June 1, 2017 carnegie newsletter

JUNE 1, 2017

Ca"rnhiegice ~ NEW S LE TT ER

401 Main Street, Vancouver BC V6A 2T7 . email: carnnews@shaw.ca

carnnews@vcri.bc ca

604-665-2289

Websitel catalogue: carnegienewsletter. org

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It ain't pretty.

It's still a tent city.

No matter how Vicious the System is the War on Terror War on Drugs War on the Poor are afflictions and affliction means causing pain and suffering and I am a human being like so many who have known affliction in my family in my nerves in my thoughts in my heart and in the community of the poor indeed this global economy turns its hand against me again and again . all day long and it has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship with isolation and self-destruction and self-centredness this global economy has made me live in powerlessness like those long dead it has walled me in so that I can not escape it j it has weighed my heart down with chains and with thoughts it has inflicted into me so that I become this system of oppression I make scapegoats of others I hate and I resent and I fear and I am greedy and even when I have called out or cried for help my voice and my wounds are managed by the system this system of development and theft has blocked my life with meetings and techniques of exclusion and control it has made all my paths hopeless and like a rapist hiding in the shadows like a serial killer offering a hand and a smile this system drags me from the path of real life and mangles me and leaves me without help for my heart for my life for my soul this system of tourism and globalization

this system of war against 'terror' and the poor bearing down where I live makes me a target for business for governments and shadow governments for news media for free trade and economic warfare the system has pierced my heart with lies and my voice and my anguish and my loneliness become as nothing I become a laughingstock to this system it mocks me in entertainment all day long it mocks me in newspapers magazines television movies and advertising it has filled me with self-contempt and stuffed me with resentment it has broken my teeth with indifference and crushed me into fantasies and I have no idea \Yhat true relationship is the system reduces me reduces my imagination my hopes my dreams reduces me to the size of a disappearing welfare cheque reduces me to a consumer of death but I remember my affliction I remember with bitterness and fear I well remember and my soul is knifed within me yet I also bring something else to mind I and therefore I have hope I because our deep and hidden and oppressed love for one another deeper than any economics of greed and madness no we are not completely dehumanized or entirely turned against each other for true compassion never fails compassion is new every morning compassion means suffering with the one who is different than us the one who is most like us and from compassion comes hope and life is good if we seek to be compassionate

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.,

if we seek to understand the other person and life is good if we live to help each other .without conditions and life is good no matter how vicious the system is if we use our own suffering to understand others who are in pain and life is good if we live to defend others who are weaker & more powerless & more afflicted than ourselves and compassion suffers together not in isolation as this system would make us behave and life is good if we become for others the brother or sister we may never have had and life is good if we realize that our lives are not all right if the lives of others whom we fear are distressed or degraded and life is good if we can see beyond the reach of the system that our lives depend on the lives of others so perhaps it is not the worst thing that this system strips us of everything except what we have in our hearts for we are not to be without what our hearts most deeply desire love and care though we now live grief-stricken & terrorized so powerful is compassion that it will overcome this global system this system denying us our full lives we will overcome because we live differently than the system intends for us we live in cooperation and compassion and we have arisen and we have come alive and we are resisting Bud Osborn

SANDYCAMERONMEMORlALWRnITN6 CONTEST There is an amazing pool of talent in people of the Downtown Eastside. This has been expressed time & again over the 30+.-year life of the Carnegie Newsletter. Well over eighteen hundred individuals have added their energy to this publication, calling shots of life & living here.

Sandy Cameron was a truly gifted person who titled one of his personal collections Sparks From the Fire.

He wrote of many things and always the same thingthe struggle for justice while learning inner peace.

The word 'contest' implies winners & losers but that is not the case here. The only thing I hope to imply by so naming this event is to inspire each person to write, to enter. If yours is selected, fine; if not still fine! Lots of entries will be published to share.

Certainly, enter more than once. Each piece will be given consideration for its own sake. If the response from readers is sufficient, there may even be a small book made.

There is a line that really made me think (I liked it so much it's been typed up and taped to the office door):

DON'T LET THE THOUGHT OF PUTTING PEN TO PAPER DAUNT YOU. PaulR Taylor, Volunteer

Editor

Guidelines for Writing Contest 1. Writing must be original & not fiction (if plagiarism is recognised the work will be returned).

2. Entry forms, for contact information, are available both at the Community Centre's front desk (Main floor) and from the Newsletter office (2nd floor).

3. Essays are the focus of the event. This means writing in sentences, with grammar and structure attempted. Not inthe "free-form" of poetry.

4. Subject matter is open to the individual author. It can be about most anything relevant to readers. The only caveat is in this example: writing about having a pet while having a lowincome or living in a hotel/rooming house is fine; writing about nothing but what kind of food it eats or its colour(s) is mostly just boring. Good examples of essay-writing are most anything by Sandy Cameron, reprints of which are in April & May editions.

5. The length of the essay can be 250-700 words, basically what can be printed on 1 page in the Newsletter.

6. Help with form, sentence structure or grammar, length, flow, etc. can be obtained in various writing venues. There are the Carnegie Firewriters (meeting on Wednesday mornings on the 3rd floor), the Thursday Writing Collective (meeting in Oppenheimer Park) and from tutors • & staff in the Carnegie Learning Centre.

7. Deadline for submissions is September 15,2017. Results will be announced at a special event during the Heart of the City Festival in October.

