Modern Love can be whatever you want it to be caring, sharing your heart Make it to be true

604-665·2289

FEBRUARY 15, 2010

camnews@shaw .ca www.camnews.org -400 hits per day! http://harvesters.sfu.ca/chodarr (INDEX)

Take each day to look forward Lying to each other is such a sin In having a healthy relationship Always waking up with each other Say good morning, say I love you I hope the Creator helps

Never go to bed mad Have a safe, healthy journey together ,.. • ......,_:-,.,?·="=?rt:~"""'=""'"--.:.:It.:.:w.;.i.:.:ll....:s:.;.lo~w...:.::,..,:.:;.:::..::.:;:,,.:b~o;;.th:..a::;l::..iv....:e:...., • ...,..1 So. all you love birds,

to some it's the pink blossoms to me it's the 'gone missing ' signs some kid looking for themselves ends up eaten by the wo lves see the sign of some homegirl whose family is here looking sad to think they might go home

every year they come, they come and never stop except to show their face3s on 'gone missing' signs and sobbing mothers, broken fathers on their way back home

You have a nice Valentine's Day Be good to each other!

always wondering what went wrong what was so bad their only treasures chose to leave them behind the ones now searching for children they might never find

Lee Loon

What can be written that's worth reading? Money makes the smoke ' n mirrors in use before and during the Olympics of the highest quality, and the script, though certainly customized for each Games, has been kept pretty much the same as in Beijing, Salt Lake City, Atlanta and others. A behaviour waiver letting Vanoc take your firstborn if you badmouth anything, including any "official sponsor'', while being part of any part of the show (performing) is new and obscene but again not totally unexpected .....

The front page lets a picture be worth volumes. The one smil ing happy face represents the athletes and all their support teams, families and friends, the years of discipline and sacrifice making Olympics unique! The other faces are not happy: no housing legacy, poverty and homelessness unchanged, gentrification and dis­placement running rampant, environmental crimes going unpunished -unchecked and the seemingly pure ideation of"l Believe" is such that the temporary blindness caused will get tarnished very quickly and anger will ensue.

Neighbourhood News Tidbits so far include people from the Women's Centre Power of Women sitting down in the street at Cambie & Hastings and forcing a change in the route for the Olympic torch; a video made to give voice to the consequences of the Olympic industry was uploaded to You Tube and administrators(?) contacted the Carnegie Action Project asking if we/ they'd like to make money on it (''Click here to learn how!") and no one bothered to respond; the Poverty Olympics got international interest, online press releases, and crews from Germany, Finland, Germany and the USA came here to ask about the movement of people looking at the entire effects of these Garnes; Megaphone lauded its editorial about the reporting disappointments appearing in various international media with duplication of the general stereotypes seen regularly in local media; phalanx of police in cars, on motorcycles, bicycles, horse-back, blocking and ordering and yelling while all completely surround the person carrying the torch (this last contingent was so hyped and seemingly paranoid that they will all need serious chiropractic adjustments for trying to see everywhere at once with the bugged eyes of the totally indoctrinated); the anonymous of Security opined about the missed opportunity to grab the Torch, do an Audie Murphy or Clint Eastwood onto

one ofthe horses and shout EEEYAHHH until he was shot down like the dog they'd take him for.; medics from Portland coming to help demonstrators were turned back at the border, while there is a frustrated team of 4 paramedics and 2 doctors who are assigned and being paid to just sit there waiting for any journalist to keel over and the one voicing the frustration is livid about how their skills and expertise are being more or less wasted at such a huge cost; the entire street scene at Pigeon Park and all along the unit-block ofE Hastings (especially on the United We Can side) was cleared away by half a dozen cops on either side ... and 25,000 people were outside BC Place protesting the slime running out of the dark side of the Games' underbelly. Hmm PRT

Thursdays Writing Collective Begins Again

The Thursdays Writing Collective is back refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to begin our 12 week spring course. We start on Thursday, March 18, 2-4pm on the third floor of the Carnegie Centre. Join us every Thursday from March 18 until June 3 for writing prompts, discussions and readings led by Elee Kraljii Gardiner. This spring we are planning in-class visits with poet Fiona Lam and novelist/ short story writer Cathleen With. Everyone is welcome to drop in and write with us.

Hum 1 01 : Steering Committee Meeting Saturday February 20 from I to 3 pm at Carnegie Centre in the third floor classroom. Agenda items include: reports and feedback on all courses, public programmes and new initiatives.

Steering Committee is open to all Humanities I 0 I, 201 and Writing 101 students and alumni. Thank you to all who have been attending and contributing to the meetings in recent months. The purpose of steering committee is to coordinate the activities of the Humanities 101 programme. As alumni of the programme your views and opinions are crucial to help guide the course, we encourage you to come along and offer your support.

