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EeMA8,2023 N EWS L ETT E F3 401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7
camnews@vcn bc ca (604) 665-2289
2nd Annual for all who express themselves through the written and spoken word
TThis year`s Vt'7riters Festival is exciting. There was d spread in the May lst edition of the Ccir#egie Ivet+is~
I)ea r Volunteers,
/6J„er of` the I ineup of workshops, events, storytellers. poetry extravaganzas and readings. A Festival Program Guide should t)e available by the time this newslcttcr is in print so the dates, times and locations orthe various oiferings will make choosing what to be a part of eatsier.
With April and 2023 Natiollal Volunteer Appreciation Week behinds `is, \ve would like to cxtcnd our gratitude and thanks to all through the rest of
"The Do\^/ntown Eastsjde has a history of writing that sui)ports activism and presei]ts the voice of many otherwise disenfranchised citizens, voices from the strc€Ls, creativity from Indigenous people and people of colour, from SROs, from people living with sut)stance use and mental health conditions, and
from people recovering from the crap life has thrown at them. Our creativity and writing heals us, brings us to that deep interconnectedness with consciousness within and wit]iout that unites us in comniunity. We have more writers per square foot than any other community in Cariada. Welcome. Come, listen,
the year! Whether you volunteer at Carnegie or with other groups aTid organizations, your kindness, generosity, and commitment to volunteering brings strength and vibrancy to your community. YOU arc appreciated year-round i Keep well: Camegje Volunteer Program Team gLamegievolunteerproi±ram@vancouver.ca
Dear World, I hope this letter find5 you well. I know we have never officially met, but I ha`Je been observing you from afar for quite some time now. As a young
person, I have alv\iays dreamed of making an impact on you, of leaving my mark cin your surface. I have always imagined that one day I woi]]d be able participate, ]eam, share, and grow with `rs. Whatcvcr to speak to you, to share my thouLgivts and ideas journey you're on, may you find sustenance at the with you, and to make a difference in your existDTES Writers festival."
This year the Festival culminates with the launch of MegapholJe magazine`s Pro;cc5 a/r#e Sfrccc, a co]]aborative compendium of prose & poetry by local writers. iEraiQgaphonema£±azine.com or 604-2559701.
Get in touch with the volunteer advisory committee via
ca or 604-665-2220.
ence. But alas7 it seems as though you ha`re never had the time or interest in hearing what I have {o say.1 have been writing and speaking out, trying to make my voice heard. but it feels as though my words are losl in the wind. It's as i±` you are too busy with
your own affairs to pay attention to the indlviduals who make up your iT`habitants. Never.thc]ess. I refuse to give up on you. T wi]]
continue to write and speak out, to fight for what I belie\Je in, and to make a positive change in }ioiir world. I believe that ever.v person has the power to
make a difference, no matter how sinall, and I will not let your indifference discourage me. I hope that one day you will take notice of the work that I and so many others are doing to imprcivc yoLir world. I hope that }.ou will listen to our
voices and take action to maki` a better future for rill of us. Until tlien, I will continue to write this
letter to yoii, my lelter to ttie World that never wrote to mc. Sincerely, Emily
What Is Left Behind and ... So clean, Hastings aild Main Street sidewalk -rain from the storm washed the concrete clean. I was sur-
pl.ised and ainazed to see this clean street at my feet and then I remembered how hard it rained the nigllt before and I wdb not \`olTied about placing nly new torpedo skateboard (lown on the pavement. I thought "i might ride my skateboard across the street, oh no. it's too dirty for my new board,look: and what it is is clean, and wily?" My ride will stay clean, ycah!