"British Columbians have voted overwhelmingly to replace Christy Clark's Liberals with a new government that works better for families. They voted for better schools, shorter wait times for health services, to defend our coast and to fix our broken political system. The newly elected BC NOP team will be working hard every day to ensure British Columbians get a new government that works for them instead of just the wealthy & well-connected."

John Horgan BC NOP

CARNEGIE BOARD ELECTIONS WILL

5

BE HELD ON THURSDAY JUNE 1ST 2017 IN THE CARNEGIE THEATRE @ 5:30 PM

QUORUM

FOR THIS

TO BE A LEGAL MEETING IS A MINIMUM

OF THIRTY (30) MEMBERS.

TO RUN FOR THE BOARD A PERSON MUST: •

HAVE A MEMBERSHIP CARD DATED NO LATER THAN

•

BE OVER 16 YEARS OF AGE;

•

LIVE OR WORK (paid or unpaid) IN THE AREA;

•

BE AN ACTIVE MEMER OF THE CENTRE;

•

HAVE CONTRIBUTED

30 HOURS OF VOLUNTEEER

CENTRE OR THE ASSOCIATION

APRIL 2ND, 2017;

WORK TO THE CARNEGIE

IN THE YEAR PREVIOUS

TO THE ELECTION

TO VOTE AT THE AGM ON ,JUNE 1ST YOUR MEMBERSHIP

CARD MUST HAVE A DATE NO LATER THAN MAY 19TH, 2017.

CARNEGIE NEEDS PEOPLE LIKE YOU The Carnegie Board runs our Community Centre. We are a group of volunteers who care about the Centre and the way it functions.

There is one board meeting a month and seven committees oversee different aspects of the Centre. Board members make up the following committees: Volunteer - chooses those honoured at volunteer dinners and other volunteer matters 'program - recommends events and activities Education/library - deals with issues from our library, one of the busiest VPL locations, and with the Learning Centre on the third floor Seniors -: Our seniors are active and this committee

is dedicated to them.

Community Relatiori's - hears from the community well as overseas CCAP staff and reports

about issues and events and requests for support, as

Oppenheimer Park - The park and its programs are a part of Carnegie. We just recently succeeded in getting a traffic light put in at Jackson and Powell Streets.

Finance - All requests/recommendations are monitored

for money go here as well as grant requests. Financial statements

here.

Most Board members commit to three committees a month.

We thank existing Board members for their hard work and are grateful for all those who have served the Board in the past. And we look forward to working with those who will serve in the future.

Respectfully submitted, Phoenix Winter and l.isa Da~id

CI\UNCH -cl.1Ies

BiIIWong

SAWAGI 1C

TAIKO

Screening of Tailor Made & ~awagi Taiko Drumming In honour of the late Bill Wong, on Thursday, June Sth, Carnegie will be hosting a screening of Tailor Help Digitize Community Memories Made: Chinatown's Last Tailors. Started by his faCome learn about Carnegie Reading Room's Special ther in 1913, Bill Wong was the expert tailor at Modernize Tailors until two days before his passing at the Collection on the Downtown Eastside.

The UBC Learning Exchange, the Carnegie Commu- age of95. Although Bill earned an engineering degree from UBC, due to racism in the 1940's, he was not nity Centre arfd the Vancouver Public Library are colable to find ajob so he carried on his father's business laborating in this project to preserve and enhance histogether with his brother, Jack. Bill dedicated his life torical records by putting accounts & publications on to Modernize Tailors and made custom suits for sevcomputers.

Join the information session on Wednesday, June 7th, eral celebrities but always made time to enjoy community events in the DTES with his wife Zoe. 4-Spm in Classroom 11on Carnegie's 3rd floor.

For more information contact 778-945-1029 or email The film screening will be followed by a performance mrai. info(a)ubc.ca

by Sawagi Taiko, the first all-women's taiko group ~ learning

Exchange

~

in Canada. Taiko drumming started as early as the 6th century used in festivals and other rituals as well as for communication. Join us for the energizing beating of the drum.

Thursday, June 8 - 6 PM - In the Theatre

van

7

uver foundation

With

supported from:

From the Library

as

The summer weather has finally kicked in and the library tends to quiet down, we're looking forward to getting some cool projects done. For example, the UBC Learning Exchange has approached us to help digitize historical documents in the DTES Special Collection, like the vintage Carnegie Crescent newspaper (1980 - 1985). And, they are looking for your help! Join us in the Classroom 2 on Wednesday June 7th from 4 - 5pm for an information session. Participants will learn how to digitize material for an open access website and be paid an honorarium of $15 / hour (maximum 26 hours) via gift card. Thanks in advance. For the history buffs, here's some new re-

=s=

The Alps: a human history from Hannibal to Heidi and beyond by Stephen O'Shea. A kind of European travelogue that covers the Crusaders, mountaineers, armies, engineers, yodelers, and pop culture references that have embraced the Alps.

America's Needless Wars: cautionary tales of US involvement in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Iraq

by David Contosta. The author examines three wars that 'fesulted in millions offatalities on both sides. The common link appears to be political leaders who "have-acted out of ignorance, arrogance, fear."

The 'Book Thieves: the Nazi looting of Europe's libraries and the race to return a literary inheritance

by Anders Rydell. A gripping work of research that reveals how the Nazi's stole and hoarded books to use as intellectual weapons against their owners. The books were never returned and now the process begins to return them to t~eir rightful families.

