March 1, 2021 Carnegie Newsletter

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

/

ELE:VATE THE DIGNITY OF WOMEN International Women's Day is March 8

Elevate the Dignity of Women The Memorial March for murdered and missing women i a stark reminder of how darkness and violence can and does impact the lives of over half of the people on this planet.

It's lighter when the services and organisations of, by and for women continue the struggle for real equality and the caring that emerges. In the Downtown Eastsidethere a number of venues for communities of women, some of which are touched on here: Downtown Eastside Women's Centre at 302 Columbia (681-8480) has provided a safe space with counselling, free clothes, showers, laundry, workshops, programs, welfare & housing advocacy. Hours were 10-5 before the pandemic.

Crabtree Corner and Sheway at 533 E.Hastings (216-1650) had, respectively, emergency daycare, babysitting, a Single Moms Support Group, pregnancy outreach, maternity nutrition info and referrals. Donated clothing and toys were often available.

Battered Women's Support Services (697-1867) had 10week and drop-in groups for women being abused, as well as counselling and referrals.

Vancouver Women's Health Collective at 29 West Hastings (736-5262) included a resource centre, a nurse practitioner, yoga and therapy.

WISH Drop-in Centre at330 Alexander (68179244) is a safe place for working women with showers, food, a place to relax or regroup. WISH has recently opened a women's overnight facility.

DE Emergency is at 412 E.Cordova and is a women's shelter.

Atiia is at 101 E.Cordova and provides housing and programs. A place called Bette's Boutique opened a few weeks ago at the corner of Main & E.Cordova. It is a space for women to get free Iothes, food hampers, hygiene supplies and relax. It is open daily from 9am-1l pm.

Sisters' Watch is set up near Oppenheimer Park to provide a network for women in the neighbourhood.

There are more services and connections in this community, and the use of past tense in the brief descriptions is just to reflect the uncertainty of hours and what is now available, during the pandemic and with stuff in flux.

Best thing for any sister is to go to one of these places or community resources and get as much up-to -date information as is available. it is up to all of us to elevate the dignity of women.

By P ULR TAYLOR

Announcing! . The Carnegie Centre has extended its opening hours! The Centre is now open to the public 911 am, 12 - 4 pm, and 5 - 11 pm, 7 days per week! Stop in for a great meal, or to browse the collections in the Vancouver Public Library, visit the Learning Centre, pick up a copy of the Camegie Newsletter, purchase a 2021 CCCA membership for $1 and more. [*The cover art for the February 15, 2021 edition ofthe Carnegie Newsletter was done by TJ Felix.]

froM the Library As we enter the year's third month, the days are getting longer which means more light to read in!

To help with that, we have received a few interesting new books recently that I will briefly discuss.

Canadarm and Collaboration by Elisabeth Howell is a history of Canada's role in space exploration. "Canadarm" refers to Canadian-invented robotic arms used to manipulate payloads in space. The author is a Canadian journalist who specializes in space exploration and this book features many interviews of astronauts.

Carol Rose GoldenEagle's The Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik) is a fictionalized, but authentic, account of "inter-generational violence and abuse rooted in the colonization ofIndigenous peoples" which honours language, culture, and dreams. At its core, this is a novel about friendship, resilience, and solidarity.

City of Sparrows by Eva Nour is a novel about growing up in Syria during the 1990s. The story's protagonist is "Sami," who is conscripted into the military during the beginning of a civil uprising. He is assigned to a mapmaking division and when he sees that his hometown is about to be attacked; he decides that he must get home somehow.

Finally, March 8th is International Women's Day so we will surely have a display up soon. Come into the branch and check it out!

Happy Reading, Daniel

Now Accepting Responsive Neighbourhood Small Grants (RNSG) and Greenest City Grants (GC G) offer grant opportunities to local Neighbourhood Small Grant Applications We're happy to announce that Responsive Neighbourresidents for amounts between $50 and $500. Grants hood Small Grants are back for 2021! Like last year, we applications are reviewed and adjudicated by a are providing small grants of up to $500 for projects that Neighbourhood Grants Committee (NGC) during an connect communities socially, or that share skills and ongoing process and until the application deadline closes. If you are interested in sitting on the grant talents - whether physically distanced or online.

