August 1, 2022 Carnegie Newsletter

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AUG~2022

NEWSLETTER

Cl;lrnn~aWSI@vcn,bc,ea

401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7

(604) 665~2289

'Horrifying at Worst and an Insult at Best' Here's why the Pope's apology isn't an apology at all.

Photo by Nathan Denette

By Lori Campbell in The Tyee

Lori Campbell is Cree-Metis from Treaty 6 Territory and associate vice-president of Indigenous engagement at the University of Regina. This article originally appeared in the Conversation.

Pope Francis came this week to Maskwacis in Central Alberta - where many Indigenous people, including survivors of residential schools and their descendants, had gathered - to deliver an expected apology in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Call to Action No. 58.

"We call upon the Pope to issue an apology to survivors, their families, and communities for the Roman Catholic Church's role in the spiritual, cultural, emotional, physical and sexual abuse of First Nations, Inuit and Metis children in Catholic-run residential schools."

I am the granddaughter of a residential school survivor. I am the daughter of a First Nations woman who survived having each of her seven children stolen and relocated through the '60s Scoop assimilation policy.

I spent more than 25 years searching for and locating not only my birth mother, but also all of my siblings who were spread across several provinces. I continue to fight to ensure that my nieces, nephews and young relatives know who they are - and that we are here because of the undeniable strength and perseverance of our ancestors.

What many Canadians don't understand is that the struggles within Indigenous communities today are not cultural traits - they are symptoms of a people still struggling from the intergenerational trauma and horrors experienced through the genocidal acts and abuses that took place through the residential school assimilation policy.

Did the Pope's apology truly address Call to Action No. 58?

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called for the apology to take place on Turtle Island within one year of the release of the 2015 report. It also called for the apology to speak to the role of the Roman Catholic Church. Seven years later, and only due to the consistent persistence ofIndigenous Peoples, Pope Francis agreed to apologize.

But what did he apologize for?

Much like he did when an Indigenous delegation visited Rome earlier this year, Pope Francis apologized for "the ways in which many members of the church and religious communities co-operated" in the residential school system.

This was not the Catholic Church taking responsibility for acts of genocide and spiritual, emotional and physical abuses. Apologizing for individuals versus the establishment that upheld not onJy the assimilation policy, but also protected - and continues to protect - the people who committed the crimes is horrifying at worst and an insult at best.

The Catholic Church not only upheld the government's residential school system, it used it to further its own religious agenda. It continues to protect Catholic officials who perpetrated criminal acts upon the children. Some of them are still alive to this day.

Canada continues to investigate and hold accountable individuals who have committed war crimes during the Second World War. Where is the accountability for those who have committed crimes against Indigenous children?

A history of eh eh failures After the discovery of unmarked graves of children who died while attending residential schools began receiving international coverage in 2021, the Catholic Church committed to providing $30 million to support reconciliation projects for survivors.

But its fund raising campaign fell short by nearly 90 per cent. The church claims it's still working on a detailed plan to fulfil its commitment. Nonetheless, in 2016 it managed to raise and invest $128 million to renovate St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in downtown Toronto.

The Catholic Church is among the wealthiest religious organizations in the world. Money flows where priorities go, and the Catholic Church clearly prioritizes renovations over reconciliation.

Indigenous groups, including the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, have also been calling for the release of all residential school records since the release of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report. But the Vatican still hasn't complied. It holds records and requires Indigenous people to travel to Rome to access the documents. There are also suspicions some documents have been destroyed.

False absolution causes pain I would not be walking in my truth ifI were not to acknowledge how the church has manipulated some Indigenous people.

It appears that the church feels its only responsibility was to listen to survivors share their stories of horror, and that in itself absolves it of any wrongdoings and releases it from any further accountability.

This is still being acted out today in ways that are extremely upsetting for me and many other Indigenous people. We saw it this week as the Pope was gifted sacred items from those who suffered abuses.

A 'Walk Together' or an 'Erasure Tour'?

Sharing of gifts is a cultural norm for Indigenous Peoples. But to share sacred, ceremonial items that are intended to acknowledge people at the highest level for their contributions, wisdom and leadership is not only inappropriate, it's deeply harmful for Indigenous culture and the future of our young people. Neither the Pope nor the church has earned these gifts.

It suggests that we don't deserve reparations, accountability or reciprocity.

Time and time again, Indigenous people who have been displaced through assimilation policies and other colonization tactics tell me they profoundly desire opportunities to learn more about who they are, where they come from and to understand our cultures.