News From the Library

New Books Spring is in the air, there's some kind of sporting

(ahem) event going on, and Carnegie's got its very own Sun R11n walk-run clinic. If you need running advice, or if you're the kind of person who likes to read about running rather than actually go out in the rain and do it, take a look at Running for Mortals (796.42) by John "The Penguin" Bingham and Jenny Hadfield. As they say, "you don't need to run fast or win races to be considered a runner. All it takes is a lillie courage and the will to start. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Gregory Peck and Audrey llepburn. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Fay Wray and King Kong. Leading Cou­ples: The Most Unforgettable Screen Romances of the Studio Era (79 1 .43) profiles the movies, the behind-the-scenes action, and the real-life relation­sh ips of some of Hollywood's most famous cou-

• pies. Ahh, Hollywood. They don't make them like this any more. Calling all songwriters and poets! Nothing Rl1ymes with Orange: Perfect Words for Poets, SonJ,•writ­ers uml Rhymers by Bessie G Redfield (808.1) is a collection of rhyming words arranged by spelling and sound. Look under "erable" to find that •·collat­eral" rhymes with "funeral". Look under "ince" to find that "province" rhymes with "wince". The book also includes useful sections such as "Close but no cigar: true rhymes vs near rhymes." A con­fession from me: I know that someone requested this book, but I can't remember who it was so I ha­ven't set it as ide for you- please come and request the book rrom the display case at the library. And the first person to come and see me with a rhyme for orange wins a prize.

Nettie Wild, documentary filmmaker, is well­known to the Downtown Eastside commun ity. She directed and produced FIX: The Story of all Ad­dicted City and Bevel Up: Drugs, Users & Out­reach Nursing. Wild at Heart: The Films of Nettie Wild (79 1.43) is a short but fascinating look at a talented, activist documentary filmmaker.

Beth, your I ibrarian

3 What is the 2010 Hunger Strike Relay'!

Each week new volunteers take on the Wooden Spoon and participate in a week long fast for 7 days. The hunger strike will continue past the 20 I 0 Olympics to June 2010. We are calling for there­establishment of a National Housing Program based on the One Percent Solution in Canada.

Why is Vancouver Councillor Ellen Woodsworth participating in the 20 I 0 hunger strike relay? The City has been proactive on dealing with homeless­ness, but the temporary II EAT shelters are just that -temporary. They close on April 30.

To truly so lve homelessness. we need to get other levels of government on board. Canada is the only GS country without a national housing strategy. The cost of keeping people ofT the street is sign ificantly cheaper than the medical and other associated costs of leaving them on the streets - rhe hunger strike is another way to bring attention to our need for a na­tional housing program. Solving homelessness isn't as complicated as curing cancer- it's a matter of political will.

We need to build homes and put supports in them so people are successful.

Some statistics: Canada's homeless population is somewhere be­

tween 200,000 and 300,000 people and 1.7 million residents across the country struggle with housing affordability issues.

There are between I 0,500 and 15,000 homeless people in British Columbia. The 2008 homelessness count identified 2,660

people who were homeless in the Metro Vancouver region . Homelessness has more than doubled since the Olympics were awarded to Vancouver.

Roughly half of all Canadians live in fear of pov­erty, and 49 per cent polled believe they might be poverty stricken if they missed one or two pay cheques.

45% of homeless women in Metro Vancouver are aboriginal.

Get involved! Take a Valentine's day card rrom Ellen and send it to your MP or the Prime Minister! Tell them to support Bill C04 - MP Libby Davies' bill to start a national housing program. Have a heart for housing!

The Miracle of the 3rd Poverty Olympics

The excitement started in front of V ANDU around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 7th, when the Pov­erty Olympics torch arrived from its journey around the Lower Mainland. "It's coming!" people said, and we could see the flames of the torch towering above the crowd that had gathered to greet it. We cheered loudly. We smiled a lot. We felt proud be­cause we were part of something strong and caring. Our torch stood for a just society in which everyone was included. Slowly we followed the torch to the Japanese Hall

on Alexander Street,Aboriginal drummers started us on our way, and then the Downtown Eastside Samba Band and the Carnival Band began to p lay with an exuberant energy that made us feel that we could fly. This was music that broke down barriers. This was the music of belonging together.

The Japanese Hall was packed with around 700 people, and we could all feel the vitality and friend­ship in the room. The Downtown Eastside commu­nity, with its strong sense of respect, its divers ity, sharing and compassion, had come to celebrate, and to tell the world that spending six billion dollars on a rwo week winter sports event while citizens suf­fered fi-om hunger and homelessness, was abso­lutely wrong. We say, "End poverty. It's not a

game." You could see community pride in the faces of everyone present. This Poverty Olympics was a happening that we would remember forever. The poverty games involved the struggle of com­

munity against the corporate forces that would de­stroy it, and the audience participated loudly in support of the players who fought for human rights. We yelled. We cheered. We waved white towels in the hockey skit. We smiled, and we laughed out loud. At the same time these poverty games ques­tioned the basic assumptions of our country that was so rich in resources, and had so much poverty and homelessness. l feel proud to be part of the Downtown Eastside

community, and I feel honoured to know many thoughtful, caring people here. I feel angry that those with power and wealth still refuse to ac­knowledge that our community exists. After all, it was Bruce Eriksen who said, "The people who live here, they call it the Downtown Eastside." Yet when city officials put up street maps of our neighbour­hood fo r Olympic tourists, they left out the Down­town Eastside. Our community does not exist as far as they are concerned. I wish they could have been at the Japanese Hall on February 7th. At the Poverty Olympics we said with great conviction, "We are here! We are here!" And we're not going away.

