December 1, 2021 Carnegie Newsletter

401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7

(604) 665-2289

CITY COUNCIL APPROVES VACANCY . CONTROL FOR PRIVATELY-OWNED SROS TO PREVENT HOMELESSNESS Vancouver City Council passed a motion to prevent an increase in homelessness by implementing vacancy control in privately-owned Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels. Vacancy control ties rent to the unit rather than the tenant, limiting rent increases between tenancies. This removes the financial incentive for slumlords to evict low-income tenants in SROs, and prevents these vulnerable tenants from becoming homeless.

Councillor Jean Swanson, who moved the motion to implement vacancy control, says "this is the cheapest, most effective way of preventing an increase in homelessness and of slowing the loss of housing of last resort. This has been over 20 years in the making, and will be monumental for protecting low-income tenants."

Acting on Councillor Swanson's original motion in 2019, Vancouver city staff presented a report and recommendations for implementing vacancy control in SROs. Council also heard from many SRO tenants who spoke about their experience living with the threat of eviction, and Council received hundreds of let-

ters in support, including from local service organizations, nonprofit housing providers, businesses and other community groups.

COPE Co-Chair Nancy Trigueros says "we are so proud to be a part of the legacy of decades of organizing in the Downtown Eastside to protect low-income tenants from homelessness, especially because homelessness during a pandemic, opioid crisis, and climate emergency is a death sentence to many. This is the first step to changing the housing system for the better."

COPE Press Release This has been a long time coming and people who live in Single-Room Occupancy housing are counting it as a bittersweet victory. It still has to be made to work by the budget process of a bureaucracy to monitor compliance. This will include regulations, registration of all rents currently being charged, and a system whereby increases in rents can only be done according to set rules.

The administration may cost upwards of $500,000 per year. This is relatively minor in a government for a city the size ofVancouver.

Kudos to Jean Swanson for being steadfast in getting this done. When she was coordinator for End Legislated Poverty, victories like getting school lunches were the result of 5-7 years of work. It takes a lot of slogging in the trenches to get enough people to change the way things are done. The paper that covered ELP was named "The Long Haul"

Pete Marlowe Address to Vancouver City Council The market's hot. The workers fear the cold.

Despite the empty condos we create for fifteen bucks an hour, as rents inflate within these rat and roach infested holes, where gifts of monthly millions feed the dole collected by the slumlords' shelter rate, fake rent control's just one more twist of fate beyond hard working poverty's control.

We can't ask, Should I stay or should I go? for, without vacancy control in hand, we sink beneath rent's ever upward trend,

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knowing that SRO can also .stand for Standing Room Only, where we're condemned to stay and stand within the status quo forevermore, and so I move that council speedily approve this motion, so we all one day can move.

For, surely, it behooves Vancouverites, for once, to come to grips, and stem this rising tide that sinks all ships.

WORLD AIDS DAY, DEC. 1st World AIDS Day was established in 1988 to remember those worldwide who have died from AIDS. To date, AIDS has claimed 32 million lives globally. At present there are 37.6 million persons in the world living with HIV; of those, 27.4 million receive antiretroviraI treatment. In Canada it is estimated that 87% of persons infected have been diagnosed; 85% of those persons are on antiretroviral treatment; and 94% ofthose who are on treatment, have achieved viral suppression.

Approximately 38 million people in the world are presently living with AIDS; of those 38 million 62,000 persons reside in Canada. Nigeria now has the highest prevalence of HI V in the world; over 3 % of their population, aged 15 to 49, are HIV positive.

The first HIV positive person in Canada was diagnosed in March, 1982. The prevalence ofHIV has changed dramatically over the years. In 1996 gay men constituted 94% ofthose infected in Canada (hence the original term for AIDS - GRID - gay related immune disorder.) Today's breakdown in new infections is: 52% gay men; 33% heterosexual infection; and 16% drug users. During the early 1980's women constituted only 5% of infections; they now make up 23 % of new infections. It should be noted that the rate of infection is 3 times higher in Canada's indigenous population.

In 1995 Vancouver had the highest rates of drug use, HIV and hepatitis C in the industrialized world and a federal health emergency was declared. The first AIDS hospice in Vancouver was at the Abbott Hotel, courtesy of the owners, Charles and Ernie. Only a couple ofthe many hundred residents are still alive today.

In 1987, B.c.'s Social Credit Party, under Bill Vanderzalm, passed a bill whereby all HIV positive persons in B.C. were to be quarantined. Fortunately, it was never put into practice due to public outrage. Personally, I thought it was a great idea to stick us all on an island ... until I realized it wasn't going to be the Bahamas ... it was probably going to be some small island in the arctic ... and I'm not fond of snow.