At a glance over ny shoulder at Powell Street a taxi is roiinding the coriier and I look ahead at the crosswalk arid ttie Carnegie center where the intersection light is yellow and then red and I then drop my board down. The people surrounding me to my right are in front c)f Owl drug ma]-ket enjoying the boreal forest and I am reiidy too, to pounce one foot on the ground and one on my board as the taxi and I roll up to the red. I scc the people across the apex on the olheT side one in orange and one a womaTi witli her head down. The cross walk and I and I pick my line. It is kindness that I want aT]d I feel it feel b}i the people's presence; and the cyc contact made tct the taxi driver to confiTTn that he and I will go stra]ghl lt is a kindness that was hard edmed over a vcr,v long complicated time` and expanded in the complicated and brief moment I waited for the light to change. L}y being jii this spot and crossing time and this street logcthcr as a rider and as a pedestrian and as a human and as a traffic controller. I rush the light carryiiig alone all iny knc>wledge on my torpedo and my foot hits and my board carries me and the sun goes down over the dLpc,` of Hastings street to the handicap b.)u]evard access. My front left wheel hits the stone and my eye catc]1es the older lady's whom did not see me pouTice and I force my wheel with my last ounce of momen(urn up over the tiny stolle. The unknown
pebble awaits me so tiny for an eye to see and rcad}/ to fla[tcn me out in f`rolit of a stranger to see.
The rain washed the grit away except the one Stone and our hope and the man taking his break leaning on the Carnegie fence puts his cigarcttc out. I wish it was easy to keep it this way. [,ike the smooth plastic ridge Linder my blue Walmart torpedo. sold and agreed for $20, oTjginal smooth plastic on my fingertips and rusty screws looks like it was left out in the rilin.
By Roger I)ick
CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION
AOM NOTICE The Carnegie Community Centre Association will hold its'
Annual General Meeting on Wedn
June 7st ,L2Q23 @
i;3QBm at the Carnegie Communky Centre, 401 Main SL, Vancouver, B.C.
The Board of Directors election nominees frc]m MayL3, 2Q23 board meeting, will be held at this meeting.
To vote at this meeting you must have purchased a membership card on or before MayL23,L2Q23. Registration will take place between 5:00 and 5:30 For many people the Carnegie Communit}i Centre is a living room.1 [ere yoii can learn, explore, be creative and socialize with friends. For others it is intimidating and notso-welcoming and feels unsafe or at least `inslitutiona].. To explore how to bring positive changes to this building
•,-.. a grant has been obtained with one aspect of application to Indigenjac the space. Tlle architectural firm of Nick BTay js on board and will be getting in|)ut from various groupings and individuals over the next several weeks. Our goal: "To explore ways to create an environment at the Caniegie Commimity Centre that is safe. welcoming and empov\/eriTig for the Vancou`Jer Urban Indigenous Community, particularly in the Dowiitown Eastsidc.'. Questions on the building: *ITov\' does the building make you feel? *Hov,i can the building better support activities t`or your
community? *^re ther. ally items or spaces you t-eel should have particular attention to them? *Arc there any people or groups .you suggest we speak with`?
Everyone is asked for input. either written or \,'erbally Email N icole.Bit-i]Za`/\ :]fico 11\'L`r.Cil
~ Of Pro[)One :1nd Dissolution ~
Wepress
Onward it goes, the battle c)f Hastings
and Main. From tc.epee to towinouse. and tents in the rain. Over fumes of discontent I`rom fires of havcs and have nots, the sky of the globe is losing heft. Tho v\ie might broil or dTi)wn. il does T.eflect tlie battle of ]lasting and Maill.
©May.2023.Gany L. Gust
Dear Carncgic Newsletter Readers, 1've just crunched the numbers on wea]1h inequality ill Canada, and the statistics are shocking. The rich-
est 1% now control one quarter of the country's
Wepress is a imique organi5ation in the DowmtowTi Lastsidc. It is birij2g a Programming and Mana!±ins± Director who will:
Be committed to honouring and upholding the core values and I)ositive impact of wepress; DDevelopawayofoperatingthatdrawsonthe input, desires, and wishes of cominurities served by Wepress; Maintain existing rclatiouships with other DTES/Chinatown organizations jn the collective effort toward broader decolonization of the neighbbourhoodandsystemschange; Establish tlie administrative and organizational supports required to ensure that staff have the capacity lo serve our art-making coinmun]ties for the long-term. By. creating a moi-e solid organizattional structuTc and implementing processes and
wealth. The 87 richest families on average ec7c-/7 have
policies to support t)etter coTiflict resolution and
more than the 12 million Canadians at the bottom of the economic ladder combined. The coiintry needs a wealth tax. My rcscarch shows that the positive impacts could be sigriificant-if we tax wealth over S 10 million annually ` even at rates betwccn 1 % and 3%, it would raise more than $32 billionper },`eczr. That's enough to pa}' for univel.sat pharmaceutical coverage, free tuition for pc)st-secondary education, loo.000 affordable homes per year and a major increase in public transit
accountabilily. the PMD will help meet the needs of staff and minimize bumout and tulTiover; and
invcstmcnt L'rjt77 brt7€c7.