I have wiped their tears while they cry when they see Indigenous political leaders give away headdresses, pipes and drums as symbolic, performative gestures to those who continue to harm us.

Reconciliation requires people to act The Pope's Apology Must Come with Real Change To my relatives still struggling as you are finding your way back into the circle, I extend my deepest sympathies for the hurt you endured as you watched this happen again during the Pope's visit. These behaviours must end, full stop.

To the broader community of people in Canada, know that reconciliation is ! not solely the responsibility of the state or an institution. It also falls upon the individual.

Reconciliation is how you guide conversations with your family while having dinner.It's how you acknowledge the Pope's apology and how you deepen the discussion to talk about what wasn't said.

It's those conversatio that will contribute to a future where everyone in Canada can thrive, including Indigenous Peoples.

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CI.TYOPERA VANCOUVE.R

CHINATOWN 13 -17 September 2022. Vancouver Playhouse "City Opera Vancouver released details of its long-awaited new opera, CHINATOWN.

"It is a ground-breaking new work. Nothing like it has been done before," said City Opera President Ethel Whitty. "CHINA TOWN is our fifth commission in ten years. It premieres at a time of anti-Asian racism, a struggle to preserve Chinatown itself, and a need to tell the Canadian story it embodies.

"Asian-Canadians now constitute 42% of our people in Metro Vancouver. It is their story too.

"Although a Western opera," added artistic director Charles Barber, "it incorporates traditional Chinese themes, sounds and sensibilities. It is a story of racism and resistance, neighbourhood and family. And it is a love story. It will have wide appeal.

"In two acts and two hours, CHINA TOWN examines six characters, two families, and a chorus of ghosts.

Its fusion orchestra plays both Chinese and Western instruments. We provide English and Chinese supertitles throughout," he concluded.

• CHINA TOWN is the first opera written about any Chinatown in Canada • It is believed to be the first opera written in English, Cantonese, and Hoisan combined • City Opera Vancouver was founded in 2006 INFO: info@cityoperavancouver.com /604.255.0331 WWW cityoperayancqllyer cgrn Jubilant from a distance, I see the city, its lights flickering like a jubilant queen's crown. It seems so casual and yet it is the city that made me crazy. I am relieved it is in the far distance. The place I am in now, where the forests recedes at the end of the hill and I find a sort of magical powe , which makes the work of my limbs a grateful act, is invigorating. The cold sullen faces of city crowds are gone. It is here amongst the long grass and wild flowers that I catch my breath as a black haired squirrel dares up on cottonwood tree trunkjust to trip me up. I am wandering around this small patch of land called earth just to see where it will lead. When I got ill, the world became a dangerous place and the faces of strangers took on a macabre appearance as the wind howled through the chill of my bones like an apathetic ghost. But now where community is nature I am whole.

NATURE IN OUR BACKYARO! Balm of Gilead!

Yes! That's exactly what I said, we do indeed have this right here in our very own backyard, what a nice pleasant discovery and benefit ofliving in the Strathcona neighborhood! And oh so much more, so come along with me to rediscover where you live all over again and learn deeper and exciting things that are beneficial in health and food, through the gift of nature that grows oh so naturally all around us! :-) Cottonwood is an important aboriginal tree with the inner bark used for both food and medicine. The shining brown, pointed, sticky and fragrant buds in winter are an ID clue! If you boil them to release the sweet resin and mix it with olive oil and beeswax you'll have Balm of Gilead!!! Good for soothing aches! This tree is part of the willow family (salicaceae) which has been used since ancient Sumerians in 2000 BC to reduce pain and fever! (Salicin from willow bark was turned into aspirin in 1897).

Ifs Flower!

Male catkins are 4-6 cm long, Female catkins 6-9 cm long, Release tiny seeds covered in white fluff that can fill the air like early summer snow! :) (Its wind-borne seeds have a knack for growing in difficult conditions) meaning a newly cleared lot in Vancouver is likely to be head-high in Cottonwoods a few years later! Grow trees grow!

So if you want to venture out and try your hand at producing a home made remedy of Balm of Gilead for yourself, that's free and accessible right here in the DTES, then you'll be happy to know that all you have to do is find your way over to Strathcona park, next to Cottonwood Community Garden (name clearly a perfect connecting fit) and go to Raymur Ave & Malkin Ave. And there you will find a row of tall Cottonwood Trees at the South end, and so there ya have it you can try your own hand at the challenge, but be sure to report back here to Carnegie news or me directly to let us know the results of your efforts? You are welcome to send in pies along with your story, and I'd be happy to share the fun newsworthy results in future issues of the newsletter!

