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NEWSLETTER

JULY 15,1995. r l

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

YUP, yup, YUP *** whine, whine, whine Someone once said freedom of the press belongs only to those who own one. The Gastown whine-ohs would like it if the Downtown Eastside had no press. That's why they are trying to silence the Carnegie Newsletter. Seems they just don't like what's being reported about them. &town yuppie Lynn Bryson writes in a letter to the Mayor (phillip owen) that she "continues to be

independently. It totally funds the Newsletter from outside sources, and actually subsidises programs that the city should be paying for evetything from out-trips for volunteers to Eree chili dinners in five-week months to new equipment for the kitchen, Laming Centre, music program and weight room. In the last few weeks alone the Association has funded an HJV/AIDS education project, a tutoring project for Spanish-speaking new Canadians, and a community poetry fest. The Newsletter is the most widely-read voice for Canada's lowest-income neighbourhoad, Because it's financially independent, it can resist political interference of the type Rryson and her cohorts would like to impose. The Gashags have: millions of dollars of development capital at their disposal; their own propaganda sheet crammed with tourist-trap advertising; a direct, taxpayer-suhsidised pipeline to City Hall in the form of the Gastown Historic Area Planning Committee (QHAPC). So what's got their knickers in such a twist a b u t this one little voice of opposition? Hearken back to an article in the June 15 Newsletter, which laid out some of the background and relationships of the Gastown clique and their financial interest in development. * Lynn Bryson lives in a $390,000 condo just off Main. In the last year it increased in value, all on its own, by $1 3,000 that's more than most

Well, here's a news flash for the vitriolic

Developers 'R 'Us clique and their yuppie wanabees: Lynn Bxyson and the "new gentry" that she represents aren't paying for anything. The city doesn't subsidise the Newsletter or its publisher, the Carnegie Association. In fact, it's the other way around we subsidise the city. The Association raises its own money

Down-town Eastsiders have to live on in an entire year. Rryson i s an NPA hackroom type. She ran Counc. Lynn Kennedy's election campaign. Kennedy is the wife of architect Gerald Kennedy, who designed the neighbourhood-busting Fort Cordova (8 East Cordova). * Bryson's brother, Bryce Rositch, is an architect who owns $840,000 worth of real estate in the neighbourhood - his office and his condo. He had his secretary call the Newsletter and order a subscription -just to make sure he doesn't miss any hot news. (He paid exactly $16 for this great privilege - the cost of stamps for a year. Perhaps he's waiting 'ti1 Christmas to make a donation).

* The power-ponytailed Mike (Mr. Condo) McCoy, who earns his living off taxpayer-funding of social programs, owns a condo that increased in value by $12,000 last year. * Jon Ellis and Jim Lehto, two "consultants" (developers' lobbyists) with strong NPA connections. How do you spell conflict of interest? They were appointed by city council to GHAPC to help guide the future of Gastown, yet they are waist-deep in the proposed Woodward's (Ellis) condomania and the Cambie Hotel (Lehto) conversion to tourist bed-and-breakfast. GHAPC has consistently lobbied on behalf of the rich and powerful and against the interests of the community. It opposed (successfully) the Crab Park pedestrian overpass and (unsuccessfully) the Bridge Women's Housing project for shame! At their most recent meeting (June 2 I), they decided they don't want any new social housing projects on their turf. They say any money for

social housing should go into fixing up "heritage" hotels that the owners have allowed to run down so badly. Fat chance. These johnnie-come-latelys have moved into the neighbourhood, and now want to remake it in their own image. Their major social program is to hassle panhandlers. (Just look at the high-security barbed-wire and chainlink compound protecting their BMWs in back of the unit-block of Powell to see what they think of their neighbours.) You might say the makeup of GHAPC is more than slightly tilted toward those who have an interest in rising property values. There are two representatives of business, two property owners, an architect, an engineer, a "heritage" rep (Ellis) and a hotel and restaurant representative. Condo owners are represented on GHAPAC by Mike McCoy. There is supposed to be a solitary representative of tenants, but no community group like DERA or Carnegie has ever been consulted on who it should be - not that it would make much difference with a deck so stacked. To get an idea of the GHAPAC mindset, consider the behaviour of Sue Bennett (property owner representative), when she came into Carnegie recently. She picked up a newspaper on somebody's desk and just started walking out with it. When she was called back to return it, she didn't even seem embarrassed. These people have no respect for the community. They want everything for themselves, including the papers on our desks. One thing they won't get is the Carnegie Newsletter. It's independent, it's combative and it's going to stay that way.

C A P I T A L I S T SATIRE MANIFESTO #2

G.GUST

Public Access In a recent article in the Newsletter, some mention was made of the Association's constitution - that Camegie was for the residents of the Downtown ~ a s t ~ i dThis e . is inaccurate. The constitution reads "maintaining quality programming aimed mostly at Downtown Eastside Vancouver residents over 40 years of age." You can add men to that because men make up 9045% of the residents. So Carnegie should, according to my interpretation of the constitution, be about men, older men, men over forty. (Seems more exclusive than inclusive, but 1 didn't write it.) This leads me to my 2nd point: discrimination. 1 do not believe in restricting public access to Carnegie facilities. Areas like the weight room, computer room and learning centre should not have restricted access. What happens to public access if every different group (based on sex, ethnicity, religion, language, cultural heritage or some other nebulous qualification) books space for thcir exclusive use'? Public access disappears and it's no longcr a public building but a private one controlled by those who have the loudest voice and the most influence. My 3rd point is employment. I'vc heard people complain that this person should have been hired . because he (or she) was a resident of the Downtown Eastside or this person should be hired bccause she is a woman. How can you hire someone based on a quota when there arc an infinite number of quotas'? (Tall, short, language, aptitude, racc, sex, etc.) I know it sound unusual but why not hire someone because she (or he) would do the job well and was the best candidate.

VAN INKROA~H ALMOST

Gastown LOR$ BUT-

Robert A. Yaeger (An editor should not make snide comments about an article. An editor has a say but not at the expense of a contributor.) ANTIDOTE

(An editor doesn't have to make a snide comment when the truth hurts. You have to defend this!)

LARGE PEOPLE RIGHTS

I j I

WE LARGE PEOPLE ARE CONSTANTLY PRESENTED IN THE MEDIA AS UGLY SICK DEVIANT AND STUPID. ETC. EATING DISORDERS ARE AT A CONSTANTLY CLIMBING HIGH.