With the great participation in response to the pandemic review committee, please contact me. Grants are last year, we can't wait to see the projects you dream up awarded to project leaders for projects that meet the to help our communities stay connected and resilient. criteria to connect and engage residents, share residents' skills and knowledge within the communiRemember, the 2021 grant program will continue to be available to anyone who lives in BC, so spread the word! ty, build a sense of ownership and pride, or respect Some Neighbourhood Small Grant (NSG) communities and celebrate diversity. Please visit and read the criare accepting applications on a rolling basis throughout teria for the RESPONSIVE Neighbourhood Small the year, while others have a set date. To check the appli- Grants website to review the complete guidelines cation deadline for your area, visit our Communities .and criteria for both of these programs. The criteria page and enter your postal code on the map to find your may change depending on the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) guidelines. Please check back often to region. see ifthere has been any changes.

Eligibility Apply Wondering what kind ofprojects are eligible? Visit www.neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca our Eligibility and FAQ page. Remember that you may ask for $350 to be allocated for honorariums to anyone Roberta Robertson who contributes skills or knowledge as part of your proCo-ordinator ject, including yourself. ' For inspiration, check out some of the past projects from In the spirit of reconciliation, NSG acknouiledqes 2020. that we live, iuork and play in the un ceded and Once you are ready to apply, you can submit your protraditional territories of the Coast Salish peoples ject via our online application. .

- x"7Tla8kwayam (Musqueam), s/sw)J1Jl17mesh (Squamish), and selfl'witulh (Tsleil- Waututh) nations.

Questions? Find Your Community Contact If you have questions about your application, reach out to We also recognize that our growing program the NSG contact for yOU!region on our Communities takes place across multiple Indigenous lands and page. traditional territories within BC. If you are unsure about which NSG community you belong to, you can contact Andrew Kohlgrueber Acknowledging territory shows recognition of at andrew.kohlgrueber@vancouverfoundation.ca. Please and respectfor Indigenous people - both past include your residential address in your email and present. Recognition and respect are essential elements of establishing healthy, reciprocal ., relations which are the key to reconciliation.

The Responsive Neighbourhood Small Grants (RNSG) program is funded by the Vancouver Foundation and administered by Strathcona Community Centre for the DTES / Britannia catchment area. The RNSG program was created to help build community and strengthen connections right where people live - in their neighbourhoods. This program supports project leaders who have small but powerful ideas to bring people together and make neighbourhoods vibrant. Both the Responsive

The Highs and lows of SROs - 2019-2020

Hotel Report

shows ongoing increase in rents and gentrification Unceded territory, February 26, 2021 - The troubling trend of rising rents and decreasing units has continued for the twelfth year in cl row, according to the annual hotel report in SROs in the Downtown Eastside (DTES). The 2019-2020 report was released this week and shows a significant increase in average rent for privately-owned, privately operated BROs in the DTES once again.

This years COVID-ized hotel report, rather then the dramatic sea change promised by city hall and hope generated by the City of Vancouver's purchase of the notorious Balmoral and Regent hotels, still shows a disturbing trend of upward costs and increasing gentrification. The COVID pandemic and ongoing impacts of colonialism contributed to a reduced number of buildings that could be accessed for this report, as well as an increase in homelessness. .'

"There is a colonial, COVID-ized crisis in homelessness and low-income housing," researcher Gunargie O'Sullivan.

"This is an overwhelming social and health related crisis and my heart aches for women and youth who are displaced or unsafe because of it."