Keep your eyes peeled for connecting stories and poems in issues ahead about the wonderful nature right here in our DTES backyard, some of which you can even eat! Stay safe out there, wear hats, use sunblock, and remain hydrated but above all enjoy your summer! :-) By,Jennifer Cooley

thewriterwonrggmail.com

Alternatives to Policing In June the Coalition of Progressive Electors held a community meeting, both online and with a gathering, to present alternatives to Policing as it is currently practiced. Following is an overview: Jean Swanson The Vancouver Police Department (VPD) is governed by the Police Board, which has seven members - 2 (including the Mayor) representing t~e City and 5 appointed by the Provincial govt ..Jean Is.a member of City Council and spoke of gettmg motions ~hro~gh Council calling for reviews of current practices m terms of the crirninalising of poverty, homelessness, mental health interventions and ID checks for Indigenous, Black and people of colou~. Most recently Jean brought a motion forward to review and change the City's "street sweeps" actions to relieve tho.se.camping on sidewalks and to move towards providing adequate housing. It was not voted on but referred 'back to staff and over 30 people who had come to speak were not heard. ~eenakshi~ennoe PIVOT Legal Society works on systemic issues like poverty, homelessness and the crim~nalisation.of same. Meenakshi advocates defundmg the pohce and putting funds now being spent to have them intervene in street sweeps, mental health checks and random stops of non-white people to peer led and other froms of community care. The criminalising of survival behaviour is not a good use of police training Tanya spoke of training and deploying peer-led initiatives to perform wellness checks. She also calle~ on the powers-that-be to have participatory budgetmg so that those most affected by policing in grey areas can have in1mton alternative methods. . .

Chris Livingstone spoke of the need for sobenng centres run by peers and increasing social inputs to matters often seen as black&white when police intervene. He called for land-granting as a way for communities to foster alternatives to police intervention.

Garth of Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users CVANDU) spoke of the efforts to de.criminalise possession and the responses by both CIty and Federal governments. The overdose crisis amid a poisoned drug supply has costs thousands of lives. ~here has been some movement, but "crisis" is ongomg. Garth warned of a coming backlash by reactionary elements

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in both government and police to reassert control over the current situation.

Beverly spoke of the pro-police slant of the wealthy Chinese, especially in the face of any anti-Asian acts. She mentioned the immediate calls for security responses to the poor and homeless who are blamed for any intrusion or acts against Chinese people.

Kit of PACE spoke of the danger and disrespect that sex workers routinely face during interactions with police. Whenever alternatives are.proposed to make this work safer the response ISone of moral outrage.

Over the course of each person speaking for alternatives, there was anger and frustration at the status quo, whereby calling the police seemed to be the only response for community members. It was good for each speaker to air possibilities but a cynicism at doing things the "right way" like making motions and calling on the City to make changes only to have such efforts appear to hav~ been for nought. The pace of change seems glacially slow but the work to make alternatives a reality must be done.

ByPAULR TAYLOR

• BRAS A~D U·NDERWEAR VI'SC to·tH IN G • FOOTWEAR • WOMEN'S AND MEN'S CLOTHING AUGUST 3,2022 12PM-3PM EVERYONE LOCATIO.w:OPPENHEIMER

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City of Vancouver (ACCS - Arts Culture Community Services)

About Racism: A Book Review After reading White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin Diangelo, I felt compelled to read her next book, Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm.

As a white person, I learned from her first book that I was born into a system of privilege that does not exist for Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour. As whites, we need to learn how our race has shaped our lives and has left us with unconscious racial bias.

Diangelo's books guide us through the work we need do in order to become anti-racist. "[The] opposite of racist isn't not racist; rather it is anti-racist." Anti-racism begins with having genuine relationships with BIPOC; whites need to participate in, contribute to, and support Indigenous and other racialized groups. Having these genuine relationships requires that we educate ourselves about the history of white settler colonialism. (Here in Vancouver, we need to reflect deeply on the meaning of living on the traditional unceded territory ofIndigenous people.)

Her books, rooted in her deep experience leading anti-racist workshops and on her commmitment to listening to people who are not white, are a treasure that provide essential perspectives for learning about racism and what we whites can do to begin changing our damaging behaviours.