Is Canada Even Real?: how a nation built on hobos, beavers, weirdos, and hip-hop convinced the world to Beliebe [sic] by J.C. Villamere. If you are feeling nostalgic and want a good laugh, here is a quirky read about Oh Canada.

Your librarian, Natalie

Learning from the Locals: A maid from Fortune Yes, at my advanced age I am still learning But not fast enough.

Language, that blunt instrument An obstacle Quicker than real-time action.

Arms, hands, fingers and eyebrows All speaking Flailing, gesturing, pointing, pivoting 360 Personal space so last season Yet there is an etiquette In this Age of Alternate Realities Where ends justify means.

0

So go slowly, ye ancient krones The end is in sight The light at the far end And it is not pretty.

Ashes & dust, dust & ashes Not total annihilation' Slow burn, slow leak.

Toxic chemicals Purpura - bleeding thru skin Nausea, diarrhea Psychological torture - shame.

Fulfilling the expectations of Fat Katz Among pigeons and wee mousies.

And the Millenials, in their struggle to survive, Must do while we watch on the silver screen when purple roses step down to earth And the rosy pink and plush lounges in sunken rooms around a firepit or long leather sofas for private conversations.

Premieres in Cannes & L.A., the golden Cities of the coast, Chicago, or the New Lower East Manhattan Here in Canada, Vancouver "One Skunktown" We contemplate our navels Reinventing the wheel Preparing to develop social conscience - soon.

Meanwhile immigration is downtown - to the centre of the donut Xenophobia rife Social junk, social dynamite fester in overcrowded cells of minimum & medium security Underfunded in this land of milk & honey.

Paper shuffling at Le Bureau Paper chase now a cyber space chase.

God help the Martians because we are coming!

Wilhelmina M Harriman

CARNEGIE

COMMUNITY

ACTION

PROJECT

I1JDR.*±~f"1Jh~tIOim~R

NEWSLETTER

COMMUNITY RESISTANCE AGAINST 105 KEEFER, A STORY FROM A TRANS HOMELESS WOMAN, & THE FIGHT AGAINST BALMORAL SLUMLORDS

JUNE 2017

COMMUNITY

RESISTANCE

AGAINST

BEEDIE LIVING'S

105 KEEFER PROJECT Beedie Living's 105 rezoning application at the 105 Keefer site in Chinatown is a dominating market development that will undoubtedly accelerate displacement of Chinatown's low-income and immigrant community. What's also worrying is the project's proximity to culturally significant sites including the Chinese Canadian railroad workers and veterans, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, and the National Historic Site.

Imagine, instead, if this important site at the heart of Chinatown was used for secure and affordable homes and a thriving social space. A large chorus of residents and organizations from Chinatown, including Chinatown Concern Group ~Ajij1m51 ~,ยง(CCG), are calling for this site to be acquired by

the government and used for social housing and intergenerational community space.

Beginning on May 23, Chinatown residents, organizations, and community members packed City Hall to voice their opposition to the proposed condo development. Following a week-long public hearing at City Hall. Vancouver City Council deferred the decision on the rezoning application to June 13th, 2017. CCG and Chinatown Action Group (CAG) continue to call on Vancouver City Council to reject Beedie Living's rezoning application at the 105 Keefer site in Chinatown.

See below for quotes and photos from the rally and public hearing.

CCAP ORGANIZER,

LENEE SON TO CITY COUNCIL:

1100 NOT TELL US YOU CARE MORE ABOUT PEOPLE THAN PROFITS - SHOW US." READ LENEE'S SPEECH TO CITY COUNCIL ON 105 KEEFER

On May 23, the representative from BC Housing called $700 for rent incredibly affordable. This is simply untrue for low-income people.

Chinatown and the DTES is one of Canada's poorest neighborhoods. With about 9,00010,000 people on welfare and disability, most with only $375 a month for shelter, and with about 4,000 seniors with about $432 a month for rent or less, most residents have only about $375432 a month for shelter.

Many residents are already barely surviving as it is. Residents surviving on social assistance of $610 and paying the average SRO rent of $548 have only $62 a month, or about $2 a day, left for everything else including food, hygiene, laundry, transportation, etc. How will they pay $7007 Whether it's 8 units or 25 units at safer rates, $700 for rent is completely unimaginable for many residents. This development project does not help Chinatown and DTES residents.

Vancouver is in the middle of a housing and homelessness crisis. It is the worst it has ever been and gentrification plays a significant role. The 2017 Metro Vancouver homelessness count was just released. The count found a steep increase in homelessness across Metro Vancouver with 828 more people identified as homeless in 2017 compared to 2014, representing a 30% increase in homelessness and the highest number to date. In the City of Vancouver, there are now over 2,100 people who are homeless, an increase of almost 300 since last year. Low-income people across the city and province are continuously evicted and displaced by rising rents-and gentrification. We don't need more luxury condos, we need social housing at welfare and pension rates now. Housing is a human right!

Additionally, Beedie's project would be an inappropriate use of a culturally sensitive site. The Keefer Triangle, the most culturally sensitive area in the neighborhood is named #2 on National Trust for Canada Top 10 Most Endangered Sites in 2016.

Vancouver has a longstanding history of colonization and white supremacy. This land we stand on is stolen.

Historically, Chinatown and the DTES have been a place where the most marginalized were pushed to. In resistance, these groups built strong thriving communities only to be threatened and eradicated by the same systems that pushed them there in the first place.