LEARNING CENTRE STUDENTS - WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

(Registrations for January to March 1995)

Itlt IIJlUlitl 01 IIIL LlAKNlNG CCN IKt

The Vancouver School Board has made it official enrollment at the Carnegie Learning Centre has been wide-open to people &om all over Vancouver and even outside the city. The result is that only one-third of students in the Learning Centre are actually from this neighbourhood. This is a situation that is going to change. The Learning Centre is a Carnegie program, serving the needs of our Centre and our community. Our primary responsibility is to the people of the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona. The fact that people are streaming into Carnegie fiom all over the Lower Mainland shows there is a crying need for good basic education, but those courses should be given in their own areas. I got these figures directly from Allan McLeod, the superintendent of Vancouver schools. There are 3,3 70 student registrations for courses in the Carnegie Learning Centre in the period from January to March. This may seem like an awfbl lot, but it includes people who registered for several courses. There are actually some people who travel here from Point Grey, Dunbar and even Shaughnessy to take courses, but the big influx is fiom the southeast corner of Vancouver the South Hill and Killarney areas. South Hill has its own learning centre but it's not big enough to satisfL local demand, and we are getting its overflow.

Changes are already coming to the Carnegie Learning Centre and there will be more as our "community consultation" continues. The consultation involves asking individuals and groups in the community what sort of educational programs they want and need. We will be returning the emphasis in education to basic literacy and programs that help residents adapt to changing conditions in society. Programs will be more flexible, demanding less paperwork, with more small group and one-to-one tutoring, just like in the old days. As an interim measure, there will be a cap on the numbers of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) enrollments to free up space and resources for basic literacy programs. As well, the art gallery space will be reserved for generai programming for the building and one-to-one activities, not large ESL classes. While renovations are being done on the 3rd floor this summer, the staff, tutors and students of' the Learning Centre are working in the gym.They are carrying on well in difficult circumstances. When they return to the 3rd floor they will be operating in brand-new quarters with a renewed mandate to serve the community. I am confident everyone will tackle these new challenges with enthusiasm. By MUCiGS SIGURGEIRSON

Editor,

I'm angry!!! What kind of a world are we living in when a woman murders her own children, a man is tried and convicted in the court of public opinion and a heartless s.0.b. bombs a building and kills innocent people, and people right here inn Carnegie are ridiculed for who they are? Why must people be cruel to any person who chooses to be different from what is perceived as "normal"? Thank God not everyone is like everyone else - if they were, wouldn't this place be boring. Wake up people.. stop and think about what your thoughtless actions or words might cause. Maybe someday what you perceive as "normal" will be what's ridiculed. Vickie Dutcher

When you're a child you become very fiightened very easily. You can also think you've done something wrong when you haven't. The child does not know the wrongs & rights of actions. Parents have to teach the child very carefully because their hearts are fiagile. When the parent strictly tells the child in a highpitched voice of histher wrongs, the child's heart cracks; when the little heart cracks the child feels a lot of pain and fear. This is the beginning. When the child gets older, helshe notices that one parent isn't around and innocently wonders "What's happening?" The pain and fear is still inside. One parent is drinking constantly, the abuse gets worse, the child is in tremendous fear and she just wants to get out. The question always unasked: "What did she do?" As she gets older she wants her parent to stop. She says, "Don't or 1 will tell on you." The parent says, "Go ahead. You will never see me again." When you're growing up you remember the

small moments of your parent being a parent to you; you think it'll get better but as long as the drinking continues so does the abuse. The child grows up being frightened with pain all around. Will it ever go away? The child grows up not telling the story of her childhood to anyone, because she cares so deeply she doesn't want anyone to be hurt. She thinks the fear and pain is fading but it's still there, affecting her relationships over and over and over. The child is an adult. She is so tired. She runs out of breath from crying and cries without any tears. She so badly wants to stop crying... the pain and fear are still inside her. She prays so hard to the Creator, asking for help. She knows she is never alone and hasn't been since the beginning. She still does not want to hurt anyone, but now has her answers. If you really love someone you will have to make that stand, you will have to hurt them - lovingly just so they can stop hurting the innocent child.

Janet Strongarm

- someone who really cares

HERE, NOT HERE false waters for the hand gathering its torment like a bruised harvest of light I reach between intolerable pools of loss, easing my fingers into the cool muck forgetfulness, I want to forget all but the leaves quivering overhead, the damp insistent bark, soft dark earth spongy beneath me or beyond this forest (shafts of abrupt light between the trees) inside its brilliant silver jig the ocean, black beneath it5!patina half submerged in two worlds wanting to drown in both, to be blind & deaf your hands like large speckled butterflies on my face to be silent, your body's striking luminescence stopping my mouth, to write a poem with nothing inside it but you, the heft of absence

you've left me with. finally I want to be with you, with freight cars groaning, pulling away slowly with ships gliding silent through the harbour with sailors whose gardens lie under the waves with farmers squaring a prairie, a nation with the witch in her wild green island, forgiving all but falsity, where the red anvil vibrates its portion of this chorus, with the stevedores shouting, tugboat captains on the wireless children tumbling home in the evening to dinner, young men in cars as they pass sweatshop seamstresses stitching from a billion small gestures from the loose threads of our voices the tolerable face of the world I want, finally, to be in sunlight where you linger in darkness where your dreams like departures await us waking for more Dan Feeney

EDUCATION + JOBS = UNION $'s (Hopefully) On June 30th I attended a meeting over at Four Comers. There were a lot of people there - this meeting presented the entire group as a whole people who respected one another. In the past two years, ten banks have packed up their money and scrambled. Why? The simple reason seems to be that we, as a community, aren't generating enough money for these banks to make a big profit, but let's get real - branches moved so they could do business with the wealthy of countries abroad. The dirty 30s and the nifty 60s saw growth here, as people came fiom all over Vancouver to spend money here. Heck, even my Mom and Dad came to Vancouver in the 60s. This community has survived all aspects of influence and pressure, and one can only hope that we will survive the evil that is trying to destroy us. One thing our community is much richer in is Pride. We did not run - we walked forward, side by side, showing that we care about our future. The Four Corners project has generated much activity in the same two years. Members of our community went to Victoria and made history by submitting community-generated legislation always done by elected officials previously. The two appointees came back proud that their message had been heard. This fall we'll see the birth of a financial institution that will help cany life back into our community. One question is over Campbetl and the Liberal soup if they get into boiling water with the NDP, will the project end up on the back burner? The pressing issue is jobs. How many of those attending the training course get jobs at GM Place, the Ford Theatre and at Four Comers Community Savings? How many will go to our people when these places open up? Will they be overlooked when it comes down to filling out an application like not having Grade 12?