"SROs become pretty much the last stop before the street," says researcher Gary Olver. "In doing this survey, I also come across people that live on the street, and they actually prefer living on the street because an SRO is quite a dangerous place. Some people prefer to actually sleep in a doorway than to go to an SRO because of the conditions in some of them. Some of the hotels, I think they should really look at those hotels, they should be renovated and brought up to a livable standard. I think that's important."

Some conclusions from the report:

.

.

• Average rents in privately owned and run hotels were a staggering $7l2 per month - $49 per month more than last year, and $25 more per month than 2017. This average rent would absorb almost an entire social assistance check. A single person currently receives $760 a month on income assistance or $1,183 a month on disability (not including the temporary COVID top-up.)

• The $712 average rent for 2019 is on a continuum of increases from 2008. Since "shelter rate" is still $375, an immediate 90% increase would be required for someone receiving social assistance to attain even the simplest, one-room, washroom-less residence in hotels that are often poorly maintained and run by slumlords • About 1 in 18 people who live in the DTES are homeless. The 2020 Homelessness Count found 128 less homeless people than in 2019 -- in a flawed point-in-time process that didn't take into account COVID-19's toll on guest access and shelter capacity. Vancouver city council later estimated 750 unsheltered homeless people, up from 600 in 2019 and early 2020. Indigenous people continue to be vastly over -represented in the homelessness population; and seniors are a growing trend.

• The top ten hotels with the fastest-increasing rents had an average rent increase of $240 per unit over last year -- an astounding average increase per unit of 40%. Meariwhileshelter rate amounts increased by 0%.

• The rate of change of new unaffordab1e housing (condos, market housing and social housing with rents above welfare shelter and pension rates) going forward into the foreseeable future with proposed and approved new DTES developments is 1374 unaffordable units to 669 affordable units, or about 2: 1

Media contacts: Fiona York, author

604-251-6264

Gunargie O'Sullivan, researcher

604-655-1806

This Hotel Report was done under the auspices of the Carnegie Community Centre Association and the mandated work of the Carnegie Community Action Project.

References: 2020 Homelessness Count https:Ucouncil.

va ncouver .ca/2020 1007/ docu ments/pspcl

presentation.

pdf

From 2020 DTES Local Area Plan memo to Mayor and Council: "Renovations/replacement

of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels with self-contained

ues to be challenging without

significant

placement

units for singles) have been approved and are currently

units (shelter-rate

ment. Additionally, propriating

senior government

investment.

social housing units contin-

At the end of 2019 over 1,000 SRO reat various stages of develop-

the City has recently invested in the purchase of Ross/ Aoki House a.nd is in the process of ex-

the Regent and Balmoral Hotels to enable the delivery of critical social housing in the 100 Block of Has-

tings. While progress is being made, the need for shelter rate, social and supportive cariously housed residents is intensified

by the affordability

housing for homeless and pre-

crisis and Covid-19 pandemic.

Online learning for Beginners A weekly course with the Carnegie learning • Would you like to join a class or group that meets on the internet?

• Do'you want to connect with friends you have not seen for a while?

• Are you curious bout learning online?

.....We can help you get started!

trhursdays 9:30-10:30, Next course start April 8.

To register or ask questions ..... ./ speak to Lucy, Danielle, Betsy or Emily in the Learning Centre ./calllucy at 778-288-6648 ./ email Betsyatbalkenbrack@capilanou.ca

Centre.

Feeling gratitude during a Pandemic

SRO you know?

Here I am alone in my hole.

Living through these last six months I have had a lot of Nothing to do, with nowhere to go. time to reflect on things.

The days run long in a SRO What happened to my life, the new normal, is surreal.

Not much bigger than a closet to live in.

Oh, how I long for the freedom of the old days where!

Compared to the street it feels like heaven. could go anywhere without standing in line or wearing a Feels like a step in the right direction. mask!

Beats roaches crawling and bed bugs biting.

I always try to look on the bright side of things; so selfShelter life was not to my liking. isola~ion suits me. I love having all that time to myself It's what I believe a jungle's to live in. to pamt and read and watch Netflix. I can do my yoga Everything taken before it was given. on youtube and go for short walks to the local duck pond Should have known it was not for me. for exercise.