Sandy Cameron

for Loretta

just the other day the tag team was at it again the volume goes up as they bash I bounce thru the door Laurel and Hardy Lana and Loretta now half the team is on the other side leaving pictures of her in better days stuck up here and there to remind us she was ever really alive .. soon the memory will fade

Qrgamzed by the Centre and the

And that's what you get down here a photo stuck up on the Carnegie wall a service in the lobby no-one attends 'oh she's dead now' is all you say for someone you'd sidestep if you saw her now suddenly people sat 'oh so sad, too bad' too young to die, yet while she was alive no-one ever gave a shit, not really

Every week a new dead face adorns the lobby so and so- 'oh you know, the guy who ... ' I sit and stare at the beauty she once was in our prime we're all so fresh and inviting but age and tragedy, hardships and pain, leave us wrinkled old hags soon forgotten one more woman finally out of pain

February

Carnegie Commun1ty DTES Ne1ghbourt10od House

Jazz - Karaoke - Comedians - Aboriginal Celebration - Storytelling- Lantern

Process1on Blues Harmonica - Rock&Roll - HipHop - Drum Cirlce- Great Food

Feb 15'h live Music & Kareoke with Northwest Culinary Academy meal Feb 16'h live Music & lmprov with BC Chefs Association meal Feb 23rd live Music with Radha Yoga & Eatery meal Feb 25th live Music & lmprov with HAVE Cafe meal Feb 27'11 live Music with Walnut Grove Lutheran Church meal 3 ·

•·... Day Tented Event on Dunlevy Street- Next to the Park -Feb 19'h 21 ~Music, Entertainment, Storytelling & Great Food- at the Park

See Posters & Flyers for more workshop and event details To volunteer see

AI

J:~AAEI­

eaming exemptions Action: Rates for some increased by $50; there have been no new earning exemptions ICI: Buy 800 units of existing housing Acuon: Done

BC: The Best Place In Earth? We have: -An estimated 12,000 homeless people In BC -The lowest minimum wage rate in Canada -Welfare rates that are 25% lower than what they were

in 1995, once innation is factored in -The highest child poverty rate for the 6th year in a

row. Off-reserve Aboriginal children have a poverty rate that is almost twice that of non-Aboriginal kids.

-A 373% increase from 2002 to 2008 in Metro Vancouver's street homelessness

YOU CAN HELP Please take the time to email our governments and let them know you support:

*Permanent federal and provincial funding that ann­ually builds a minimum of 800 self-contained homes affordable to people with low incomes

•Increasing welfare rates b) 50% and a removal of barriers to access & disincentives for part-time work

*A minimum wage ofSIO an hour •tncreased protection for all low-income rentals

Email addresses follow-Prime Minister Stephen Harper: pm@pm.gc.ca Premier Gordon Campbell : premier@gov.bc.ca Mayor: gregor.robenson@vancouver.ca Send copy to: info@citywidehousingcoalition.org

Downtown Eastside Fact Sheet 1 The Carnegie Community Action ProjW (CCAP)

CCAP is a non-governmental organization (NGO(tbat worl..s out of the Carnegie Community Centre in Vancouver's Down town Eastside. It is accountable to about 5,000 members of the community centre, most of whom are loy,-income DTES residents. CCAP has one paid staff member and many volun­teers who y,ork for more and better housing and higher in­comes in the DTES CCAP beli~ves the low-income DTES community has a right to exist and to seek Improvements. Overvi~: The Downtown Eastside is one of Canada's poorest urban neighbourhoods. About 70% of the residents have low incomes with the average less than S 1,000 a month. About 700 are homeless. Most live alone and arc renters. There is a high percentage of seniors, Aboriginal people, people of Chinese ance.~tr). people with mental and physical disabili­ties. and people who use illegal drugs. The DTES is a non judgmental communi!) where many people are accepting, empathetic. caring. and volunteer m many capacities.

There is also a tremendous community spirit and a histor) of the community fightmg for its basic human rights. In the 1930s unemplo)ed men rallied in the DTES before going to Ottawa to seek work and wages. In the 1960s residents stopped a freeway from bisecting the community. In the '70's they fought for a community centre. better housing and neighbourhood improvements. In the '80s they occupied waterfront land until the city developed CRAB pari.. and \~Orked for more social housing. In the '90s they fought for 1\orth America's first safe injection site and to demand that police find missing and murdered women from the neigh­bourhood. In the '90s they occupied Woodwards to demand social housing. Now the fight continues for more decent housing, higher incomes and to slow gentrification which is pushmg low income residents out and destroying many community assets.