Over the last 41 years there has been many significant advances in the AIDS world. The most significant advancement is summarized in "U=U" (undetectable = untransmissable.) People who take ARV's daily, as prescribed, can get and maintain an undetectable viral load and live long healthy lives. They have absolutely no risk of transmitting HIV to others. The provision of AR V's during pregnancy has almost entirely eliminated mother to child transmission of HIV in Canada. Another significant advancement in the war against AIDS. During the early years of the AIDS epidemic there were no treatment drugs available. In the earlyl990's the halls at St. Paul's Hospital were lined with dying PWA's (Persons With AIDS) in gurneys. We all just stood in line wondering when it was our turn to die. The suicide rate was shocking, because dying with AIDS was a dreadful death sentence, due to the prevalence of such diseases as Kaposi's sarcoma, AIDS-related lymphoma, PCP pneumonia, cryptococcal meningitis and CMV retinitis, invariably coupled with the end-stage conditions of AIDS-related dementia and wasting syndrome. The average survival time after seroconversion was approximately 10 years. The death rate in British Columbia peaked in 1994. Now most AIDS-related illnesses are treatable or have been eliminated entirely.

The first antiretroviral was AZT which became available in Canada in 1988. Triple drug therapy introduced in 1994 (provision ofa 3 ARV combination) changed the entire face of AIDS. In 1995 the death rate from AIDS plunged courtesy of this new treatment regimen. For many years I suffered from survivor's guilt; "why did I get to live long enough to access these new drug combinations, while most of my friends with AIDS had already perished? " The gateway to prevention and treatment is testing. Worldwide, 84% of persons with HIV have been tested and know their status. The first reliable commercial AIDS test was introduced in Canada in 1986. Home testing kits are now available in the United States. They are not yet approved in Canada, but should soon be available.

Because HIV is a retrovirus and has the ability to mutate much more easily than simple viruses, we have still not developed a vaccine.

The lessons learned from the AIDS pandemic should be applied to the current COVID pandemic. The World Health Organization secured global commitment years ago to stop HIV infections and provide access to treatment, including free antiretroviral drugs for those infected in poor countries. The same approach should be applied to the ongoing Covid pandemic. As an aside, it should be noted that the Covid pandemic has resulted in a

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huge disruption in health services related to HfV, especially in the world's poorer countries. Consequently both infection rates and death rates have increased.

The 2 primary objectives in dealing with AIDS were: (1) stop people from getting infected and (2) keep those infected alive. Those 2 objectives have largely been met. AIDS is now a manageable illness. The newly infected take their medications, lead normal lives and go to work every day. The 2 unresolved issues are: the 13% of HIV positive persons in Canada who are unaware of their being infected and continue to spread the disease; and the stigma that is still attached to AIDS. The vast majority of the general population are unaware ofU=U. In Richmond, only myself and 3 others have come out publicly as being HIV positive because the stigma.

On a personal basis,1 have been involved with AIDS since 1980. I want to thank Dr. Sagorin, my general practitioner, and Dr. Montaner, my HIV specialist, for keeping me alive all these years. I recall being asked" how did you get AIDS?" I replied "it was a climbing accident ... I climbed into bed with too many people. " At this point, I am most grateful for having acquired AIDS; it has prevented my life from descending into one of middle-class acceptability. The 1980's were famous for 2 things: AIDS and spandex ... and I'm not sure which is worse.

By JOHN CAMERON

YOU HELPED FIGHT HIV, r,lOW LET'S END IT

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AIDS

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WWW.WORLDAlDSDAY.ORG

From the Library What is an atmospheric river? It is defined as a long, narrow stream of high water vapour concentration that can deliver intense amounts of rainfall over a short period of time. As ocean heat up, more water evaporates and can enter these airborne rivers. There is an idiomatic phrase that means to undertake an impossible task: you can't boil the ocean. I overheard this phrase recently and instantly thought: maybe you can.

The public library is the kind of place that houses so many complex and rich and divisive materials. It is a place bursting with ideas and observations. If I want to learn about the climate crisis, for example, the public library is the perfect place to come to and start my research journey. The best part is that the library workers are here to help people learn what information is well-researched. It's always a good idea to think critically about the information that comes our way.

Sometimes new ideas land in your lap by word of mouth. An inspiring colleague turned me on to Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing's The Mushroom at the End a/the World. The first question Tsing asks the reader is: "what do you do when your world starts to fall apart?" For Tsing, she finds mushrooms. (For me, I find the ocean.) The book is an original examination of the relationship between "capitalist destruction and collaborative survival within multispecies landscapes, the prerequisite for continuing life on earth." In a time of heat waves, floods, and a pandemic, I need a book that's going to offer me a fresh perspective, that is going to undertake an impossible task, like how to survive collectively, and make it possible to imagine another way of living.