Some other thoughts: * Once everything is 'go7 for the project at Main & Hastings, the people involved who have worked so hard will need support fiom anyone who gives a damn. I'll certainly lend a helping hand. * It will need a lot of support from the Trade Union movement in order to be successful. * Union support and investment from other, caring companies will make the difference for the growth & well-being of Four Corners. Sometimes those who reach the top forget how they got there in the first place.1 have always said that working together as a team brings much more success. By SLEEHWHEELS

(Keep in mind that GM Place is going to be run by a USA person who will probably make decisions as to who wiIl get the jobs there.)

OH CANADA (You really turtt us un)

I'm standing here trying to get a job cleaning windows I'm standing here trying to get a job! A guy wearing spadix underwear saunters by "Hey mister," I say, "do you know where I can get a job?" "I'm only the recipient of a professional calling, insurable weeks with lucrative personal maintenance," he replies, "how can I possibly fill your bleak and empty eyes?" "HEY! I'm only asking for a job, mister," I exclaim, "not a lesson in mental masturbation." I recognize a woman with pudgy little legs and short blonde hair as she goes into the same building. 'What is this,' I say to myself, 'a castle full of petty parasites looking for more reasons to be dishonest?' 1

"Hey mamma," I yell as she tries to give me the burns' rush, "know where I can get a job cleaning windows?"

''Not I," she exclaims. "I'd like to help you 1really would but the King is in his tower and 1 must huny before I'm late." I figure all these people have taken one to many trips to Mars..real space cadets.

I figure I'm not going to get a job around this place - too many snobs pretending to be saints while they trip over each other's pay cheques. I wonder where all this will end... I just wanted a job for the day, not another free and unauthorized lecture. Leigh Donohue

NOW I KNOW Now I h o w how you see now I know which master you please. Now I know! I trusted you, it was no mistake. But now I know you'd rather relate with those whose teachings are for their own sake. Now I know! I wonder who you think will defend you now? Certainly not those who have made you bow. Leigh Donohue

The Fight For The Careegie Com~nunityCentre Part 16

The Fight For A Library at Carnegie At the Carnegie Planning Advisory Committee meeting of November 2, 1976, a difference of opinion emerged about the kind of library the Carnegie Centre should have. Jean Swanson and Libby Davies of DERA knew that reading was an important activity in the Downtown Eastside, and they argued for a real library with a real librarian. The Vancouver Library Board thought a reading room without a paid librarian would be enough for Carnegie. As Morton Jordan, Director of Public Libraries, said in a memo to the Advisory Committee (January 25/77), "...in the past rewas experience of the Carnegie Library (Carneg Vancouver's main library until 1957), the reading room was used almost exclusively by white males, 35 plus, usually indigent. The reading room was used as a place to get in and out of the cold, and to enjoy a change of scenery." Jordan explained that the Library Board's policy of an unmanned reading room for Carnegie was based on the assumption that the reading room users in the new Camegie Centre would be the same as they were in the old days. He ended his memo by saying that if the Downtown Eastside indicated in a direct and forceful way that it required a regular library, then the Libnuy Board would review the situation. DERA felt the Library Board was stereotyping the community on the basis of a skid road image. There was far more to the Downtown Eastside than white males over 35 looking for a warm place to sit. DERA wouldn't accept second-best for the

residents of the Downtown Eastside. It knew the community wanted a library with full-time staR As the difference in perception of library needs between the local residents and the Library Board was quite wide, Maurice Egan suggested at the Carnegie Planning Advisory Committee meeting of July 13, 1977, that a sub-committee of Michiko Sakata, Libby Davies, Jean Swanson and Fred Soon meet with the Library Board and arrange a survey on library needs in the area. Then, on August 16, 1977, he wrote to Darg Bell-Irving, who, fortunately, was chairperson of the Libmy Board at the time, requesting that the Board cooperate with the Advisory Committee in conducting such a survey. Bell-Irving was sympathetic to the request of Downtown Eastside residents for a library. In the Spring of 1978 the Library Board appointed Jean Anderson and Peter Westlake to conduct the survey. Maurice Egan wrote to the Board, saying that the Committee welcomed the opportunity to meet with these people. Anderson and Westlake found that the Downtown Eastside residents were extremely keen on a library service in the Carnegie building and they wanted books in English, Chinese, Japanese and French. Everyone talked to thought that the library should have a permanent staff; Anderson and Westlake mentioned a 1976 Social Planning study of the Downtown Eastside that found reading was the most popular form of cultural activity in the neighbourhood after TV The survey was presented to the Library Board on July 19, 1978. At this meeting the Library Board agreed that the library in the Carnegie Community Centre would be open seven days a week with a hll-time staff, and that it would have a large collection of books, including paperbacks, magazines and newspapers. The moral of this story is, as Bruce Eriksen said on many occasions, "Persistence pays off." The Carnegie Library became one of the busiest libraries in Vancouver, and in 1986 the Vancouver Public Library received the British Columbia

Library Association Merit Award for the Carnegie Branch Library Setvice. The Carnegie Librarian from 1980 to 1987 was Ron Dutton, whom many old-timers will still remember. The Social Planning Department pays for the staff, books and suppiies for the Carnegie Library, while the Vancouver Public Library pays for equipment and furniture, and provides the library staff. Eleanor Kelly is the present librarian, and welcomes the planned renovations that will give us more room in a much used library.

GAY & LESBIAN & BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDERED & FRIENDS

Drop-In Thursday, July 20 & August 3 3-5 in Carnegie's Pottery Room I

Come and plan for the Gay Pride March on August 7. Help make a banner & decorations. We want a large Downtown Eastside family For the march!

By SANDY CAMERON (to be continued) @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

A GREAT PIECE 0fS I D No H a s s l e A B.C. V o t e r R e y l s t r a t l o n C a r d is a good I0 Card. To g e t one m a i l e d t o you, phone: 660-6848.

SAM SLANDERS Dear Sam Slanders, What did the Irishman say to the guy who stole his horse and carriage. (signed) Roy Rogers Dear Roy, He said: "You're drivin' me buggy." Yours Truly, Sam Slanders

A l l t h e y need t o know is y o u r name, address, and S.I.S. number.

That's

660

6848

KNITTING Attention to all knitters, and to people interested in learning how to knit. Want to make your own socks? scarves? vests? whatever? Margaret is teaching knitting in the lane level (basement) from 1-3 on Thursdays. There may be days when something will delay Margaret coming in but when she is here and able to teach this craft, you won't have to buy that new baby socks (booties) or spend a fortune on gloves come Christmas.