A predatory animal I cannot be.

On top of listening to all the crap that happens in the Stealing from people with nothing left. news every day, I injured my hip this summer in a fall .Of empathy and morals that are bereft. and could not walk for a month. Now I am grateful for When confronted they just deny my legs far more than I have ever been in my life. I also In this world it's the norm to, lie feel a strong empathy for the many souls down here who .

That stealing is wrong they just cannot see. struggle every day with mobility and health challenges.

Its steal from them before they steal from me.

Their courage in the midst of everything amazes me.

That justifies what they've become This time has also given me time to think about all So goes the life of a junkie slash bum the things in my life that have supported me through the If you think of the grief that is caused past twenty years. My greatest support besides my partBy countless people who don't obey laws ner and friends has been the Carnegie. I have been a If you think that you are the only one volunteer in the Learning Centre and a board member To find'out that there is no place to run since 2007 and these jobs have been endlessly rewardSometimes we wish for a hug from our mum ing. When I think of all the friends I made and all the When you are home and you reflect on your experiences I have been privy to thanks to this wonderday ful old building!

Were you mean and make them pay At times during these past months the world seems to Or did you smile with nice things to say be getting worse everyday. A new crisis or catastrophe When sometimes you feel old and wrung happening all the time. A smoke storm blows in from It all comes down to what's said and done California, a hurricane or something blows up in a far That's what's important in the long run away land. Peopfe are suffering all over the world.

Somehow, this selfishly makes me feel better. I say to ArtAtak myself "at least we don't have it that bad here. Yesterday we had zero deaths from the virus."

Meanwhile the idiot down south continues to fill me with dread as he destroys his country and causes hatred and division all over the place. Thank god we live in Canada with all our social programs and medical care.

As I keep on keeping on I am going to remind myself about being grateful for every minute I have left and try my best to keep the lessons of this terrible year in my head. Life may never be the same again, so we all have tojust keep going and see what happens. Hopefully

By ADRlENNE MACALLUM

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COMMUNITY CENTRE SERVICES

OF

VANCOUVER

I Arts,

Culture and Community Services

Location Phone Number Everyday: Hours of ope,ra-19 am-ll am, 12 1100n-4 pm, 'tlon 5 pm-9 pm

I Weekdays:

Everyday:

9 am -11 pm Weekends: 10 am -10 pm

9 am-7:45 pm

Breakfast

I 9 am-l1 am ($2.25)

Lunch I 12 1100n-4 pm ($2.75) . Dinner

I 5 em-s pm ($3.50)

Free Laundry

I not

Free Showers

I not available

Drop in Space

I 9 am -11 am, 12 noon - 4 pm

Other Services Available

available

9 am-11 am ($2.00)

10 am -12 noon ($2.00)

12 noon -2:30 pm ($2.00)

11am-3 pm ($2.00)

5 pm-7 pm ($2.00)

3 pm-5:50

Daily drop off:

Mon-Fri drop off:

9 am-to am, 12 1100n-1 pm &3pm-4pm

9 ern-to am (first come, first served) 12:15pm -1 pm

pm ($2.00)

Daily sign up:

Daily between:

9 alTl-5:30 pm

10:15am-6:30

& 5 pm-9 pm

9 am-2:30 pm & 3:30 pm - 7:45 pm

9:00 am-10:45 pm

Public Washrooms, Pay Phones, Community Notice Board, Mail Services, Carnegie Branch VPL services, Learning Centre support, Programming (limited)

Temporary Shelter Hours: 8:30pm - 7:30am Call for availability: lOam to 8pm, 604-665-2391 and 8pm to 7:30am, 604-257-3846

(by appointment)

Extreme Weather ResponseShelter (weather dependant) l1:00pm - 8:00am "Final intake at 1:00am: Phone: 604-665-3075 I

t 2020 City of Vancouver: 20·102

Updated December 2020

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