The impact of the Olympics on low-income people in the DTES The Olympics have had four major impacts so far: The Olympics have been used as an excuse for governments

to make the physical appearance of the DTES better (sprucing up store fronts, creating the Carrall St. Greenwa) for tourists, opening Woodwards, etc.). This makes it easier for develop­ers to sell condos to upscale residents; it increases property values in the area. and has numerous ripple effects that dis­place low income residents andlor make them feel uncom­fortable in their own community.

Police have been giving low income DTES residents fines for very minor offenses like selling things on the street, riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, etc. There is no way that people can afford these fines. They arc afraid they will be arrested for unpaid fines and moved ofT the streets during the Olymp1cs. The prO\ incial government has enacted what local residents call The Olympic Kidnap Act which allows police to force homeless people into shelters even if they don't want to JIO.

:JAPAN

Welcome Olympic Visitors Find out about Homelessness in Vancouver

We hope you enjoy your stay in Vancouver. While you are here you will probably notice many homeless and poor people in the streets. Following, you wil! find information about homelessness and poverty m Vancouver - why it's so prevalent and what can be done about it.

The 3 Biggest Causes of Homelessness: 1 The federal & provincial governments cancelling social housing programs that brought an average of 800 units of affordable housing to Vancouver I year 2 Provincial welfare, disability and minimum wage rates that do not meet basic needs. Shelter allowances are less than half of market rents 3 The loss of affordable rental housing due to redev­elopment, speculation and gentrification

Holes in the Net: Cutting Housing & Income SecuritY Programs In 2002, when little social housing was being built, punitive changes to welfare regulations made welfare harder to get. Applicants are now expected to have proof of two years' employment and be able to wait three weeks before receiving a cheque. In Vancouver a single person on welfare receives $610. Average monthly rent of Vancouver studio apts is $840*

Bring Back Permanent Housing Programs Vancouver had little homelessness when government housing programs annually built an average of800 affordable homes. A 2007 BC government study calculated $55,000 of non-housing services is spent annually on each homeless person. l11ey also found that adequate housing with support services would cost $37,000 per person-a savings of$18, 000 per person .. Permanently funded social housing programs use publtc funds responsibly. They allow us to plan inclusive communities, save lives, and leave a legacy of affordable housing for future generations.

Shelters & Residential Hotels: Inadequate & Temporary

Increased funding for shelters has meant more beds and mats, but there still is not enough space. Moreover, funding for many shelters runs out in April 20 I 0. Residential hotels provide basic shelter for about 5,000 people in Vancouver. Typically, a room is I 00 square feet with no kitchen. A single bathroom may be shared by as many as 20 other people. Recent BC government purchases of residential hotels preserve affordability in basic shelter stock. However, they do not provide adequate nor additional accommodation for homeless people, since most of the hotels were full when purchased by the government. Shelters & residential hotels aren't permanent homes. Canadian housing standards have always included bathrooms and kitchens.

Canada's Olympic Commitments VS What Happened

The Inner-City Inclusive Housing Table (ICI) was appointed by the provincial government to make recommendations to all levels of government and V ANOC about how to meet Olympic housing com­mitments. ICI was made up of business, government and community representatives who unanimously agreed on 23 recommendations. Here are the results of the five most important recommendations: ICI: Build 3200 units of social housing in Vancouver (800 in each of2007, 2008,2009, 2010) Action: Since the ICJ recommendations were made, funding for only 588 new units of self-contained housing has been approved ICI: Secure 100 units of Olympic Village housing for deep core need, I 00 for core need and 50 for low end of market Action: At this point the city cannot guarantee any of the units will be for people with low incomes IC I: Eliminate barriers to accessing social assistance Action: Barriers are still in place ICI: Increase social assistance by at least 50% and allow

839-0379 Contact 6?'4-p OJ·ect brings you . Act1on r The Carnegie

:a about the City's Gentrification Plan:

·ancouver.ca/coanansvcs/planning/hahr/index.htan

While the city and province have opened up more shelter beds for homeless people during the Olympics, funding for many of these shelters ends in April.

GRD.T 8AJTMM Olympic housing promises As part of Vancouver's Olympic bid. the three levels of gov­ernment and VANOC made several promises about housing. In March 2007, they created the "Inner-City Inclusive Housing Table" to make recommendations about how to meet these promises. Several of these unanimous recommenda­tions included: -lluild 3,200 units of social (non-market) housing by 20 I 0 -Eliminate barriers to getting \lelfare (income assistance) that make people homeless. -Increase \\CI fare rates by 50% -Make 250 units of housing at the Athletes Village available to mostly low income people. -Buy 800 units of existing housing.

Only the last promise has been kept.

The population of the DTES: About 16.000 in 2006.