I m t e this in response to Tommy Shutz's article ((:ar~legieNewsletter, July I) about "Yuppies in the 'Hood." Although I agree with the premise of his article, I don't with his use of language and would like to explain my experience in the Ford Building and my attitudes. In regard to language 1 am not Wendy Tamminga's tenant. I am a tenant of the Ford Building and Tarnminga doesn't own me in any way, shape or form. Nor does Allison Harry own "her tenants". But, for some of us living in the Ford Building and Princess Place, we feel both managers think they can own people. It isn't uncommon for the Ford Building's management to question residents about their visitors and what residents do with their time. Both of these have happened to me. It's not uncommon for double standards, either. I've been told there are no more storage places, then a new neighbour tells me she has three storage lockers. Some tenants have pets while others fear if they get a pet an eviction notice will be given. The tactic of eviction threats has happened to me and not for any legal reasons. The threat came to me after going to Tamminga's supervisor to have repairs completed after weeks of asking management. Tamminga asked me if I was ''fished playing games" and then told me she would have me evicted. The manager of the Columbia House is the same as the Ford Building's, but this isn't recognized offtcially. I've asked to move into Columbia House and have been told that none of the suites are subsidized. I can't refute this nor confirm it. I believe the Tammingas and Hanys of our society think their responsibility is to control other people's lives but this is impossible. No one can control my life but me and I can't control anyone else's. Unlike control freaks, I can adapt to situations, accept other people's opposing views and still work with them.. and I don't panic about the small stuff in life.

If it was true that the Tamrninga/Harrys could control others, then many of the tenants wouldn't be breaking the Ford Building's rules. What goes on behind closed doors is the business and responsibility of those behind them. In the 22 months of my tenancy I have spoken with Tamminga about the neighbourhood. It became obvious early in our conversations that our views of poverty and addiction are world's apart. I don't condemn people for their poverty, addictions, or working in the sex trade, and I know that if people are denied their basic rights of food, clothing and shelter all of society suffers from a lack of security. According to what she told me, drug addicts should be sent to institutions outside the city and never be allowed back, and all drug users are the scum of the earth. I have yet to hear Tamminga say what the reasons are for people opting to escape with drugs and alcohol. She and Harry have both publicly stated they were drug addicts. Have they forgotten, or do they deny the reasons for the addictions and what helped them get over it? They didn't do it on their own. No one does. What all people do is will themselves to find heIp and accept the help. To the issue the major problem with the Woodward's proposal (exclusively market condos) is it denies the basic right to shelter to the 600 or more chronically homeless people in the Down-town Eastside. Without food, clothing and shelter we die. As long as we have one segment of society denying others these basic rights, the Tammingd Harrys will believe they can control the poor and not recognize they are allowing themselves to be the puppets of wealthier control freaks. The circles of poverty, violence, wealth, happiness and health interconnect and include all of us. 1 condemn you, you condemn me; you accept me, I accept you; I deny you, you deny me; You love me, I love you. The absolute law of any society is what one individual does and says affects the whole. By ALISON CAMERON

For 16 years, my mother worked at the downtown Woodward's store at Abbott & Hastings. She tried to get a working class union in the store. She said Ernie Woodward, the original owner, was in favour of the workers to the extent of granting a profit-sharing scheme of 10-20% off retail price and other benefits. However, Charles (Chunky) Woodward, his son, was not in favour of this soil attitude; he proceeded to restrict workers' benefits wherever he could. One way he did this was to carry petite rich clothing styles, rather than working class and poor people's styles. In this way he further alienated the

customers of the downtown area who, in the main, were of industrial working class origin. Another way he had of breaking the union was to phase out regular workers and only hire part-time. University trained 'one-pip wonders' were routinely promoted ahead of experienced workers, further alienating the most talented & skilled from the W oodward' s organisation. After years of frustration in organising attempts, mother felt she must leave I know she would have been in total support of low-income people living in a renovated Woodward's building, and equally in favour of a (organic) food floor. Jack East

FIGHT POLLUTION OFF A COMMUTER to be accurate, 'commuter' herein refers only to the single occupant car coinmuter those subsidized motor heads who scorn transit and consider mere pedestrians and cyclists a road hazard these are the same people who despise second hand tobacco smoke but will sit on the freeway at rush hour 'ant farm style' sucking one another's 'petro-dollar' smoke and muttering about taxes this degenerate hominid sub-species should be considered for immediate termination or a recovery program for cranial inversion

Mo Van Nusfrand (Designosaurus Productions)

In The Dumpster Hello again. Not much happened in my bins lately so I went to Jerico Beach for the last while., There was little competition and lots of bottles. Anyone down in that area might want to check out the Darby Beer Store, at 4th & MacDonald, as they have a machine outside that takes all small beer cans. It's open 'ti1 1 lpm and the staff are really nice. Canada Day was ok, although I really didn't try as hard as I codd. It is real good to see young people out picking bottles - at least they are trying to make some money honestly. See you soon at United We Can. Have a lucky month! Mr. McBinner

1 1

Imagine if all the unemployed were lazy and funher imagine there could be some justification dreamed up for punishing the lazy. The problem is when you make it a meaner world for some you make it a meaner world for all force a mother into crime she'll find a victim. The unplacated unemployed are a threat to all Every dollar cut from education will cost $2 for detox units and automobile insurance down the road; every dollar cut from the arts will cost $4 down the road for prisons. Maybe the unemployed should be executed. A bullet is cheaper than a social worker. Give employers incentive to hire welfare recipients i.e. let the same cheque (amount) that went to recipient go to employer for the first six months as a payment for training

of course this might be abused boss might say, go get on welfare and I'll hire you etc. but who'd want to work for a creep like that? All employers of over thirty codd be required by law to fill a minimum of 10% of their vacancies with welfare recipients All landlords of over ten residences could be required by law to fill 10% of their vacancies with welfare recipients.