Dream big for DTES artists -create and implenient arts and culture programming in collaboration with equityrdenied artists -cspccially artists who consider concepts of commiinity care in their work. who make work that chal]cnges or dismantles colonial systems, wliose work or livelihood is deeply impacted by intersecting systems of op-
pression and exclusion, and/or wlro are otherwise undelTeprcscnted (emerging and/or marginali7ed
A wealth tax is both practical and hugely popular with Canadians-89% support it, including 83% of
artists).
Conservati\'e voters. The cha]Ienge is that the w-ealthy liave been able to largely keep it off the federal policy agenda. But with increased awareness and
For details and job description contact Kathy
pressure, pol icymakers ma}r feel compelled to act. PLcase hc]p us spread the word.
-Alex
Alex Hemlngwoy is a senlor econorrrlst and the CCPA-BC'5 public finonce analyst
Google Canadian C`entre for Policv Alternatives
Shimizu` email Lti|lh+;.(§|±weprcss.ca asap.
DJ in front of Smokey's mural of her in Hastings Folk Garden.
photo by Kelty Roberts
If We Had Our Own Homes A"Zlipper Sc>nor \o the \une IF I HAD A HAMMER
by Pete Seeger If \`re had our own homes We.d close down all the she]tcrs We'd be sleepiiig jn warm beds All over this la-and We'd say goodbye to t)ed bilgs Friends could come to vjis-it
Curbside Haiku Shards ol-broken glass Glittering in the moming sulllight eastside diamonds.
Lisa David
We'd be safe and secure: out of the rain A-a-a-a-all over this land.
If we had our own homes We could cook our own meals We'd Say goodbye to soup lines All over this la-and Vi/re.d have our own ta-b]es F'riends could come to vi-is-it
We`d be safe and secure; healthier, tool A-a-a-a-all over this land.
If we had our own homes We`d store our belongings We`d say, "Cioodbye shopping carts!" All over this la-and Wc. d go out unencumbered Friends could ask us o-c)v-er We.d t>e safe and secure; happier, too! A-a-a-a-all ovcT this land. Lisa David
Embassy for Strays The entrance is intimidatiilg to some.
Once inside, however, A discovery. People everywhere. playing chess,
C utting hair, Bcading-
Readillg' Meeting friends.
A home for the forgotten, l`hc misunderstood, Unloved. Unwante`d`
Don't flt in'
Another Day In Paradise Early on a spring morning. I heard her before I saw her. Scritch. scritch. scritch ...
A tall, dignified v\Joman Walking along Powel] Street. Scritch, scritch, sclitch ...
Wcarillg an elegailt7 floor ]cTigth gown (`ons(ructed from a shower curtain. The tram dragging on the sidewdlk in her wake, 'Scritch. scritch, scrjtch.
"Wish they'd just disappear."
A place where things hartpen.
Dreams dare to become, Action plans hatch, Learning occurs, Appetites arc satisficd` Connections are made. Life is normal, If only for a stlort while. A refuge the neighbourhoocl lc)oks up to. An embass}'` for those Who are strays no more.
Not)ody commentecl c)n her outfit.
Lisa David Lisa Da\'id
TOWN ITALL DRAWS MANY ACTIVTSTS About 60 people attended the \'1a} ith Tovm IIall at Carnegie to give input on the Carnegie Associatioil's project to build a community plan to end homelessness aiid figure out wliat to do in the meantime. IIere arc some of the ideas that people piit forward:
•
build inore co-op housing
•
gel a D[`ES community land trust withtenant-led oTgani7ing in each building
•
expand squatters rights
•
use golfcourses forho`ising
•
abolish the fi]jng fee at the Residential Tenancy
Branch •
changethe definition of social housing so all social
hi)using includes iit ledst some dt shelter rate
•
use city-owned parking lots formodularhousing
•
at aminimum safe and secuT.etemporaryhousing
while more subsidi7,ed housing is built
•
just. secure and permanent housing forall
•
our owTi washi-ooms!