Percentage of DT ES residents with low incomes 2006 census track areas roughly break down into the

DEOD (75.5% low income), Gastown and Victory Sq. (70.6% low income), Thornton Park (64.4% !011 in­come) and Strathcona 46.9% low income). (Source paper prepared for CCAP by Hannah Spaulding. October. 2008)

Many of these people depend on wei fare ($61 0 per month for a single person) disability ($906 per month} or basic old age pension (about $1 I 00 per month). People on wei fa re and disabi lity are supposed to pay $375 for rent but many have to use their food money to pay higher rents. The average rent for a I bedroom apartment in Vancouver is $919 a month (Source· Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp)

Kinds of housing DTES residents live in In the OTES there arc about: -5,000 SRO (residential hotel) units, about 1500 owned by the province and operated as supportive housing; -5,000 social housing units; -900 special needs housing beds; -2, 100 O\\ ncr occupied and market rental apartments and houses. (Source: City of Vancouver Housmg Plan

the DTES, Oct 1005)

In addition, about 700 residents are homeless.

Of the 3.500 privately-owned SRO units. many are tiny rooms, with a bathroom down the hall for everyone on the floor. They have no kitchen and numerous cock­roaches. bedbugs and 1 ermin. People \ 1 ho Iii e in social housing have a stable base in the community and find it easier to get and stay healthy, find work. volunteer and socialize. CCAP is working to get more social housi ng in the DTES.

Provinciall}-o~>ned hotels Since 2007 the pro1 ince bought or leased 24 old hotels

with about 1,500 rooms. Most have been upgraded and all arc managed by non-profit groups. Most of these hotels were full of residents when they were purchased so they arc not additional housing. Wh ile these hotels are better no11 than they were, they are still too small to provide adequate accom modation and people still have to share a bathroom with others on their floor and have no personal kitchen. The hotels don't meet modern earthquake standards.

New low-income housing to be buill While fi ve more social housing buildings have been planned for the DTES, they will make only a small dent in replacing the 5,000 residential hotel rooms and providing housing for the 700 homeless DTES residents and it will probably be at least 3 years before they will start accepting residents. CCA P is calling for our governments to replace all the hotels in 10 years. Government studies show that u IS cheaper to house homeless people than to maintain them on the street. The province has a $250-million Housing Endowment Fund that it could spend on housing now. Hundreds of groups across Canada are calling for a National Housing Program that would fund 20,000 units of new housing for low income people!) ear Number of new low-income housing units needed The city's policy is to replace every residential hotel room that is lost wi~l a new self contained unit for low income people. If ncY. affordable housing continues to be built in the DTES at the current rate, it willtakc 53 years for this poliC) to be implemented. Market housing units and the impact of condos According to a June 2008 memo from the head of the City's housing centre to city council, 1.842 condos and 151 other

market housing units are either built or planned for the DTES (maybe to students of the new SFU Ans School). These hotels between 2003 and 2011. Of these, 833 are completed, 959 are include the Colonial (90 vacant units), and Argyle (40 vacant under construction, 248 are approved, and 215 are under units). The Golden Crown (28 units) is empty and renovating as review. Some of these projects may have been stalled because is the Bums Block (28 units). Other hotels may be doing this as of the economic situation. Condo construction is a large part of well. With increased rents these hotels will not be available to the gentrification process v.here people who are richer than currem low-income DTES residents. These hotels are all Jocated current residents take over a neighbourhood, replacing the near Woodwards. low-income housing, services and businesses that serve City counting method tloesn 'I give a dear picture. City stalT low-income people with housing, services and businesses for continually inform council that its 1 for 1 replacement policy higher income people. As more condos develop, property (for every SRO that is lost, a new social housing unit should be values rise, hotel owners convert to more lucrative tourism built) is being met. However. the city does not take into ac-uses, and new businesses serve the richer residents, increasing count rent increases that make the SROs, the last housing rents for social agencies and others with storefronts now. New before homelessness, unafTordablc to very low-income residents, we have seen. lobby fiercely to keep more despe- people. Nor is it examining the impact on low-income DTES rately needed social housing and services out of the area. residents of owners holding rooms vacant. And the city in-Displacement of poor residents by gentrification eludes provincially owned hotels as new social housing when Rents are increasing. llotcl rents are escalating beyond "hal they are newly social but not new accommodation. people on welfare, disability and seniors can afford. According Gentrification won't help current residents to CCAP's hotel survey, the number of hotel rooms renting for Over the past 30 years, cuts to government social programs over $425. $50 above what people on welfare and disability have and minimum wage have effectively taken millions of dollars for rent. increased by 44% between 2008 and 2009. In other in purchasing power out of the DTES. If welfare had the same words, about half of the privately owned SROs are renting for purchasing power today that it had in 1980, it would be about more than low income people can afford. Probably as a result of S250 a month more than the )61 0 that single people get now. these rent increases, CCAP also found that the number of hotels If miuimum wage were the same percentage of the poverty where two people arc staying in one tiny room quadrupled line as it was in 1975, it would be about $11.76 an hour now bet,~een 2008 and 2009. not S8 (and $6 for new workers). In the '70's and '80's unem.' Horels near Wootlwards have tile ltigllest rents. According to ployment insurance was a significant source of income, but CCAP's 2009 hotel survey, 10 hotels with about450 rooms, East that program has been badly cut so that El is virtually irrele-of Main, rent rooms at over $425 a month. But 15 hotels with vant. CCAP wants social policies to restore purchasing power about I, 130 rooms, West of Main, rent rooms at over $425. This to residents so they can spend money in local businesses and statistic shows that, in general, the hotels closer to Woodwards help them flouri sh. We want businesses and services that serve have the highest rents. existing lo\\ -income residents. Gentrifying the neighbourhood Mort empty rooms. According to a survey by Jodyne Keller of won't help existing residents. but will push them out to where the VPD in December 2009, some hotels have large numbers of they will lose their community of friends, suppon. services. \acant rooms. In CCAP's experience this usually means they are ____ . ._For more information ontlte DTES comnllwity, please visit getting ready 10 sell or to upgrade and rent at increased rents ccapvaucouver. wort/press. com