Nice Racism exposes the role that individualism, meritocracy, and capitalism play in creating and perpetuating racism. It's not a long stretch to understand, as she does, that "[w]e won't eradicate economic injustice as long as we leave racism unaddressed and remain susceptible to racist manipulation." For a better understanding of how she arrives at this conclusion, read these books.

A Bit More I share with Robin Diangelo having been raised Catholic. Am~m~other questions she asks, " ... how did my conditioning under Catholicism to not question authority - and in particular not the authority of the white male priests who spoke for a white male God -lead me to silently collude with the racism of other white people."

We have recently been subjected to a visit and an apology from the Pope, the white male theoretical representative ofthe God hypothesis here on Earth. In her July 27th story in The Tyee, Lori Campbell, grandaughter of a residential school survivor, writes that the Pope's apology, " ... was not the Catholic Church ta ing responsibility for acts of genocide and spiritual, emotional and physical abuses."

Silence from a position of power is a racist power move that abdicates responsibility. The church has also failed to follow through on its commitment to provide the $30 million it promised to survivors for reconciliation afer the discovery of unmarked graves. It's not like they are out of money. $128 million was recently spent to renovate St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica in downtown Toronto. (Lori Campbell) It is absolutely not my place to speak for Indigenous People, but as a person living on the ancestral unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and T'sleil Watuth people, who feels he is an ally, and as a former Catholic, I might believe the Pope's and Roman Church's sincerity when he puts his money where his mouth is.

Until then, he's just another old racist white guy in a position of great power, perpetuating racial harm, who fails to meet his responsibilities.

By Gilles Cyrenne

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CARNEGIE INDIGENOUS PROGRAMS .~~~~£LWME AUGUST 2022 ~~t~ A.

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NO PROGRAM

Tuesday August 16 ~.Theatre 1.2:30prn IttcLigenous Crafts with E!ders Learn how to make a medicine pouch

Tuesday Au.gust 2 - Thetttre 12:30pnt ImHgenous Crafts with Bltlers Learn about the medicine wheel

Wednesday August 17- Seminar Rm 3:00pm Elder Clutt -Drep by fora coffee and chat with Elder in Residence Les Nelson

Wednesday August 3 - Seminal' Rm 3:00pm Elder Chat - Drop by for Cl coffee and chat with .Elder in Residence

Thursday August1S and Sunday August 21 - Andy Liningstone Park Art in the Park .. Join Elder in Residence Les Nelson at the park for an afternoon orart!

Thursday August 4 und Sunday Al(gust 7dt - kl'l(iy Li~in!lstone Pnrk Art in the Park - Join Elder in Residence Les Nelson at the park for an afternoon of art!

Monday August 22 - Theatre 5:30pm Ctdtural Sharing Program Learn how tomakll a bead bracelet

Mon(lay August 8 -Theatre 5:30pm Cultural Sharing Jry·ogram.

Learn how to make a cedar bracelet

Tttesday AugttSt 23 - Theatre t2:30pm.

Indigenous Crafts with Eldcrs Learn how to make a beadehoker

Tucsday August 9 - Theatre 12:30pm Indigenous Crafts with Er.ders Learn how to make mini moccasin earrings

Wednesday August 24 - Seminar Rm 3:00pm Elder Chat - Drop hy for a coffee and chat with Elder in Residence Les Nelson

Wc (htesaa)l AU911st10 ~ Seminar Rm 3:00pm Elder Chat - Drop by tor Cl coffee and chat with Elder in Residence Les Nelson

Thursday August 25 and §tnday August 28 ~ And)! LMngstonc Park Art in the P(lrk - Join Elder. in Residence Les Nelson at the park for an afternoon of art!

Thursday August 11and Sunday August 14 ~ Andy Livingstone Pttrk Art in the Park - Join Elder in Residence Les Nelson at the park for an afternoon of art!

Monday August 29 - Tfteatre 5:30pm Cultural Sharing Program ·B~I·N-G-O"

Monday August 15 - Theah'e 5:30pm

'I'uesday August 30 - Theatre 12:30pm Indigcuou.s Crtifts with Elders Learn how to make basi.c beaded earrings

Monday August 1 - Theatre 5:30pm Cultural Slun'i'1t9 Program

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Sharing Proqrnm Learn how to make Cl medicine pouch CulttLral

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from the Library Not that it needs a reminder, but temperatures in Vancouver this week have been hot. Environment Canada issued a heat wave warning on Monday July, 25th. During this week, temperatures will be in the 25 -29 C range. At the time of writing, the humidity will be at a high of33° C. At night, temperatures are still elevated, and in the high teens. Peak heat is in the late afternoon/early evening, and cooler temperatures are around sunrise. If the heat wave persists and you need to cool off, head over to Carnegie Centre for access to cool air (in the Theatre and Gym) and water.