•
decommodified housing as opposed tomarket and
non for profit housing • mcnta] health sur>ported housing •
self contained iinits: sros are not sufficient
•
Indigenous housingwith sweat lodge and liealing
centre iittached •
culturally appropriate and accessiblehousing; eg low
income chinese seniors need building staff who speak Chinese languages and si)me need grocery and/or hot meal deliveries
•
mu]ti-generational housing at shelter rates
•
low barrierhousingforpeople who use drugs and
folks w/o status or citizenship •
more low barrier shelter beds;
tent cities with facilities including support staff with cooking and laundry • c]eaii up/renovate sROs
• •
SAFESUPPLY rcmovc property tax cxcmptioT` from churches and
put fimds towards ending homclcssness • raisethe rates: social assistance and pensions •
•
•
vtlcanc}r control forall
go afterthe profiteers who are definitely not in crisis
strengthentherental rights when people h.ive their basic needs met, other societal problems tend to disappear
1'11 be talking to more folks about our plan and coming back with another meeting to see il-we can agree on recommendations and a pl:in hopefull}r t)y the fall. It` you have ide{is please send them to iit{]n`\\I'aiison@g_f}]Z_i_Ll__€_Ql!l
Thanks for Les Nelson, our Carnegie Elder in Residence. for doing the Land Acknowledgement, C`hris Livjngston for telling us about th6` Community I_,and rl`rusts, Paul 'J`ay]or for putting the mccting notice on
the front page of the Carnegie Newsletter, Ben VanderGer for taking notes and Carnegie staff for food, iind set up help! ! !
Emergency Townhall Called for the Future of 105 Keefer: Chinatown needs low-income housing, not condos!
"Community members celebrate on the steps of City Hall in 2017 after stopping the Beedie condo development (the first I,me)."
In 2012, millionaire developer Ryan Beedie tried to develop 105 Kccfcr Street, a bite in the heart of chinatown7 into an 11 -storey luxury condominium.
For 5 years (2012-2017). a movement of Chinatown's low-income residents. seniors, and youth fought the plan. This multi-racial. intcrgenerational movement had one message: Chinato\+n needs low-income housing` ]iot condos!
1n 2017` neighborhood residents won a huge vicloryl The city -s Dcvcloplnent Permit Board rejecte(1 the
project. Residents demanded 1000/o welfare-and pension-rate housing. with community amenities for seniors. to be built in its place However, the cit}' left the lot empt.v for 5 years instead. Meanwhile. Bee(lie ]ikely spent an enolTnous amount of money in court and gettiiig friendl}7 politicians elected to cit}. hall. Beedie`s proposal -featuring 0 iinits of low-income housing -will now be Lrcconsidered. on Ma.v 29. 2023.
Will Ken Sim, Vancouver's first ChiTiese iTlayor, side with the people? Chil`atown.s poor and w'orking LCTiants have taken on the rich and po\`'erful before; we can do il again.
Join us on Thurstlay, May 25th @ 4:30pm, at 105 Keefer, for a townhall on the future of 105 Keefer. Show up, vote, and make residents voices heard! IIelp Save 105 Keefer for the Commuiiity! 100% welfare-and pension-rate housing now!
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The Downtown Eiistside Plaques I-eferred on the
page opposite are all part of the history of struggle in this vibrant area. With
funding from the Vancouvcr & District Labour Council, the Carnegie Community Action Proji`ct helped with the research and design of each. 1n the last couple of
weeks there was a housecleaning in the Carnegie Association office and copies of the 12 short Illstories were found, all da-
ting from about 2010, and memory brought back seeing these around the neighbourhood. The one featurcd this + issue is entitled Aborigi-
Hal Workers. The text is as follows: -`Coast Salish people have fished, hunted, gathered and traded in this area since time Immemorial. 'I`he
Downtown f`,aslside lies within unccded Coast Sa]ish territory. Since the mid-1850b Aboriginal men and women v\'orked fo-I wages in fishmg, hand-logging, longshore work and canneries. Tn 1893 more than one-third of the 2,350 fishers on the Fraser Rlver were Aboriginal. including cT1`ile families on company boats. Their participation in labour struggles \vas essential to v\ in higher pay f`rom ttic bosses.