5 facts about poverty in BC

1 Highest child poverty in Canada British Columbia. the province whose government

chose to spend b ill ions on the Olympics, has had the highest ch ild poverty rate in Canada for six years in a row: 18.8% of children are below the poverty line. 2 Lowest minimum wage in Canada

British Columbia's minimum wage ($8 an hour) has lost about 19% of its purchasing power since 1976. A person working fu ll time. all year. would have to earn $10.80 an hour to reach the poverty line for Vancouver in 2009. 3 Welfare rates far below the line

A two-parent family on welfare with two children received a lmost $20.000 a year less than the poverty line for a city like Vancouver. 1\ single- parent family on we lfare with one child receives almost $ 11,000 a year less than the poverty I in e. 4 Rich get richer - poor get poorer

The wealthiest 10% of B.C. families increased their income by about 25% between 1989 and 2007. The poorest hal f had virtually no increase and some de­clines. Poor female-led single-parent families in BC averaged $ 12,600 below the poverty line in 2007. 5 Skyrocketing Rents Average rent for a bachelor apartment in Vancouver in 2009 was $804/month; average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was $919/month.(CMHC)

Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer (author unknown)

Eye halve a spelling chequer It came with my pea sea

It plainly marques four my revue Miss s teaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a quay a nd type a word And weight four it two say

Weather eye am wrong oar write

It s hows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long

And eye can put the e rror ri te Its really ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no

Its lette r perfect in it's weigh My chequer tolled me sew.

11 facts about poverty in Canada

1 Poverty Kills: Poverty has about twice the impact as all cancers combined on lost years of healthy living in Canada. The poorest Canadians have about 10 fewer years of healthy living than the richest. 2 Canada is a wealthy country: In 2005 the total net worth of Canadians was almost $5 Trillion. a 42% increase from 1999. In spite of the overall increase i~ wealth over that perio. the poorest 20% of Canadians lost more than 70% of their wealth. The wealthiest20% gained over 43%. 3 In 2005 the average net worth of the poorest 20% of Canadians was $-2400. They are in debt. The average net worth of the richest 20% was $1.26 million. 4 Canada is the only industrialized country without a national affordable housing strategy. 5 In 1988 Canada built 22,000 social housing units in 2002, the number was only 1500. 6 One in four households in Canada pay more than 30% of their income on housing. 7 Inequality between rich and poorin Canada has grown more than in any other OECD cowltry in the last decade except for Germany . 8 Canada is number 25 out of 30 OECD countries for most social spending. 9 The national poverty rate for First Nations children under six living off reserve is 40% 10 Children in racialised, new Canadian and Aboriginal families and children with dis· abilities are at greater risk ofliving in poverty. 11 The average Canadian low-income family has about $9600 a year less than the poverty line.

To whom it may concern

This is a letter of thanks to the techs at Life labs, 408 E. Hastings. I have never felt more comfortable when getting bloodwork done. ['m writing this so other peop le may know that this location treats peo­ple like human beings.

Sincere ly , Bill Piggott

Carnegie Theatre Workshop Upcoming Classes

& performances

Street Theatre, Improv, One Acts

Everyone welcome!