Hoqan's alley and Vancouver's only black community was destroyed. And now, Vancouver's historic Chinatown is also at threat of being destroyed. From Hoqan's Alley to Chinatown, many seniors and residents living in Chinatown and the DTES have lived through oppression orchestrated by the government. It's time that the City actively listen to those who are the most vulnerable in this city instead of those who hold institutional power and privilege such as these wealthy developers, There are survivors of the Chinese Exclusion Act and head tax, survivors of colonization, survivors of racism and displacement who continue to face discrimination each day who have come here today to tell you to oppose this project.

If you don't listen to the most vulnerable and marginalized people in the community, your formal apologies and public promises of reconciliation are empty and insulting. Do not tell us you care about being inclusive, do not tell us you care about Chinatown, do not tell us you care more about people than profits - show us.

I support CCG's demands which are 1) For the city to reject Beedie's 105 Keefer project.

2) No market housing at this site 3) For all 3 levels of government to acquire the 105 Keefer site 4) 100% social housing at welfare/pension/shelter rates 5) An intergenerational, multi-use community space, with an emphasis on seniors

MAKE IT SAFE AND DON'T

BALMORAL

RESIDENTS

DISPLACE ANYONE:

DEMAND

ACTION

rotting building structure quickly took over the meeting. On Friday night. May 26, city workers sealed off the hotel's bathtubs and said they were arranging for people to bathe at The 44 or at First United Church. City engineers, sahota's engineers and a lawyer with possibly an engineer for the SRO Collaborative are scheduled to inspect the hotel again on Monday, May 29th.

The SRO Collaborative quickly organized some tenants from the Balmoral to attend the meeting already scheduled for the Carnegie Theatre on the evening of May 27.

At the meeting Regent Hotel tenant Jack told what he's learned by taking the Sahota's to the Residential Tenancy Branch and to court to try to get the building maintained properly. "They'll do anything they can to not do the work:' Jack said about the Sahotas. "And the city won't enforce its laws: Jack says it helps to fight for your rights if you keep a record of everything that happens but some of his records were actually eaten by mice. Jack has had his door broken down with a shovel and been threatened with eviction 3 times but won each time.

Make it safe and don't displace anyone.

That's what about 80 folks at a town hall meeting, including some tenants from the 173 room Balmoral Hotel agreed governments should do at the decrepit hotel. The meeting took place in the Carnegie Theatre on May 27.

The two demands came after SRO Collaborative members Wendy Pedersen, Jack Gates and Sam Dharmapala discussed their many actions to improve buildings like the Regent and Balmoral Hotels owned by the notorious Sahota family.

But the urgent issue of city plumbers sealing off all the bathtubs in the Balmoral for fear of a

Sam talked about a building in India that collapsed and how he worried that the Balmoral might collapse. He worked for the Sahota's for nine years. Sam organized some other workers to "stand together: he said. "If we stand together, we can change this: Then he was fired.

His first project was the Balmoral basement which wasn't structurally sound. 'The city was sleeping. It was hard to wake them up:' said Sam. Finally some repairs were made there.

Others at the meeting talked about the lack of safety in the building. One woman said she had been assaulted there and saw someone stabbed in the hall.

The tenants plan to meet again to assess their options when they know the result of the city's inspection on Monday. The SRO Collaborative wants the province to acquire and fix the building without displacing tenants.

SAFETY AND COMMUNITY IN A CITY OF DANGER FOR HOMELESS TRANS WOMEN puts me at risk of assault and abuse.

At the women's shelters that do allow me to stay, I still face transphobic abuse, bullying, and harassment and I do not feel safe. Living in an SRO is also dangerous and not an option.

I am a 43 year old transgender woman. As a child, I endured physical and verbal abuse, and was forced to act straight and masculine. If I walked a certain way or held my cup a certain way, I would be beaten by my father.

At 15 I ran away from home to escape the abuse. In order to support myself, I joined a gang, sold drugs, and worked as a sex worker. In the same year, I became addicted to drugs. Since then, I've never had a real home.

I was incarcerated for nearly 15 years in California, where I grew up. When authorities found out I was born in Canada I was deported to Vancouver. Once I arrived in Vancouver, I found ajob but I was soon outed as being transgender and was fired. Without a job or money for rent, I was soon on the streets again.

On the streets, my safety is constantly threatened.

Every day, I am harassed and people yell transphobic slurs at me. I've been raped and beaten in the streets.

I am also diagnosed with Hepatitis C. which gives me chronic fatigue. It makes it difficult for me to stay awake, leaving me vulnerable on the streets.

Shelters are not safe for transgender people. There aren't any trans-dedicated shelters available for transgender people. Many women's shelters are trans-exclusionary and force me to go to the men's shelters where it is dangerous for trans women and

At the Ten Year Tent City I feel safe On the street, when you're by yourself you're always a target. At the tent city I feel safe and have a sense of secu rity. The tent city is gated, there's 24 hou r security and I haven't had my things stolen once since I've been there whereas on the streets, things are constantly stolen and I am at risk for transphobic violence each day.10 Year Tent City is trans inclusive and I sit on the council. which is women-led.

I feel supported by the other campers on site. Once, when a stranger approached the tent city and started to harass me, all the other tent city campers surrounded me, protecting me and asked the man to leave. On the streets, no one sticks up for you, they just watch you get beat up.

The tent city has a strong community.