- submitted by Coleman

Strathcona gar(len 10

old, and ' ~ o o dand flowers growing

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GUDRUN WILL Vancouver Sun

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The weather was for the birds and the plants -not for the people. At a celebration of the 10th anniversary of Strathcona's conmunity garden, about 50 people either huddled under a small garden tent - set up to shelter a plant sale and exhibits of future projects - or resigned themselves to getting wet in Sunday's downpour. ' Staying out of the limelight of the occasion was founding gardener Ian MacRae. Protected by his faded red baseball cap, he tended to his small, bushy basil plants a s h e remembered the garden's begin., nings. ago, a group of ~owritown Ten Eastside and Strathcona residents decided to do sorriethin~oroductive with the former city dumpingJ$ound at ~ f i ? rStrict and HawksAvenue. b'eg* t t ,gk fal . r, d ~ ,*'. , oriit."' ," 7 h i d nothin j'm'<+i6~~at!+ ti+.. said MacRze. "It was wortli'a try to kee$' ' , , it going." "We used picks and shovels," said Muggs Sigurgeirson, now the garden's compost and plot coordinator. 'The soil was dead." Industrial waste remnants like chunks of concrete are still incorporated into the design of people's gardens, she added. A riot of multicolored flowers'and food plants erupt from the many' well-tended, small plots. The'narden also features a swampy wildlife &a, atbeeshed akd hives, an orchard and a herb garden in the shape ?,ofa,Tibetan Buddhist mandala, with gates - in four directions. ' :; ' ?'. , ' . , p e herb gyden and cii&@ pbnd forni one of the most tranquil corne<s ,in t h e , entire neighborhood, ,$d Sigurge~rson. "Peoplq come doivh to,y$$~etry, med- ' itale, 'sit ah'd'cry, .oFdraw plcturds," she" add$d. ':I think!his garden is an oa$si .:'! 'away*from .>,, the o~erstimG1'a'tionbf int&ns&;, 1 ; 3 : -

BLOOMING IN THE RAIN:

Rosalind Breckner (right) shows off daisies grown 1 t in a garden plot belonging to the ! Carnegie Centrer a s shd leads informal . . -. ,, .tour. of thd Strathcona Community ~ a r d e r t on s Punday ; ;: .* , . I % : i \ . f .; ,:=r:'.J :-< '+.ti/ , .$,f

;

STUART D A V I S / V ~ ~ & % S&~ ~

urban, inner-city living." The Strathcona Community GarGeners Society, founded in 1985,secured a 10-year lease on the land from the Vancouver park board a!?er a long struggle for recognition. "We pay [the board] $1 a year on the condition that we don't beg them for fuqding or ask them to maintain it a s a regulars park," said MacRae. Sigurgeirson remembered hearing a constant refrain from city officials - it will never work. They were proven wrong. "It,makes me feel ecstatic," said Sigurgeirson on the garden's success. "It confirms my faith in the community. People can get together and build whatever they want. ,, The community's latest plan is to'build a self-sustained and ecologically sensi, tive house. Made'of recycled materihs A d dowered by solar panels, it will be a centre and resource lib~arywith canning, dry:, ing and s&dcollection facilities. P e o ~ l e 'will be able to contribute to the garden - b y using the cohpost toilet:' '; :' '. '. , -.,'. .. A

I really enjoyed the chalk-on-the-sidewalk project utside Carnegie. For me it was fun a community larticipation event where poetry, art, whatever is n outlet for your personal creativity is just halked out. Children and families were all a-chalking. The family of Carnegie united over pink, purple, Teen & yellow chalk! Love, Sheila Baxter

How the sound of the word Springtime rings musically to the ear. It's that time of the year when we think of the garden, a time of preparation and planting. It's a time to prepare the soil and decide what we want to put in. What beautiful fun in going places and looking around for the selections of different kinds of seeds, making choices of little plants. When green starts showing above the ground, tending and weeding is required, and watering the growing things. In the course of time blossoms burst forth and flower into rainbows of colour. The flowering world cteates paradise, which brings delightfulness and happiness to all! What we do out there is equally important with what we do with ourselves in order to bring about changes. Like tilling the ground, we prepare the soil of our minds by weeding out negative thinking and planting seeds of positive thought and nourishing them. Eventually it will bring beneficial results to our lives harmonious actions, the transformation of our attitudes, emotions and feelings. This transformation results in appreciation of all the goodness and joy of living. We can bring Spring into our own lives, enabling us to see beauty. Marvel at nature and see the sunset beyond. It restores the balance, the quality of life. Rv Jeny Jerome

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R3E Colony Farm The time and temperature are the same And I am at my same old game. Up in the morning, out on the job Out in the woods away from the mob. Two weeks out and four days in Prince George won't see me 'ti1 Spring This year I shall go Greyhounding Back to where prairie chickens are abounding If our government sees fit To pay my pension and a bit I don't care for all these hassles With welfare workers Most of the cases are tearjerkers Pretrial, prejudge & presentence Today is day 33 @ my rate of $100 Only the gov't need pay or is it the people What will they think of next Well somebody better start thinking While I am drinking William D. Hodgson

\The BALLAD OF DOOW1 THANBAROO

G.GUST

Down by t h e r i v e r t h e y b u i l t a dam w i t h w a l l s of g r a n i t e t o f l o o d t h e l a n d . The water wandered beneath t h e waves i n t o t h e womb of o u r F a t h e r s ' graves. They moved u s downstream t o a s t r a n g e plac where we c o u l d l e a r n t o f o r g e t o u r r a c e and m e l t i n t o t h e mold of t h e i r ways, b u t t h e y t o o k f r o m u s o u r b e t t e r days. Our c h i l d r e n l e f t u s a l l one by one and d i s a p p e a r e d i n t h e s e t t i n g sun. Down i n Vancouver w i t h i t s b r i g h t l i g h t s t h e r e i s no darkness i n o u r k i d s ' n i g h t s . Now o l d and weary Iy e a r n t o roam back t o t h e r i v e r -back t o my home, and walk upon t h e s o i l ' n e a t h t h e waves t h e n r e s t i n f i e l d s o f my b e t t e r days.

PaTRAIT OF LENNON

G a r r y Gust

Iwanna be a l i t t l e b e t t e r t h a n I am. I want t h e f o l k s t o say " t h e r e goes a

ALICE CALLS I T DOWN

G .GUST

A l i c e c a l l s i t down When y o u ' r e f l y i n g , You want h e r around Because s h e ' s b u y i n g Space t o p u t y o u r mind i n When y o u ' r e nowhere; Y o u ' l l be t h e r e . F l a s h e s t e l l you where She i s g o i n g , She w i l l t a k e you t h e r e W i t h o u t knowing How y o u ' r e gonna make i t back; You w o n ' t even t r y , You'll just f l y . c u n n i n g up h i l l j u s t i s n ' t my speed so Iw i l l f l o a t o v e r and f i n d what Ineed, B u t A l i c e c a l l s i t down?

l u c k y man." D o n ' t want no one t o know t h i n g s t h a t Id o n ' t wanna show; t h e n 1'11 be what I wanna be. Then Iw i l l be. D o n ' t wanna c l o s e my eyes t i 1 sometime a f t e r f o u r . D o n ' t wanna wake up t i 1 I c a n ' t s l e e p anymore. Iwant my l i f e t o go smooth and c l e a r , and n e v e r s l o w ; t h e n 1'11 be what I wanna be. Then Iw i l l be. And t i m e i s my f r i e n d unless I ' m i n a hurry; b u t t i m e n e v e r ends, a t l e a s t i t h a s n ' t done t h a t y e t s o why s h o u l d I worry?