Home Ground Improv in Oppenheimer Park

Tues Feb 16 • 12 : 30-1pm Thurs Feb 25 • 12:30-1pm One Act reading on Stage

Fri Feb 19 • 6pm-6 : 30

Led by Teresa Vandertuin For info call 604-255-940L

tbirteenofhearts@ botmail.com

REVEALING REVELATIONS I often daydream about many different things throughout the day, of which I cannot speak, that most certainly are better kept deep down (yet luminous) as innermost secrets. I wonder: is this procedure of my life really the way to be unto myself, and all of the others that are so inclusive in my daily dreamscapes should I endeavour to somehow share any of what is so deep and unknown to any but me? T ime and time again others could not know or even suspect what I genuine ly care about them as individuals. Is this the correct way to live my life, our lives, that can always or only appear to be perceived as extremely brief; when it comes right down to it our spiritual inclusion and participation in the grand scheme of the universe is? miniscule!? If in fact anyone is intuitive enough to realistically imagine the ever-expanding big picture - infinity!?­etemity?!-... I think not. But I feel it is our mortal duty to release epiphanies unto others who are close to you, who are near and dear to you, who have touched you in some way. The smallness, the brevity doesn 't matter as you are everlastingly acquaint-ed with them and, because of the reawakening of consideration on my part, I have decided convincingly on a gradual progression of becoming a more open,

.._ _________________ _, giving and sharing individual. In short, a lot less

Karen Jamieson Dance Workshops February 2 • March 30

Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-5:30 Starting February 2 in the gym

Free! All are welcome!

Open to all levels of experience, studying the ba­sic elements of dance through rhythm and impro­visation. For those interested, we will also be working to­wards a performance in March, an outdoor circle dance moving down Carrall Street! Please see Rika Uto in the Carnegie Program office for

more information or call Karen Jamieson Dance at 604.687.6675m

se lfish; like telling a certain someone I love you and care for you, you are often central in my thoughts and feelings. But why is this so hard? If I don't act now, if you say no, I'll never take another chance; one or both of us must and likely will expire. What a concept.. us being equally ancient souls .. not having to read and decipher body English or veiled eyes or overhearing secondhand crass and carnal doublespeak. How profound is that???

l feel so much better about myself now. These days. Try it on for size if you wish - after all, what have you got to lose in the long run? If I may the answer to this question is really quite simple: you have absolutely nothing to lose. Take my word for this one - the world will instantly transform into a much better, safer, healthier and happy place. I do know and can promise all this because I've previously lived in a bad way for a terribly tryi ng long time. In other words I' ve been there, where you may be now.

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE

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401 Mai• SUUt, V6A. :zn ntiS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBI.ICATION Of THE CARNEGIE CO..uMITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Mides represent tile views ol individllll Contributors and not of tile Associallon.

WANTED Artwork for the Cmlegie Newsletter

Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry Cover art -Maximum size: 17cm(6 ¥.")wide x 15cm (6") high Subject matlef relevant to issues pertaining to the Downtown Eastside, but a8 WOfk considered Black & While printing only Size restlictionS wi apply (i.e. if your piece is klo large, it will be reduced and/or aopped to lit All artists wiD receive credit for 1heir wOO.; Ofiginals wiU be returned to the artist after being coptea lilr puOI\CaCIOO; Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer tickets .

Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

The Flame Passing By

The signs of discontent are up and flying the more we protest the harder hits the fist Campbell is barricaded but he's resolved to rid the 'hood of junkies millions spent but we can't make the rent if you are lucky enough to have a roof back home on the prairies my Mom worries about possible bombs- terr9risn;'s done its job when the-mob is waiting-for the I •• bomb to goo all us regular folk resent the fact we are on the list next to extinct millions on hockey, millions on hockey rinks ask me I'll tell you the Olympics stink

AI

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Meade

SJ1'1MW5'0N ~ Thursday, February 25

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We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory . .. . -.· .

Editor: PauiR Taylor; Layout assislanc--Lisa David Collation & distribution crew: Bill, Liu Lin, Harold, Mary Ann, Miriam, Kelly; Videha, Rolf, Jackie, Ida, r .isa, Robyn, Nick.

2010 DONATIONS: Libby D.-$50 Margaret D-$40 Sarah E.-$46 Rolf A.-$50 Barbara & Mel L.-$50 Sheila 8.-$25 Laurie R.-$60 Jenny K.-$25

SHIATSU MASSAGE (Starting January 2zM)