Everybody at la Year Tent City works together and we each volunteer for diiferent shifts such as security, kitchen, cleaning, conflict resolution, and council. We have rules at tent city such as no violence, no stealing, and everyone pitches in to make sure it's a clean and safe place for all.

We have access to water, food, washrooms, and first aid equipment on site. Narcan training is available to everyone at tent city. There was only one overdose at tent city, which was quickly attended to by Maria and tent city residents. If the man was alone on the streets he could have died.

Fire safety personnel have told us they are happy with everything. When they provide us with feedback, we follow through with their instructions immediately to ensure the tent city is safe. Each time the waste collectors come, they thank us for keeping the tent city clean and for helping them load the garbage.

If I got back on the street, I will not make it. As a transgender woman diagnosed with a chronic illness, it is life threatening to be on the streets or in shelters where I am always afraid and at risk for violence. I need a safe place to get treatment. I need a safe place to live.

CARNEGIE

COMMUNITY

ACTION

PROJECT 111:15AM EVERY FRIDAY

The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)is a project of the board of the Carnegie Community Centre Association. CCAPworks mostly on housing. income. and land use issues in the Downtown Eastside (DTES)of Vancouver so that the area can remain a low income friendly community. CCAPworks with english speaking and Chinese speaking DTESresidents in speaking out on their own behalf for the changes they would like to see in their neighbourhood.

Join us on Fridays 11:15am for our weekly volunteer meetings! Downtown Eastside residents who want to work on getting better housing and incomes and stop gentrification are welcome to attend. Lunch is provided '

CARNEGIE

AFRICAN

DESCENT

GROUP

111AM EVERY TUESDAY

The Carnegie African Descent Group (CADG) is pleased to invite you to a weekly lunch gathering at the Downtown Eastside Neighborhood House. Come. cook. talk and enjoy African dishes with us.The lunch will take place every Tuesdays.from 11:00am till 1:30pm. The group has the same mandate as CCAP.but with particular focus on issuesthat Black and African Descent community members experience. DTEScommunity members who identify as Black and or as of African Descent are welcome to the lunch. For more information. contact: Imugab075@gmail.com

mA.1n~~)1#J3.I CHINATOWN

CONCERN GROUP

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CONTACT

US:

Office: 2nd floor of the Carnegie.

401 Main Street. Vancouver Phone: 604-665-2105 Email: info@carnegieaction.org Website: www.carnegieaction.org

ancity

Thank you to Vancity for supporting CCAP'swork. Support for this project does not necessarilyimply that funders endorse the findings or contents of this report.

Cannabis Sativa Cannabis Sativa is one of the land race strains of cannabis. It originated in Asia and Northern Africa. Cannabis Sativa grows better on the equator than it does at extreme latitudes & grows taller than most other landrace strains.

Pure sativas have wiry stocks, thin leaves. They love the heat and the outdoors. While they normally grow between 8 and 12 feet high, a healthy sativa plant can reach up to 18 feet tall in optimum conditions. Cannabis Sativa is thought to be the oldest scientific name given to a marijuana strain that is a pure sativa.

Some say that smoking a good sativa should be about as stimulating as a strong cup of coffee. Typically used during the daytime, sativa will energize you with its strong cerebral effects. Many cannabis lovers will choose a sativa when they're looking for an uplifting and creative buzz. Sativas also tend to have a lighter, fruity aroma.

In the next Gram article we will be going over the characteristics & background of Cannabis Indica!

AIMLESS YET INFINITE I

Cait & Daryl

Like a blind chapter of the KKK can they sense something not right does touch suddenly bring out disgust& decay&evil&hate and so much have built this world over a billion nights even Adam & Eve had a rough time even new souls know this stuff, soulmates are a rarity oh god if I ha met a woman the same there are furnaces built for two that is not my fate I guess my points of view let alone authoritarian hatred could be to blame -love lost is rough, I read a story about the ignorant scoopin' up the stupid as we inch closer to a.sparkling set of silverware to honour a brand new war did you ever hear the one about the conflict fought with sticks & stones they christen it World War Four I honestly thought I had heard everything about mankind's hate, when bodies become destruction sites your mind keeps pumping information & self-preservation keeps your mind alive & right we all have our preordained fate, in this insane world there is always a "This Could Be Worse" gener-

ation that expects to be blown off this world's map so much for fun & games the only ones working will be the ones lowering the population give your numbers & names further civilisations will only result in confrontations, windowpane shadows conceal little be grateful for every morsel of food & second of the day kindness is obsolete as of now the young ones are just learning what differs between anger without losing instant retaliation now you ask me how I am Scottish third generation, like being up to your ears in the ground many targeted humans have discovered the loss of sound disease loves the human body so ends your whistling campaign, Every newspaper shall be owned by a wanna-be dictator who demands their say I say fuck you I write what I see fit I live in Canada the price to live here is killing me & my friends but as of this year this is the best country most of us will admit and the Carnegie Newsletter rocks & reigns. As I passed through a couple of tent cities a sickening thought of Cristy Clark dolls telling fictional stories of how she put her son to sleep does he hook up with the Trumps what a horrifying ideal of living let alone dying I'd rather die by consumption by gasoline I think that at a certain age you kind of learn not to cry, The gift of curses is the most evil of all as every American knows they.are hated beyond whatever comes after worse like aurora borealis-in-wonderland another solar system is planned to be taken over & destroyed even the beauty of space can be manipulated then a simple matter of semantics will be employed then everyone else can Fuck Off as in they got here first whoever helped oh well this is our sky!