The first ma`|or strike was in 1893. All fishers -Aboriginal, White and `lapanese -refused to fish. Cannery operators complained that "tht`ir Tmlian5`' were intimidatecl by union organi7crs, and Indian agents pushed for an encl to the strike. But the solidarit,v of leaders like Cranberry Jack. Capilano George and George Meshell \vas reported in the Vc7#cr)wv€J' W'or/c/ ne\+-srtaper. "the Indians fully undei.stood the grievarices of the Wliitc fishermen and t)eing in sympathy therein, had joined the union." rl he}' also said the Indian agents should bc looking after ttieir interests . . . not those ot-the companies. The strike was broken when employers successfully divided the workers along ethnic lines. rl`he 1900 Fraser River strike was more successful Aboligin.ilsjoined WJiite and Japanese fishcrs lo
demand 25 cents per fish, $3 per day for sliorc workers, and union recognition. Ttiey scltled for 19 cents
pcr fish but no union recog"tion. On the docks, Tsleil-Waututh longslioronen specialized as lumber handlers7 and in 1906 formed the first uiiiori on the Burrard Docks with their hall at 686 Powell St. Omcially Local 526 of the lndustri-al Workers of the World (IWW). they soon became known as the ..Bows and AITows" Local..'
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Weali-kin)wliidgethatc{irnL`gji.i.ommurtify.(=lxnlri'ra"i this News/9#er, are c)ccurriilg on Coast Salish Territory,
{e*v-a ^r. ar,=a
THIS NEWSLETTER IS A Pu8LICATION OF THE
Jenny Kwan MP
cARNEGiE c O"REu NrTy CENTRE AssoenTio&
Vancouver East NDP
Articles represent the vie'ws of individual
Immigratiori, Refugee
conlnbutors and not or the Associat7ofl`
and Citizenship Crltic
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€i2e restlistiof`s apgiv)i {i.e, # your piece (s too ]arge[
Monday, May 29 by hooh
!1 wi!l be iechjced and/or mpped Lo ill),
Ail artisls wi» receiye Gedit tor lhair wortc.
i)riginals will be re{umed lo thE. ariisl ater being
caper for pubJica(rfu.
wEAPoNS oF mAsS DESTRUCTION
flemureraliori. Cafrngie Vdui`leerr Tieke!s
Please make submis5fons fro Paul Taylor, Editor.
AIDS
The edi!Dr carl edit fcx clarity, format a brevity.
t!ut rot at tte expense ct the writer's message.
•
POVERTY
•
HOMELESSNESS
•
VIOLENCEAGAINST WOMEN
•
TOTALITARIAN CAptTALISM
4QI Main Street, Vancouver VIA 2T7 604J555-228g
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lGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR
IroNAnoNs 2023 Wheelbarrow Foundation Mlchele C-$300 J for Bob Sarti -$150
VM Theatre -$500 H -$750 Kevin D -$100
For Roger Howie -$150 Teresa V -$50
i,`
`
'(j,
'',
/`
`,..y
i =.--::+:`:..
Vancouver5 nan-commercial, li5tEner-supported
community station.
From the Library Join us at 6pm on \'1:i} lath in the c`amegie ll]eatre for an evenlng film screening ot.S//mc(/"i' I/.AiJ ^lyJe. This doci]mentary follows the para]I.`l joume.vs of Drake, a gay asylum seeker from Uganda, and a group of strangers frc)in Vancouver.s queer commuiiity who arc tasked with supporting his resettlement in Caiiada. Together, they embark on tt year-long quest for personal freedom, ri-vealing how in a world where one mii5t constantly fight fc>r the right to exist. survi\'al itself becomes a victory.