Fridays, 1-4pm, Carnegie Centre Gym

First come - first serve. Please sign up with the Therapists

§§Lifeline§§§

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA . Working for You

1070-1641 Commercial Dr, VSL 3Y3 Phone: 604-773-0790

Solder & Sons Used books - Coffee .& Tea

Curious audio recordings & equapment

· 247 Mni• Street - 3 t 5-71 QR

MODEL CITY (vactis neglectis) Like revolving closed doors or closing arguments & remarks, I heard that it's your mind that's in the dark, makeshift your mind up while it 's still yours to mark. I wonder if there were counterfeit passes for that long-lost ark? Vast neglect is for this Model City and doubts we've vo iced again to the rafters, this is a requiem for a dead city. Am I warm? Warmer? Go beneath the surface and see for your­self depths way beyond tears selfishly cried for yourself, now our worst gang, the cops, still vigour­ously investigating themselves for another botched beating in full view of family, kind of like The Waltons but with drive-by shootings, toetags, grief counsellors for despair and calamity ... Yes! this is the Model City with out-of-towners flocking by busload & planeload (this' ll be pretty) now who would you trust to count contents of the kitty, like recording an album on a doomed plane's Black Box Recorder then watch Dental Records become the major label! Someone out there (you?) whose very sick will grab this idea by the tail, the day of reck­oning followed by decades of beckoning go una­baited yes they've waited as more Doubts were voiced now inside the wired brilliant minds and still creating fire, if we'd just remove all the vastis ne­glectis - it cou ld be a mode l city like moving moun­tains cuz they're spoiling the view hey they were here first & we' re willing to share with you ... yeah it may be a requiem for a dead city but GOD­DAMMIT this is my (our) city & much more than just pretty this was?is?our model c ity a little further down the soul the age rage that built all this shite really thought it would grow (faster than ashes &coal inside their throats) you know, piece by piece, more by more Wide World of Sports is show­ing spurts of WW 3 & 4 now you really can't ask for much more like Let ' s Make a Deal be careful what you wished isn't behind the closed door, for­tunate mistakes made & altered while you wait now take your high definition I'll stay with the low our 20 I 0 your 9/11 I'm gonna go to jail for blocking your reign of blows now you may spy with your army of authoritative little eyes 'focus camera elev­enteen the one on the left despise, surprise, black eyes then afterwards in the Alley Care Facility a puddle of yuck is where he w ill die & lay but hey, hey Hey do not frown here are Officer Down 's

friends are now in town anyt word or mention of how long theyll put you & me in indefinite deten­tion this is the hooker Pickpocket you just bought that lock now u have to lock it now at what length do you want to speak: a foot? a metre? the last 364 weeks give or take those with the most to lose will go that extra mile look up look down & all around & smile! you neer know the woman beside you could be an undercover cop with frowning being a felony so smile Smile SMILE - that's the end of this thought.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY

the Saddle Again So hello folks Back in the saddle again An ole cowhan from the Granville not so gran Urban smokey pearl From the grime and the grist - from the dash an the dust Darkness having its own strange beauty Bringing mystery and magic in every enchanting moment

The dream merchants are upon us Mere noonday a dumbshow of perfect timing Synching mood and melody, rhyme and reason Crafting the art- carving the gross Fat is where irs at may confuse. Not really voodoo from the land of hoodoo Some singular similarities.

All around the Shine, the bling, the blinding Light transformed to darkness And we are on the wrong side of the river Cococola linking in the glass Hearth fire blazing embers glowing shooting sparks onto the Pink Persinn

Senses alive sensibility fogged in The heat and the dry seeks out the moisture and the cool breath of the-West wind The hot so hot the cold so cold

The times are out of joint The gremlins are gaining on us Dam the torpedoes and full speed ahead,

Wilhelmina

In case of emergency,

'- Chewy .rf> ·I">~· _..ore~·

1-Se-/'herc •

pets I ive here.

About George Woodcock giving the finger to VANOC One of the themes was "equality" but since VANOC had blown the chance of making these Olympics the first gender inclusive Olympics in history by inclu­ding a female ski jumping event I didn't think they would appreciate a reading of the one Olympic poem I had written on equality: " In Praise of Female Athletes Who Were Told No: For the 14 female ski jumpers petitioning to be included in the 20 I 0 Winter Olympics in Vancouver." In fact a reading of this poem would violate a clause in the contracts that Vancouver artists s igned in order to participate in the Cultural Olympiad: "Tile artist shall at all times refmin from making any negative or derogatory remarks respecting VANOC, the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Olympic movement generally, Bell ami/or other sponsors associated with VANOC.''

I do find this to be an unjust attack on free speech but more importantly it shows that V ANOC is mis­representing Vancouver. Vancouver is the most politically progressive city in North America with a strong history of political activism which most Vancouverites are proud of.

Rather than finding a way to celebrate these imp­ortant attr ibutes V ANOC has gone the other way and tried to suppress them. As George Woodcock teaches us: our freedom as a city is a tradition that

shou ld be protected and we should not underesti­mate an attack on that freedom whether symbolic or otherwise.

The muzzle clause, which VANOC says is standard procedure despite the fact nothing like it was included in the Torino or Salt Lake City games, came at a time when our provincial government announced its plans to cut arts funding by as much as 90%_ This has put many cultural organizations in jeopardy and created tension in the arts community between those who are now prevented from speak­ing their mind because of their contracts and those who feel it is the right time to speak up.

In a bold act of ignorance the Federal government has announced their intentions to cut funding to cultura l magazines with a circulation of fewer than 5000 copies. This issue needs to be highlighted as it illustrates a lack of understanding of the literary community and the purpose of these magazines_ Our small press literary magazines should not be judged by the numbers of their readership but in their important role of cultivating Canadian writers. The combined effect of arts cuts at all levels but the civic level means that many important literary pub­lications are in jeopardy. To add it all up from the point of view of the writing community: 2010 is not the year for writers to put on their red mittens and smile (From the Vancouver Observer]