Like a death camp full of pretty flowers how humane to the botany beautiful words fail me pardon me oh god almighty so many have worked at the Next of Kin and save like a hockey game played on the ice of Saturn am I more lost than you?, Like the most awesome ship built out of Balsa wood with the best Saran Wrap a Dollarstore can promote let alone sell I see another view of life thru shattered glass I honestly see the evil of human trafficking some as racist tokens god am I about to face the reality of your counterpart's hell as god watches my failure on this trillion-channel video vessel those born will never know the evils I battled -and sunrises are a smokescreen too.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRA Y "Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied, and vice sornetimes by action dignified!" - William Shakespeare

The Carnegie Community Centre Association received this letter from TRAC (the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre), having been a member organisation for over 25 years. It's good to have allies in the ongoing struggle for social justice.

Dear TRAC member, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for being a member of the Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre (TRAC).- Your membership gives us confidence in the work we do, and allows us to demonstrate community support to funders. We appreciate you being part of our organization, and hope you will continue to support TRAC's mission to promote the legal protection of BC tenants through the provision of information, education, support and research on residential tenancy matters.

It was another busy year for TRAC. The following is a brief breakdown of some of our accomplishments from 2015-2016: • 7,754 Tenant Infoline calls • 52 Public Legal Education Workshops for 914 tenants • 16 Advocate Training Workshops for 296 advocates • 176,052 website visits (www.tenants.bc.ca) • 7,804 publications distributed • 67 closed files through our Direct Advocacy (full representation) Program • 196 certificates of completion issued for our online course, Renting It Right - Part J: Finding a Home In April of this year, TRAC launched Renting It Right - Part 2: Rights and Responsibilities (rentingitright.ca).

While Part 1 teaches students how to search for housing, create a strong rental application, and safely sign a tenancy agreement, Part 2 covers the fundamentals of residential tenancy law and how to access the Residential Tenancy Branch's dispute resolution system. Both parts offer certificate of completion endorsed by LandlordBC. Going forward, we hope to promote Renting It Right and encourage landlords to view our certificates positively when accepting applications.

For a more detailed overview of our accomplishments from the past year, 31{dto learn more about our plans for the future, we invite you to attend our 2017 Annual General Meeting. This year's AGM will be held on June 19,2017 in the Woodward's Skyroom (lOth floor) at 131 West Hastings Street in Downtown Vancouver. Please see the attached invitation for more details.

On behalf of our staff and Board of Directors, I would like to thank you again for being a member ofTRAC We hope to see you at this year's AGM! Sincerely,

Andrew Sakamoto Executive Director TRAC Tenant Resource & Advisory Centre Society 3 -1070 West Pender Street, Vancouver BC, V 6E 2N7 Tenant Infoline: 604-255-0546 or 1'800-665-1185 Administration: 604· 255-3099 www.tenants.bc.ca

A wise Inuit poem recognizes The poem goes like this:

~

Longing for Light

~

"Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?" a thoughtful person asked at a gathering of people telling Downtown Eastside stories. (1) How many times have we asked ourselves that question, "Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?" Are we getting anywhere with our work, or are things just as bad as ever? Is gentrification crushing the low-income community of the Downtown Eastside in spite of all our efforts? Will Insite be destroyed by people who are unable to understand the extensive research on harm reduction? Is the light at the end of the tunnel really a train c?ming right at us? Sometimes we are overwhelmed with sorrow, although we want justice to prevail.

We work to make our community a better place, not a perfect place, but a better place. If we look for im.mediate results in this work, we are in danger of falling into despair. Society does not change quickly, and our commitment is for the long haul.

Thomas Merton was a Trappist monk, a peace activist, and a writer. A friend of his was falling into despair because he couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Merton wrote to his friend, saying, " Do not depend on the hope of results ... you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all. .. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results, but on ... the rightness, the truth of the work itself. .. in the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything."

A good example of a determined commitment to the rightness of a cause is the five hundred year ol? re~ sistance movement of first Nations people against 111justice. This inspiring struggle will continue from one generation to another until justice is done. Leonard Peltier of the Anishinabe and Lakota Nations has been unjustly imprisoned for over thirty years, yet he does not despair. He wrote in his book, Prison WritingsMy Life is My Sun Dance, "Never cease in the fight for peace, justice and equality for all people," and "I know that without compassion and respect for all of Earth's inhabitants none of us will survive -nor will we deserve to." Leonard Peltier has turned his life into a prayer; he wrote, "No prison bars can stop a prayer."

our longing for light.

"In the eternal darkness the crow unable to find food longed for light and the earth was Illumined."

This poem is telling us that the light is not at the end of the tunnel. The poem says that light arises out of our longing. It is within us, but we need silence and full attention in order to see it. When asked what he taught his children, the Lakota Chief Standing Bear replied, "They were taught...to look when there was apparently nothing to see, and to listen intently when all seemingly was quiet." (2) People who follow that path will see the light.

By SANDY CAMERON

(1)Eastside Stories - The people, The Voices; sponsored by the Vancouver Moving Theatre, the Radha Yoga and Eatery, and the Carnegie Community Centre.

(2)American Indian Prose and Poetry: An Anthology edited .by Margot Astrov, Ca ricorn Books 1982.

How I Came to Meditate ., My life was proceeding like a normal kid from London, England until rheumatoid arthritis struck at 40; by which time I was a landed immigrant to Canada.