Carnegie Branch has a lot to offer in the form of distraction from the heat. We have puzzles, graphic novels, movies, and more. If you need to access services to help you or your loved ones get through this heat wave come by with your questions too. The heat will start to taper off on Friday July 29th so by the time you read this we hope it's cooler!

Stay tuned for an upcoming online (Zoom) program presented by the library called Emergency Preparedness Workshop: Pet Preparedness. This program is happening on Thursday, August 11 from 1:002:00PM. This session will help you to prepare for unexpected emergencies and how to make sure your pet is ready too. During this session, you will learn how to prepare yourself and your pets for disasters and emergencies such as fires, in Vancouver. This program is presented in collaboration with Vancouver Emergency Management Agency (VEMA). You can access this program with a computer, tablet, or phone with internet access. However, you do not need a microphone. If you have questions about Zoom, let us know.

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For more information, visit the Carnegie Branch, call (604) 665-3010, or email usatinfo@.vpJ.ca

Anti- Depressants caged is this feeling jumps into my throat my belly is heavy

feel it it goes deep, dry.

Tears too dangerous I have to cry I need to cry.

Doctor I want to cry I am conflicted a forced smile sits somewhere between resentment, rage, revenge My freedom? you took that. now my soul is.

I wish I could end this sorrow I am balloon JT Sandhu

A Short Talk on Schizophrenia Sometimes, I just crawl into bed and pray to Saint Gertrude of Neville, patron saint of Cats and Gardens. The appalling lack of ample sky, clouds my eyes and in the market place I think kill yourself.

A kirpan is a dagger with its first fruits and you say, flippantly, brazenly much too large that she is a voiceless set of eyes that drip like a petulant moon. She bows at the temple floor, feet twisting and arms open hair in a mess-like a Philomel caught in a net.

She cries outs, writhing, foaming at the mouth gray slabs of wind pouring on to the temple floor full of debauchery, a spectacle.'

Ruby Diamond

I try to name it,

This is Significant Carmen Landsdowne is a minister with the United Church in the Downtown Eastside. She has been elected as the head ofthe United Church of Canada Carmen is the first Indigenous woman to lead a religious denomination in Canada.

The position makes her the institution's spiritual leader and public representative, while policies and doctrine are overseen by a general council.

The Heiltsuk (Hailzaqv) Nation member, also known as Kwisa'lakw, helms First United in the Downtown Eastside. It offers food, housing and showers to low-income residents.

An article on the CBC website has Rev Lansdowne talking about churches "speaking truth to power" on issues like poverty, housing, Indigenous rights, and climate change, crises that "play out" tragically in the Downtown Eastside. Each church does its own work to make the safety net adequate, yet the struggle of Indigenous leaders to hold these same institutions accountable is decades (some would rightly say 'centuries') long.

In the interview Carmen said she 'stands on the shoulders' of Alberta Billy, an elder who demanded an apology from the United Church of Canada beginning in the 1980s. When it finally came it was acknowledged but not accepted.

It is apparent that Rev Lansdowne's work is far from over.

THE 7TH ANNUAL SANDY CAMERON MEMORIAL WRITIlN6 CONTEST Sandy was a writer and poet and an historian emeritus who traced the years of struggle for social and economic justice in the life of the Downtown Eastside. He contributed his thoughts and feelings on subjects as diverse as class and whale watching but tied everything to our ongoing ideation on social justice.

This contest is to honour him and all who use the written word to express themselves.

This is for writers and poets who identify with the struggles of the Downtown Eastside, who see and feel passion in living with spiritual, mental, and physical yearnings. It may be with wealth (too much or not enough), housing (too luxurious or not good enough), homelessness (seeing people or trying to ignore reality), both sides of addiction in the drug trade, the sex trade, "free" trade, community, women (murdered, missing what it is to be safe and creative), children and growing, festivals, ceremonies, memorials, special people and their contributions (past, present) all you do to make your life meaningful both now and towards the future. Whew!

Prizes will be awarded for each category. 1St, 2nd & 3rd will be $100, $75 and $50 respectively.

Additional non-cash prizes for entries deserving recognition.

Guidelines for Writing Contest.

1.

Writing must be the original work of the person submitting the contest entry & not fiction . . 2.

If plagiarism is recognised the work will be disqualified and returned.

