings St, or ~aii682-09Jt

..--,

~ --1') (\\~ :"] ...........

·.,~ 11th Annual ~tone Soup . Festival

Taste of the Drive As we come out of our long winter slumber, and start preparing for the Spring, images of community gathering. together in celebration dance in our heads. The Stone Soup Festival is a fixture in East Vancouver, marking the beginning of Spring, the start of endless possibilities. The community gathers each year to celebrate the splendor of local foods, Spring, and community itself. Our 11th year will feature the theme - 'a taste of the drive'. People are more and more aware of social, economic, and environmental benefits of 'local', and the 2006 Stone Soup Festival will feature local farmers, prepared foods, and crafters, as weUaslocalcommunitygroups to educate and engage. We haven't forgotten about · the fun either! As always, there Will be live music, storytelling, crafty fun for kids, and of course, a Stone.Soup. We invite you to participate in the fun.

· Saturday 11:30am- 5:00pm May 6th Napier Greenway Br.itannia

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Volunteer Recognition Wee~ April16- 22, 2006

SUNDAY, APRIL 16 · 1) Pool Room Tournament

9 BALL CUALLENGE 11 :00am-6:00pm PRIZES! PRIZES! PRIZES!

2) Glenn Valley Trip-See Kitchen Staff

MONDAY, APRIL 17 Whistler D~y Trip 9:00am -5:00pm Dress Wann

+Comfortable; Lunch and snacks are included!

J'QESDAY, APRIL 18 Bowling- Grandview Lanes 12:00-3:00pm Come

and show off your skills! Lunch included!

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19 Volunteer Dinner 4:30pm Sharp!!

Be sure to get your ticket in advance!

THORSD,JY, APJQL ZQ CN-IMAX Theatre: 'DE.E.F SEA• 3D Movie

12:00pm- 3:00pm. Lunch included!

IJ.UDAY, APRIL 21 · l) Volunteer Party 3pm-5pm Get your ticket in

advance & join us for a couple of hours of great en­tertainment, awards, & food!! 2) Live Band Dance The Rocking Gu_ys' 7-IOpm Don't miss this party!!

SATURDAY, APRIL gg Join Sindy at Tinseltown for the always popular Volunteer Matinee Movie I2pm- ??

. Meet at the Info.Desk 11 :30am. Lunch included!

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VANCOUVER OPERA "The Nie;ht Before the Opera"

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By Charles Gounod

The frrst 75 people will receive free tickets to the final dress rehearsal of the opera.

Wednesday, April19, 2006@ 7pm Carnegie Centre Theatre

Presented by Vancouver Opera & UBC Learning Exchange in collaboration with the Carnegie Centre.

OURVOLUNTEERPROGRAM Volunteers are the driving force behind the delivery of every program and service provided by Carnegie Over 600 registered volunteers perform a variety of

jobs essential to Carnegie 's day-to-day operation.

:rtlake YOUR mark in tlte ~omntunity!

Get involved with the ~reation of a I 0' x 60' pebble mosaie that 'ftiD be instaUed in front of dte Firehall Arts (;entre in JuJu~ 2006, 280 East (;ordo'\"a St. Van~oover .t'ree instruetional workshops are on•

going through April and into May: .lt.londay, Wednesday, A Tlaursday

6:30pm • 9:3ftpnt at Mosatie Planet's studio,

684 E. HIUltings S·t, V an~uver Drop, ins are weleomeU But please give us

your ~onta~t info in ~e of ~hanges or spe~ial event.s.

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NOTE*** The starting time for the next Carnegie Association Board meeting has been changed from

. . . th 7;30 to 5:30on Thursday, May 4 . At the end of the m~eting _.:. approximately 6:45 _;_Bob Sarti will give a talk and slide show: More than Just Neighbours. He will be talking about the historical similarities of the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona. See you in the Caznegie Theatre

.MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to nurture mind, body, and .spirit in a safe and welcoming environment. Through the l~ad­ership and participation of our volunteers, we pro­vide social, educational, cultural and recreational activities for the benefit of the people of the Down­town Eastside.

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Every Thursday is Aboriginal Day at Oppenheimer Park

COME AND JOIN US

11:00 am Pow Wow Drumming learn or teach drum songs together

1:30pm Bannock Making make bannock to be shared with participants in theafternoon circle

2:30 pm Bannock Circle

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share bannock and woodland tea while we do talking circles, crafts and plan trips

Up Coming: We hope to go picking medicines and sage, and go to Pow Wows, Camping and more

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Hey GuyS and G•rlsl Join us for

• • SUMMER'S COMING! Time to get in SHAPE! Come Play Soccer at

Oppenheimer Park, 400 Powell, every

Saturday at 11 :OOam! Organized by

the Latin American Society in Action (LASIA) in collaboration with

Oppenheimer Park