The rheumatologist at the time insisted I go on Gold Therapy (involving injections). This did not seem right to me, so I stood my ground and refused treatment. This gave me confidence to listen to my own body first.

One of the therapies for RA at the tie was 'water therapy': exercise in water needs just the right am~unt of exertion against the resistance of water. I loved It. I still do - to float in water holding my breath gives the sense of ultimate freedom.

This lead directly to sitting in a comfortable chair and breathing, thinking of ways to escape the patterns of habit left by 40 years of doing what society wants.

It developed into sitting comfortably and being with my breath alone (this you can try anytime, like right now). This for me is the essence of meditation. As you do it more & more you go deeper & deeper into your being, becoming aware of choices made in the past which may not be appropriate for now. Try it when you are alone some time.

Graham C

rr:J]

p'RUG5!

LIVES LIVED -- Dedicated to all the Poor Souls at the Regent

By Debra McNaught Thank f*cking gawd I don't live in that shithole anymore, and my sincere sympathies go out to anyone who still does.

Still experiencing technical problems so my apologies for this not being a regular column and written on the fly as our ever-vigilant Editor -- PaulR Taylor -- is giving me the evil eye (kidding!) as I write this hastily, deadline looming.

There was a fire at the Regent a few days before I moved; nothing unusual there -- fire alarms were practically a daily occurrence. The trick was learning whether it was real or just some jerkface amusing themselves by pulling the alarm. Many people didn't bother to leave their rooms and the smell of smoke wasn't always enough to get them motivated and down the filthy stairwell so they could stand around needlessly on the sidewalk for hours until they permitted us to re-enter the hotel. I say "needlessly" because back in November (2016) they had us out on the sidewalk for four j*cking hours -- and the fire had been extinguished before we were out of the building.

"Hello? Fire Inspectors?" you're thinking and yeah that might make sense except the Sahota's -- owners of the Regent, the Balmoral, the Cobalt, and the Astoria, and many other buildings -- were the ones keeping us outdoors. We started making some noise about being let back in, getting increasingly pissed off as the hours ticked by, getting soaked in the cold rain. The

Fire Department boys had loaded up their gear and departed, why were we still out here? As the rancour grew a couple more cop cars showed up and some of the larger members of the force got out and stood between us and the door. The cops arrived to serve and protect alright, but not us. They were there to protect the Sahota's and their property.

So flash forward to February of this year, another fire, another vigil on the sidewalk. The alarms had been ceaseless for the last several nights and I was getting very cranky and sleep deprived, so I decided to voice my discontent. The smoke generator thingmie was out on the sidewalk making waaaay too much noise so I had to raise my voice (not generally a problem) loud enough to be heard over the gennie. "I SURE HOPE WE'RE NOT GOING TO BE LEFT ON THE SIDEWALK FOR ANOTHER FOUR F*CKING HOURS LIKE LAST TIME!! 1'" and immediately this short lady-cop struts over to stand in front of me. Looking up, she demanded, "Why are you yelling?" She had eyes like lasers, a little tank of a woman with lasers for eyes, and she was trying to look as tough as she could with all her Borrowed Authority and a belt weighed down with so many weapons of control it probably weighed more than she did. I replied, "Because the generator is a little loud and I want to be heard?" Like, it's not evident? Du-uh. And she says, fly ou're obstructing the fire department from doing their job." "Really?" says 1. "You know, I know the fire department is here because I can see their big red shiny truck, but] don't see any fire department guys.

All I see is cops. So how is it exactly that I'm obstruct-

ing? ••She didn't have an answer to that. Maybe she was under the impression that everyone in the DTES is drug-addled and inarticulate, maybe she was not terribly bright and throwing a curve at her didn't leave her any options from her list of approved responses. In any event, she wandered away trying to maintain the : facade that she had told me what's what. .

The point behind all this -- and hundreds of other examples of police intimidation --- is that the "Cop Lunch" the VPD puts on every couple of months here at the Carnegie is a bloody farce. It's supposed to be this big love-in where everybody comes together and breaks bread in the interest of everybody getting along, them trying to convince us that they have our best interests at heart and they're really a bunch of swell guys and gals. I attended exactly one of those lunches and could barely choke down my free sandwich at all the bonhomie and hand-shaking and saccharine PR. A Dog and Pony Show by any other name. "Improved relations with the people of the DTES" is the intent. Really.

The next day a member of CCAP (Carnegie Action Project) told me she had come upon a guy ODing on the sidewalk on Hastings, and a cop standing over him. Watching. Not doing a thing. "Aren't you going to do anything?" she demanded, incredulous. "He's going to die!" The cop shrugged; she fell to her knees and spiked him with Narcan, saved the guy's life.

To Serve and Protect the Interests of the Elite -- who want us all to die so they can pave the DTES with overpriced condos. That's what Vancouver's Finest are doing.

Correction!! George Eliot (nee Marian Evans Cross), English novelist, essayist, poet, 1819 - 1880. George was a woman writing at a time when women weren't permitted to (or at least considered intelligent enough to do anything more than get married and have kids!)

Debra McNaught wrote in Lives Lived "As the writer (andfeminist herself) George Eliot declared' and like an idiot I thought Debra had been distracted or something and changed 'herself' to 'himself' because that is the kind of error I make in the wee hours.

PRT

~

Oppenbeul1.er Park No,v open 7 days per week

9:15 am - 5:00 pm Join us for summer favourites

including bocce,

baseball, gardening, and more!