1 saw a s t a r and so Imade a s i l l y w i s h t h a t Ic o u l d have t h e i n s t i n c t s of. a pregnant f i s h , and know j u s t where t o go when my l i f e was r u n n i n g l o w ; t h e n I ' d sea what Iwanna see. Then Iw i l l be.

)

* Talk about the power of the press. The Vancouver Sun published a misleading article saying that developers had "won" Woodward's. There was also an editorial trying to slam John Shayler for being right. It co~ddn'tfind an) valid argument so ended up saying 'you're wrong for being right.' nasty repercussions started immediately. The Library started making plans to shut down the Carncgie Branch! It works like this Woodward's goes exclusively market condos the qups moving in won't use Carnegie.. they'll use the main library with the trendy (read expensive) coffee shops ncarbj~.As more and more low-cost housing is lost to condos, the population that Carnegie Branch serves will dry up and blow away, leaving a virtual ghost-town when it comes to clients for services. customers for local businesses and users of area facilities. Churches also close their doors and their intrinsic services (like food, clothes, counselling, health care) are abandoned due to lack of people to serve. Other area services also get closed and people normally using them are Icft to fend for then~selvesat the expense of their personal safety, mental & physical health and spiritual survival. This is moving from the worst-case fantasy to strange events already on record: - a local church has a basketball hoop set up behind a house for local kids to use. For the first time ever they are now getting complaints from newly-arrived yuppies in condos nearby that the kids are just "too noisj," and "shouldn't be allowed around here." This being said while the cocktails, barbecue and balcony at eventide are in the holierthan-thou stage... - Mary Reilly and Bob Douglas and Bob Smith are all concerned about the effects of gentrification on the poorest of Downtown Eastside residents. All three are involved with local churches and have experiences with inner-city developnlent blitzes elsewhere that have decimated congregations. - The rant b?. Lynn Bryson to kill the Carnegie Newsletter is laughably echoing the same rabidity

oozlng from Kalph Caravctta a fen )cars ago. Hc was the "running sore" on City Council when the infamous 'old board' was tossed out of Carnegie in 1987. He also wanted the Newsletter killed, presenting a motion that it'd have to go through City staff hands before being published. I was humbly hoping his idiotic motion would pass - and be the beginning of the most massive retaliation in journalistic history. Bryson, like Caravetta, doesn't have the decency to write a clear Letter-to-theEditor to say what, specifically, she has such a problem with. General innuendo doesn't cut it, and it's another sad tale of the truth hurting ... so she tries backroom tactics and political threats ("the nest appropriations hearing...") to say "Ill take my ball and go home.'' * Is there a connection between police making lots of arrests on East Hastings and getting more money for court time? Would the statement that 'simple possession isn't going to be a pursued offense' jive with it being uscd daily to continuously hassle users. Nah! * Gord Campbell was scheduled to come to the July DERA General meeting. The legislature is sitting so it isn't happening. Gives us another month to get questions ready - like why he plans to scrap rent protections for tenants.. and other stuff. * Got a long letter of complaint from a tenant in Princess Place, echoing Alison Cameron and asking for help. Sending it to the head of Affordable Housing. There are strange echoes everywhere. Art Griffiths wants a new convention centre and luxury hotel in the downtown area so goes to a job-training meeting and rides the wave of people wanting work anywhere; kind of like Chuck Brook and the crumb offered of 80-90 units of social housing and "some chances for locals to work" building an exclusive condo yup-haven in Woodward's. You can work here but you sure as hell can't live here... * Bea Ferneyhough is getting feeling back in her legs and is learning to walk again! The good news is always better than the static news... By PAULR TAYLOR

a revolting development you ever drive your car through here? I mean through my neighbowhood? the downtown eastside? east hastings street? and some drunk some filthy hostile drunk who doesn't give a damn about you or your car or whether the light's green or red who doesn't give a damn about whether he should stop or go ahead and who perversely ignores crosswalks staggers lurches saunters belligerently arrogantly mockingly wherever he takes it into his head to go utterly lawless stupified no way to reason with him no way to plead for understanding for the spot he puts you in and you don't know what he's liable to do next he doesn't give a damn about his own life but is acting like he's in control of everything he's unbelievable and this drunk scares you enrages you disgusts you he looks like death just itching to happen to ruin your day unsettle your life unhinge it any of this ever happen to you? down here? on east hastings street? well that drunk can maybe give you some remote idea a poisoned obsessed purpose of what DEVELOPMENT is like but one lone drunk is really not enough when it comes into your life to give you an approximate idea just like it's coming through the downtown eastside of what development is like like it's the best and only thing society can come up with and just like this drunk development gets right in your face and screams so imagine an m y ofthoust~ndsof organized d..unks determined to take over all the streets SCREW YOU all of them acting like this lone drunk you don't matter a goddamned bit imagine these drunks everywhere you go to a drunk to development imagine them doing the same thing they do in the street nothing matters in your house or apartment not life not love not god not community everytune you walk to the l&hen imagine that not children not family not human beings at all the only thing matters to a drunk to development for something to eat or walk to the bathroom to take a leak is drunken self-will intoxication a drunk appears right in front of you taking his sweet time getting in your way

maybe you fight back for awhile but there's too many dnmks and the newspapers and the television tell you and tell you and tell you that you are a problem for the drunks you are the one who is in the wrong place and all the drunks would be better off if you just moved away somewhere else who cares where just get lost nobody wants you around and then imagine you feel guilty and you think 'maybe they're right?' you stop driving your car you make plans to move but can't afford to go anywhere you stop going to the kitchen you lose weight you stop going to the bathroom you get sick then you get angry you can't sleep and you try to live full of resentment at all these drunks and all the drunken newspapers and television stations but since the drunks have all the power you take it out on the people closest to you maybe you even start to think about becoming 21. drunk yourseIf but you just can't do it you don't have the taste for it or the constitution to be a drunk you're lost you hate yourself for not being a drunk you're hopeless how can you live in a world of drunks without being a drunk? how can you live in a world of development without being a developer? drunks drunks drunks development development development you even begin to believe seriously the world would be a better place for the drunks without you getting in their way what a revolting development! Bud Oshnrn