Danielle LaFrance

VOLUNTEERS

This year the volunteer department will be running 3x Holiday Drop in sessions to celebrate the Holidays with our various volunteers. Please join us for refreshments, games, prizes and lots of holiday cheer!

Below are the 3 sessions: You do not have to indicate which day you'll be coming. These session are Drop ins and do not require RSVP (capacity permitting). Thank you!

Date Monday Dec 6: 3:30-Spm Wednesday Dec 8: 1-2:30pm Saturday Dec 11: 1-2:30pm

Presented by BC Housing, the Vancouver Street Store 8.0 offers a free, outdoor pop-up clothing store for people experiencing homelessness. The goal of the Street Store is to provide a dignified holiday shopping experience where residents can choose what they want for free.

In addition to the shopping experience, the Street Store also offers free food, drinks, and haircuts.

This year, the event will be held at Oppenheimer Park at 400 Powell Street on Saturday, Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"Street Store is what we consider a reverse gala - our take on an event that raises awareness, addresses a need, and brings people together, but instead of dressing up ourselves, we dress the community," said Christina Wong, Executive Director of Employ To Empower. "We expect it to be the largest Street Store yet, providing a dignified holiday shopping experience where residents can pick what they want and need, at no cost.."

How and what to donate to the Vancouver Street Store The community has expressed a need for warm winter jackets, men's and women's clothing (specifically pants), men's winter boots, backpacks, blankets, sleeping bags, winter accessories (hats, gloves, scarves), and toiletries in good condition.

Donors are asked to drop off their new or gently used items on Saturday, Dec. 4; from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 41 East Hastings.

Volunteers have four different time shifts to select on event day, with those interested to register through this form. Other ways to get involved include becoming a Donation Champion. As well, the Street Store is asking for fund donations to help cover expenses for venue, event equipment, operation costs, and ETE programming. Employ to Empower has more helpful information.

As I See It

Look at the World See the apocalypse chaos ongoing colonization psychotic corporatization of Earth ruthless flaming exploitation Amazon burning for burgers Endless profit for ruling and owning class assimilation and elimination of opposition of Indigenous ways of seeing of holistic ways of being We need shift from science's paradigm of objective alienation economics of trickle down damnation (a million homeless empty digs make a killing) and reductive empiricism who separate and create ideology and technology which maintain and sustain carbon economy juggernauts with no desire to stop profit's run Resource extraction is so much fun, • as we ignore externalities' cost (eco-destruction, sky's degradation, loss of diversity, fire, wind, flood) Socialism for filthy wealth Rest of us left to clean up shambles We all need connect with body soul heart as Earth Mother signals her anger with virus, flood, wind, and fire as in this century of uncertainty we face dread of not knowing if our kids, grandkids, survive in an alive Earth

We need shift from paradigms of objectivity To realization of identity We are Earth Air FireWater We are biology

In the physics and chemistry of our reality kin to all in the evolutionary tree from slime mold to monkey to me We need transform to paradigms of connectivity to an Economics of interdependent abundance distanced from fear and greed Central banks and credit systems can create all the money we need for Green productive work and catalyze equity, equality, housing and food for all, as moolah becomes medicine in an economy that heals by planting a trillion trees We need transform mindless exploitive capitalism to heartfelt reverence for all sentient being . to heartfelt reverence for all that's green realize that human survival ofthe fittest evolves from strength where cooperation creates community We are Earth and we are Sky Community embraces all sisters and brothers homeless on streets to billionaires in space None of are really alive it until all of us thrive Look at the World See the armageddon chaos Connect with water land air Earth Breathe it all in Breathe out love Live in symbiotic interdependence Be alive in compassion Gilles Cyrenne

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•• :.+.:•• @'@ •.:.+ .:•• Carnegie Theatre Workshop

IT'S CHRISTMAS & WE'RE BACK!

"Show thou Carnegie workshop Players"

Three creative sessions Fridays 6pm-8:30pm

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Dec 3, Dec 10, Dec 17 in the Carnegie Theatre

Live Performance Christmas Eve . •Friday December 24 Carnegie Theatre

Put our ideas together for the Christmas Pageant. Act-along to scenes from classic holiday movies; for the fun of it!

"So the tell you to buy stuff. More and more and more stuff. Even if you don't need any more stuff, buy more stuff! Because capitalism is like a pyramid scheme. It must constantly grow, constantly shovel more money to the top, like a sand monster feeding itself sand, or it dies." - Oliver Markus Malloy

No experience needed.

Free, everyone welcome, join in!

With cavlD procedures, capacity may be limited.

Masks are mandatory.

For irfo: Teresa 604-255-9401 thineel/o!heorts@j/ofll/oil.colI/