Song Lines We walk along the earth Singing Our feet are calloused Walking We feel the ground Between our toes We know we are alive Heart beating When the song ends Life ends When life ends The journey to the stars Begins ...

Soaring, swooping Like the turning eagle This morning First of many mornings, Majestic.

There sings a song for the eagle Alone Carrying prayers So high.

Phoenix

fenny Kwan, MP Vancouver East NDP Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Critic 2752 E Hastings St Vancouver, BCV5K IZ3

T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811 Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca

• CH~~P~HKf[~TIV~l·

Vancity NATIVE OPENING CEREMONY PLUS SPEAKERS VANCOUVER PARKS BOARD COMMISSIONER & DON LARSON

The spirit of

j

To invoke jealousy spawns great hurt it bubbles and festers in painful deceit The demon of jealousy lies deep within let it go - like a leaf ! .

I f1eemg the rest of the.leaves I with a crimson colour I ever~changing in multitudes of examinations peace the spirit of at ease , and no panic attack!

I

On Being at the Butt-End

..

NoraKay

. How far back or off-track do you have to go to make It make sense? How many times does something have to happen until the "more-than-coincidence" pattern becomes a little less obscure, a little more clear?

Let's start with Woodwards. The recognition of this empty site a~ a great place for people to live was universal; people here struggled for years to have the low income needs recognised, to have cultural and community interests included in any working plan. The condo-only, shop-til-you-drop cash register vision of Kassem Aghtai and the Gastown Business Improvement Alliance had met its match! And this kind of Pyrrhic victory was almost convincing. There was a committee or council that had several community members on it and things seemed possible. Then the day after some approval came the real plan was revealed: This committee had to give approval for a whole other con do tower for the site or everything waslost, There would be no access to any of the amenities for the low-income tenants, no access to the parking garage, and of course no low-income serving businesses. Rents for all spaces were standard commercial rates with no lower amounts for any community-requested stuff. This nixed several things and the remaining stuff had to quickly form a coalition and raise enough money to pay. It was all being done on a business model. And no one could believe it!

Fast-forward to the Local Area Plan that community members participated in for a few years. All attempts to have genuine recognition of the low-income resi-

dents' needs got side-lined and dismissed in the final report. The housing needed at welfare shelter rates and affordable to those on government pensions was relegated to a few units in any new building or any renovated structure. Social housing was redefined or fixed to be at a rate almost triple what low-income people could afford. Again, it was unfair.

Even more recently we have the cutting of funding for the Gallery Gachet. Someone somewhere decides to try a different way of delivering mental health services, and all the work done and invested in by those directly affected can be scrapped while experimenting with whatever. No one making this decision can be identified and of course no one takes responsibility.

Ditto with the surgical removal of the Drug Users Resource Centre from the administration of the Portland Hotel Society. After 13 years of growing this essential service the bureaucrats and political appoint ees running the Vancouver Coastal Health thing are carrying out their orders to destabilise the Downtown Eastside. VCH is behind the de-funding of Gallery Gachet and in cahoots with the real development plans for this neighbourhood. Do not trust them.

Okay. So far we have a pea-brained picture of developments that are 98% in favour of decimating the D!ES lov.:-int::omecommunity. We seem to end up with a few crumbs here & there while the years-long push to depopulate the area of low-income people is bubbling along. So why haven't people just given up?! Could it be that each defeat or small victory makes us stronger, makes our minds expand in learning the myriad ways that the devious dilettantes do shit?? Every ending is a beginning. The sharing & coalescing engendered by defeat shines as we each tap into an infinite store of energy born of righteousness. We fight back. We resist. We raise shit.

The victories just in this neighbourhood are awesome: Carnegie Community Centre; Downtown Eastside Women's Centre; Women's Health Collective' Portland Hotel Society & lnsite; Woodwards housi~g (!); the Lookout; DURC; Four Sisters & Lore KriIl Co-ops; Gallery Gachet; and the many many more that each person reading this will say "don't forget

" I

Our continuous struggle makes each of us better, an the sure guarantee that we are making the world bette helps. Join us!

By PAULR TAYLOR

.•. '~e ~~~'~~;I~d~c~'th~~'Ca~~~i:~' .;

this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory . . .' . . .-'

THIS NEWSLETIER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

Artwork •

•

•

; ",

-~:~.:~;-.::~.:. :":~'.:.:.::.'".:.:»:

Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

The editor can edit for clarity, fonmat & brevity, bul not at the expense of the writer's message.

Next issue: SUBMISSION

DEADLINE

TUESDAY JUNE 13TH

-,-: :.:-::>.; .,:

:: ',.-;..:> .-: '.~: .. ' ::"::::'::-,

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"Never doubt that a small group ofthoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -MargaretMeade

tsLAP (law Students

WANTED for the Carriegie Newsletter

Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry.

Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 '/..")wide x 15cm(6")high.

Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Downtown Eastside, but all work considered.

Black & White printing only.

Size restrictions apply (i.e. if your piece is too large, it will be reduced and/or .cropped to fit).

All artists will receive credit for their work.

Originals will be retumed to the artist after being copied for publication.

Remuneration: Camegie Volunteer Tickets

~~~~~~i~~~~ .

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WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION • • • • •

AIDS POVERTY HOMELESSNESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ABORIGINAL GENOCIDE TOT AUT ARIAN CAPITALISM IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR

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