VICTORIA'S MASTODON Being on the adventurous side I entered the area beyond the Mongol exhibit on the 2nd floor of the BC Museum in Victoria. 1 rushed as the other Carnegie seniors were either still looking at the exhibit or on the 3rd floor, viewing the Early Native American display or downstairs waiting to leave. The ten or so Chinese seniors were already outside they didn't read much English and had taken the history of the Mongols in school so felt they didn't need to learn it again. In my rush I turned a corner and recoiled at the sight of a huge ice age Mammoth. My jaw dropped. The ten-foot tall beast is in a large glass cage, standing in an area made to resemble a grassy plain. The wild looking elephant-like creature had long curving tusks that must have made great weapons. Also on that floor were other ice age creatures wild cats, wolves, bears, etc. - but the Mastodon was the most remarkable. I was drawn back in time to early North America and tried to picture the kind of life Mammoths

would have led. I thought about where I live and, after I got home, envisioned beasts like these walking around the area. After this exhibit came early Native habitats and life during the explorer Fraser's time. I didn't have to surf the Internet to have an exciting time. Upstairs on the 3rd floor is the modem history gallery and displays consisting of 12,000 years of settlements. I don't know if the Chinese seniors were aware of it but the Chinatown exhibit has many turn-of-the-century bottles and medical treasures on display in a replica of a Chinese shop. Many of the turn-of-the-century displays reminded me of my family's furnishings. My grandfather had a sofa like that. My husband and I used a stove like that when we were on a f a m during our first years of marriage. Mother had a cabinet like that and similar dishes. It was all very nostalgic. There is so much to see. 1 am sure it takes longer that one short afternoon to discover all that is there. I know 1 will go again. Thanks to Carnegie Senior's representatives for arranging the trip. By DORA SANDERS

MY GRANNY meant so much to me when I was a little girl of S She was a woman with so much to give yet asked for so little back. She always made me feel good inside when I was hurting. She always had those warm embracing hugs that lasted forever Granny had stories that have stayed with me all my life When I'm sad or lost I just play the old tapes of Granny's stories. One in parhcular is about the Summer Sun she used to tell me that when the sun goes down and the sky is filled with clouds that turn red - it was God putting on lipstick "Many good things happen when the sky turns red," Cranny would say. "All you need to do is believe in yourself." Whenever the sky turns red I say, to the sky, "Hi Granny I've missed you." At that particular moment my body feels Granny's warm embracing hug. The feeling is indescribable.. at that moment I feel no pain as tears roll down my face, tears that wash away my shame and cleanse my face of anger and hurt. Another memory gone... another day to look forward to. M ADOPR

~ u sbeets t vs w a c k s ' uui . - -..i'.2.;., ...

a collection of beefs by a collection of nuts

- a judge said he had to go with the professionals

& that 1 was to be in the Forensic Psychiatric Institute for no more than 30 days & was not to be treated; was put in the quiet room because I

wanted to draw a shamrock out of view of the head nurse. She wanted to be able to see me. So, while in the quiet room recited Wordsworth's "Daffodils" and did Tai Chi. - a nurse at VGH PAU gave me a shot in the ass & said it was an experiment and then sent me to Venture. while in Riverview I could smell marijuana coming from the staff room & was told I had to drink coffee because it was customary (didn't want to because my gynecologist said it caused lumps in women's breasts). - a psychiatrist said I was a spoiled brat a psychiatrist said I would never be a poet because I wasn't flamboyant

- giving me antipsychotics at the hospital and sending me away without any side-effect medication or appointment for a follow-up. - getting medication adjusted and/or changed when it was intolerable. - when in restraints at VGH Emergency, an orderly lifted up my hospital robe exposing my genitalia and later said, with justification, "You were wild." - SSRI's caused strange pains, aggravating old wounds and initiating bursitis. - I told a psychiatrist at Lions Gate Hospital that I had been diagnosed chronically depressed, anorexic, schizophrenic, but I made swell chicken soup, and what was I. He said, "Pick one," & he also said that once anyone got to know me they wouldn't like me & that it would be a spiraling downhill for me. - another psychiatrist breached patientldoctor confidentiality by telling my mother and another of his patients (who told me, 1 st I heard of it) that 1had multiple personalities & to stay away fiom me. - another psychiatrist in West Van confirmed that I had multiple personalities & sent me to see a former psychiatrist.. who told me to leave his office & take my other personalities with me.

- a psychiatrist said I was a tease and that he could pick & choose his patients. "But what about the Hippocratic oath," I asked. a psychiatrist said he wouldn't see me because he could smell cigarette smoke on me.

By ANITA STEVENS

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

ST0 CLINIC 219 Main; Monday Friday, 10a.m. 6p.m. NEEDLE EXCHANGE 221 Main; 9a.m. 8p.m. every day Needle Exchange Van on the street every night, 6p.m.-2a.m. (except Mondays, 6p.m.-midnight)

1995 DONATIONS: Paula R.-$20 C e c i l e C. - $ I 2 Wm B.-$20 L i l l i a n H.-$PO Sonya S.-$200 Etienne S. - $ I 5 A. Withers -$20 Rositch - $ I 6 K e t t l e F.S. - $ I 6 Hazel M.-$8 JOYT.-$20 Bca F.-$30

Diane M.-$25 Libby D.-$25 Nancy 11. 16 Lisa E.-$8 Lorne T.-$50 Me1 L. - $ I 2 S a r a D.-$16 C o l l e e n E.-$16 Bruce 5.-$30 Anonymous -$60.75 B i l l S.-$2

NEWSLETTER THE NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Arllcles represent the vlews of Indlvldual contrlbulors and not of the Assoclallon.

Submission Deadline for the next issue: 27 July Thursday

NEED HELP? The Downtown Eastside Residents' Association can help you with: ( any welfare problem J information on legal rights J disputes with landlords J unsafe living conditions J income tax J UIC problems J finding housing J opening a bank account Come into the Dera office at 9 East Hastings St. or phone us at 682-0931.

DERA HAS BEEN SERVING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE FOR 21 YEARS.

siphoned-off by fraud and over-

/ head.

SOMEHOWthe notion has gotten around that it is political suicide to advocate anything remotely resemb h g a social program. The American public, we are told, is fed up with them, don't believe they work, and only an elitist would say otherwise. The army of politicians purging city, state and federal budgets of social spending therefore say they are only carrying out the will of the people. But is this true? Or have we simply been sold a bill of goods? Last year, the Center for the Study of Policy in Washington conducted a comprehensive poll of public attitudes on fighting poverty which revealed some surprising insights into how Americans really feel about the poor, our responsibility to them, and the programs that serve them. MYl'H #I: Most Americans want government to spend less on social programs. REALKK 46% do not want any cbange in spending and 31% want spending increassd, even tbougb tbey know it will eJect tbeir taxes. Less tban one ou't of four, (21%) want spading reduced.

hWlX #2: The Majority of poor people are black and Hispanic RlNLT Wile respondents per-

ceive tbat about two tbirds (63%)of tbe poor or non-wbite, in actuality, tbe opposite is true. 68% of tbe poor are wbite. e

MYTH #3: Most Americans feel it is not the government's responsibility to try to reduce poverty in the US REALIIY. Fully 80% saygovemment does bave tbat responsibility.