Contact information for the writer must be provided with each contest entry.

Essays: This means writing in sentences, with grammar and structure attempted.

Poetry: All forms accepted. Must use the same font (typeface) throughout Subject is open to the individual author. It can be about most anything relevant to readers. In the words of Sam Roddan "[It] must have a hite. It must create some kind of disturbance, a turmoil in the

heart, a turbulence of memory and feeling," The length ofthe essay can be 250-700 words, basically what can be printed on 1 page of the Newsletter. Poetry of whatever length, but no more than can be printed on 1 page.

Deadline for submissions is noon on September 15, 2022. Results will be announced at a special event during the Heart of the City Festival (early November).

Each writer may submit only one essay and/or one poetry entry.

Submit your work on paper to Carnegie's front desk or email it to carnnews@shaw.ca with contact info

Downtown

Eastside community

members and advocates showed up to a media briefing at the Vancouver fire sta-

tion Tuesday (July 26) to confront officials about an order to remove tents from a section of East Hastings Street.

Left to right: Pivot Legal Society campaigner Meenakshi Mannoe, Vancouver Area Network of Drug User's member Eli Oda Sheiner, East Hastings Street resident Blue, Vancouver Area Network of Drug User's board member Dave Hamm. (Jane Skrypnek/Black Press Media

Carnegie Summer Kayaking.

Volunteers are welcome to sign up now.

Please consider joining us: Thursday August 4 Thursday August 18 Thursday September 1 or Thursday September 15 Out Trip schedule: 9:45 AM - Come to the 3rd Floor of Carnegie Community Centre to complete consent forms 10:15 -10:30 AM - Take the bus to False Creek (bus tickets can be provided) 11 AM-12 PM-Paddle!

12:00 PM - Lunch (Steamed bun + a drink) Return to Carnegie or home after signing out with the Carnegie Staff Person).

How to rel:?}ster: Registration for this Out Trip is available now at the 3rd Floor Program Office for Kayaking. Please contact them Monday - Friday between 9:00am -4:30pm in person or by calling (604) 665-2274.

Please note, the Carnegie Volunteer Department is staffed part time this summer. Messages will be picked up three times per week. Our contact infor mation is the same, you can reach us at (604) 606-2708. carnegievolunteerprogram@vancouver.ca

OPEBIN6 AFTERNOON

August 11th, 2022 -3:30 pm - 6pm @artbyohmontana show August 1st - 31 st, 2022 PRESENTS

A SOLO ART SHOW

BY MONTANA

KING 3rd floor at the

FAMOUS CARNE61E CENTRE

401 Main Street at Hastings St

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••• Safety Changes [yerytbing

Updates from Battered Women's Support Services In the early hours of July 25, 2022, people in the wider Lower Mainland were jolted awake by a notification of an active shooter in Langley. The shooter appeared to be shooting unhoused people. It is appalling to think that someone would target and kill unhoused people. We continue to reckon with this killing and as they should, the BC provincial government officials issued statements on the tragedy.

Few people knew that on July 21,2022, another shooter was killing people in Chilliwack. On that day, Amber Culley and Mimi Kates werekilled in Chilliwack by a man they knew. The man wasn't found until five days after the killing and no alert went out about the shooter being on the loose. According to online records, a man with the same name was due to appear in court on domestic violence charges the day of the shooting.

On the same day as the shooting in Langley, a woman was set on fire while sitting on a sidewalk in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Another reminder that gender-based violence continues unabated. We couldn't help but notice the lack of government response on the instance of femicide and attempted femicide. This silence reminds us that femicide is normalized within society and with the government.

The Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability which focus on research, social & state responses to femicide, released preliminary numbers for the first 6 months of2022.

88 women and girls have been killed so far in 2022, which means that 1 woman or girl continues to be killed every other day. BC is 2nd with the highest number of killings with 15 women or girls who have been killed so far. These numbers are consistent with covid times but a-typical of what we have seen prior to covid. We know that for every woman who is killed, there are thousands living in fear. .•. At BWSS 94,736 is the number of times someone experiencing domestic c!rsexualized violence reached out to us since March 2020. .

And that's why we do the work we do every day providing support services that include individualized crisis intervention, emergency housing, accompaniment, assistance with police statements, and support in languages other than English. And advocacy that includes how to survive a housing crisis, preparation for and accompaniment to family and immigration law hearings, and access to lawyers that specialize in family, immigration, and child welfare.

For support call us 2417 at 1-855-687-1868 Or email us at intake@bwss.org

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