I RHUiT

Wile Americans believe that over bag (53%)goes t.o administrative cost, and 16%is lost to fraud. leaving on$31% to benefit tb; poor; &het w b is, overbead takes up just 12% and fraud is less tban 10%. 78% 3r more directly benefits the pow.

MITI3 #4: Americans have lost all confidence in government's ability to effectively deal with poverty. REtUIlX Americam still bave some

degree of confidence in federal (7%); W e (78%); and local (77%) government's poverty-fighting ability. (Tbougbconfidence leveIsf w cburcbes ,charities and other private-sector' institutions are consistently bigber amnd30%)

MYI'H #5: Most people feel that poverty programs are a drag on the economy and provide no benefits. REAL17Y:. 75%believe tbat eJbrts to reduce poverty are a good investment.; tbat tbey save money and produce a w e productive economy m tbe long run.

MYI'H#6: Only a small petcentage of the money for social programs ever reaches the poor. Most of it is

AMERICA'S competitiveness and productivity is not beiig undermined by high taxation for out of control social programs. Social spending gccounts for less than 15%of the bud-, get while more than 16% of the popu-lace is living below the poverty line. What is happening (and few will talk about it), is that as a Nation we once dominated the world markets for our goods and services and were thereby able to sustain the most highly paid work force on the face of the earth. In today's competitive global market other countries, notably Japan, have been able to produce top quality goods at relatively lower labor costs. But politics being what they are, none of our leaders will stand up and advocate all around pay cuts. Instead American industries were supplied with the huge infusion of capital, through tax cuts, to invest in the kind of heavy equipment that will produce more goods using less labor. Meanwhile federal budget cuts to make up for the loss revenue had to be made somewhere. Politically the poor have the least power but have enjoyed thg Support of mainstream Americans 3 wh'o have', and still do believe \hat :the haves possess a responsibility to help the have-nots. It is therefore in the interest of 'trickledownneconomists and their supporters to foster certain myths about poverty and the poor.+

you're doing is trying to find projects to pay your staff, and your citizens' organizing is, by itself, not funded very well. The paid staff then star; to do for people. It keeps them working.

?V~.UTIN OF THE >II.VISTRY OF Health in Vancouver describes how a n organization can change when there are paid staff ... UAROS

We've had a real struggle in that DERA (the Downtown East Side Residents' Association) originally was established to be a voice for citizens. And then, over the years, because there wasn't funding for DERA to continue to do that, they started to become a contract service provider. And soon, they started to change their focus. What you often see

Don Larson, a citizen advocate for the Downtown East Side adds to Sharon's comments ... DERA is supposed to be a grass roots, street level organizaticn that's aimed at people who never had any say in politics, or any empowerment in their own community. But that hasn't happened! The larger agencies, most of whom started with very good intentions, but who now receive quite a bit of government funding, take over the control of what are supposed to be grass roots coalitions, organizations, committees. And that's a major problem.

Downtown Eastside Residents Association To Sharon Martin Regional Co-ordinator The Vancouver Regional Health Board: U

In a recently released Federal government publication entitled "Begin With People" the following excerpt from the enclosed copy was attributed to you. This kind of analysis of our organization and its place in the Downtown Eastside community would be disturbing to us coming from any source, but that it should be associated with a responsible spokesperson for the Health Ministry is extremely disappointing.

/;,

'I V

fiq !

If anyone were to ask us for a public statement on the working procedures of your ofice, 1 can assure you we would quite properly direct them to that

source for a comment. We have no faith in second hand information and we don't believe that engaging in 'Yelling tales out of school" reflects very well on anybody's sense of professionalism. For the record, DERA has never abandoned its mandate as a voice for the citizens of the Downtown Eastside. We were at the forefront of the debate over the waterfront casino; we are now engaged in a struggle to sustain our community over the ravages of gentrification, and we have volunteers actively involved in working with the I.V. drug crisis in our community. These are but a

& few examples of our involvement throughout the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. Q

Our organization has m, as you declare, been "taken over by paid staff'. DERA operates with a duly elected volunteer Board of Directors who oversee the staffing of our office, the operation of our housing sites, and whatever projects our many volunteers may take on to ensure that they reflect the aspirations and philosophy of our organization. Every staff member's activities are the Board's responsibility, and we take that responsibility very seriously. The implication that our staffs only concern is in re-formulating programs and finding new sources of funding to keep their projects going is a gross insult to their integrity and to the hard work we've all committed ourselves to. These kinds of comments are not unfamiliar to us. We've frequently borne the brunt of such abuse from one individual who defines himself as the President of a society that only two people are members of. We get the same comments from proponents of continued uncontrolled high-density

development in the neighbourhood. We heard the same complaints from disgruntled individuals who have found it only too easy to snipe at us, but have never taken the trouble to come into our office to address their "concerns" with our staff or Board. What's more, we have been told by more than one bureaucrat that if the government had to duplicate the same services we offer, it would cost considerably more in operating costs to accomplish it. For our part, we believe that what we are doing represents a significant benefit in the community and we will continue to persevere despite the carping and the cheap shots that continually rain down on us, because we believe we provide a valuable set of services and a valuable voice in the Downtown Eastside; and we arc confident that at the end of the day, a lot more people we've helped will agree with that than will come forward to repudiate our effectiveness. For the Board of Directors: Ian MacRae, President Downtown Eastside Residents' Association

A CARNEGIE CENTRE P R O D U C T I O N

Come join us on the sidewalks of Carnegie in a celebration of the Downtown East Slde. Spread some colour in the heart of the city. Draw blg. Speak your mlnd. Share your experlence of our nelghbourhood with sidewalk chalk drawings, storks & poetry. '

Thr: orgmisers of this event W

O U like ~ ~ to hank:

CIIY OF VANCOUVER SOCIAL. PLANNING DEI'T. C l l Y OF VANCOUVEll BOARD OP IJAIIKS AND IEClU!tWlON GRNEGIB CEN'IHE ASSOCIATION a~~~~~~ CENTRE DEYAS

FORMOREINFORMATION CALL6 6 5- 2 2

A DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE COMMUNITY E X P R E S S I O N P R O l F C T