Day Eleven: The Tragedy of the Women of the DTES

A notorious association with the DTES is the case of serial killer, Willie Pickton. He was convicted of killing 6 women (who were last seen on the DTES) & had another 20 charges (of which there was DNA evidence) & there are another 14 missing women are suspected to have fallen victim to Pickton.

It is not just the number of victims that is shocking, it is the lack of action by police that incites public outrage. Starting in 1995 there were women, most known prostitutes & drug addicts, suddenly missing from the DTES. The police did not take the missing persons reports seriously since many DTES residents are transient and often these "missing persons" would turn up in other cities or under a different name. Yet, during the years that Pickton was preying on women in the DTES, the residents knew that something much more sinister was at work, and still their cries (and the pleas of family members) fell on deaf ears.

Throughout the trial of Pickton many people made a lot of noise and raised awareness of the outright prejudice that exists towards prostitutes and drug addicts on the DTES. These women deserve safety and protection as much as any female lawyer who lives in an upscale condo in Yaletown.

Fast-forward to September 2010. A young woman fell to her death from a window on Hastings Street. Ashley's death is suspicious and once again, incited the outrage of her family, friends and the DTES community regarding violence towards women. It was the mobilization of the community that inspired the Vancouver Police to launch "Sister Watch". (www.vancouver.ca/police/organization/investigation/investigative-services/major-crime/sister-watch.html )
Sister Watch is a phone line staffed by specially trained civilian women. Sister Watch also has a speaker's bureau and conducts Town Hall meetings on the DTES. Sister Watch cleverly marketed themselves to the women on the DTES by having their hotline number printed on lighters. Lighters on the DTES are a hot commodity and so commonplace that having one (even with the Sister Watch contact information on it) does not rouse suspicion, unlike a business card. To date the Sister Watch hotline has been the source of many tips that led to the arrest of violent and vindictive drug dealers who specifically targeted women on the DTES. Kudos to the VPD for putting resources of time, energy and finances towards the DTES. And for the many officers who act with compassion for society's most vulnerable.

Sister Watch- hope from voices lost, and for voices who may only be able to whisper.

* It is worth noting that the home page of the VPD has very visible links to missing persons' files and information about their homeless outreach on the DTES. www.vpd.ca

Day Nine: Trading An ipod For a Soup Ladle

Today has been a busy day. I've been looking after 4 little girls under 4, preparing for a 4th birthday party for 25-ish family members at our house- cleaning, making princess tiaras, hiding dragon eggs, baking a "castle" cake & finally writing a blog post. I have to admit that right now, I feel more like crashing into my cozy bed than sitting at the laptop writing today's post. However, I am reminded that this is what Lent is about- persevering when it would be easier to give up. So with the help of some chocolate pomegranate candies, I'll get on with my promised story about teens on the Downtown Eastside.

In March of 2009 a group of 15 nervous and excited teens (along with 3 adults) left behind their ipods, internet and arrived on the DTES for a five-day missions trip. The teens, Grade 10 students from Lions Gate Christian Academy, had been preparing for their DTES experience for months; fundraising to cover their costs, attending information evenings & hearing from guest speakers. They were ready, but nothing could prepare them for the range of emotions and vivid images they were about to be confronted with.

Working with "Youth With A Mission" the five days unfolded like this:
DAY ONE: DTES Scavenger Hunt to familiarize the students with the area. For many students it was their first time actually walking around the Main and Hastings neighbourhood. In the evening, the students attended a presentation about human trafficking and prostitution in Vancouver. "This was a very eye-opening and emotional experience." says my former teaching partner and amazing friend, Amy Wilson, the teacher who coordinated the trip. "Emotions ran high from anger to frustration. The students learned about the various organizations working to put an end to trafficking and discovered that, as long as there is breath, there is hope." This phrase would be a theme running through their experiences over the next few days.

DAY TWO: Chili Wagon Day! The students got to roll up their sleeves and help on the front-line. They chopped veggies, stirred chili and baked banana bread along-side former DTES residents & Gordie who started the "Chili Wagon". www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV-_1XH_int4 After 9 hours of kitchen work, the students took the hot meal to Britannia Park to share with 50+ people. They were able to chat with many Chili Wagon "regulars" & heard their life stories.

DAY THREE: The students toured some of the temples and worship sites of various religions to see how they care for the community & learn more about the diversity of the city.

DAY FOUR: The students were asked to pose as a homeless teen at various locations around Vancouver (Gastown, Granville Street, Robson Street). So they just sat, and sat, on the sidewalk and experienced what it might be like to be homeless. That evening's debriefing session went late. The teens had so much to say, "People didn't want to look me in the eye when they walked by!" "Someone even crossed the street and then crossed back, once they had passed by me." "Someone gave me a lunch- sushi!"

DAY FIVE: Students volunteered at the Union Gospel Mission in New Westminster. "What impressed me the most about my students was their respect for every individual and their desire to help out- serving food, handing out clothing, sweeping floors, even cleaning toilets," said Amy.

When the students returned to school they spoke about their experiences at an assembly. "So many parents told me that their teen would not stop talking about their experiences," Amy remarked. "They were constantly reminded that; wherever there is breath, there is hope." Not just for the people of the DTES, but for this generation of teens. This particular group is forever changed by their time on the DTES & will forever be conscious of their actions in offering hope in seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Thanks Amy (and the students) who shared this story.

Day Eight: Knitting for the Downtown Eastside

Today my post is short and sweet- while surfing some sites I came across this great story about a group of knitting Grannies who used their hobby to benefit women and children on the Downtown Eastside! http://www.ywcavan.org/content/Afternoon_Gathering_Turns_into_Act_of_Giving/202

Coming Up Tomorrow:
Teens giving up ipods, hangin' with friends & the comforts of home to experience the Downtown Eastside!

Day Seven: Is Access to Technology a Luxury or a Necessity?

Is access to technology a luxury or a necessity? That's the question Community Voice Mail (a free voicemail service) poses.

How many of us would feel out of sorts if we didn't have a phone? Our daily facebook updates? The internet to look-up the answer to a random musing? Now imagine what it is like for those who are homeless. How would a potential employer contact you for an interview? How would the doctor let you know the results of your tests? How could family members let you know they were thinking of you? Life without a phone line can be a a life sentence keeping you imprisoned on the street.

Community Voice Mail was started in Seattle in 1992. A company donated 145 voicemail lines to homeless job-seekers and a mere 2 months later, 70% of them had jobs! (cvm.org )CVM started in Vancouver in February 2010 and is managed by Vancouver Lu'ma Native Housing Society. Within 5 minutes (and the help a staff person and a script to help with a professional message) anyone can have their own voicemail.

A benefit of CVM is that it allows the system manager to issue broadcast messages. These messages can alert users of local events, weather alerts, shelter information or even "bad john" warnings. Prior to CVM folks relied on a message board at Carnegie Hall to get replies from job interviews, messages from family or calls from their doctor's office. The Downtown Eastside Residents community website (dtes.ca) offers a personal story from Chrystal, under the "Recent News Postings".


Sometimes it's the simplest ideas that have the greatest impact!

Day Six: Homeless In My Backyard!

No, I'm not getting out the tent and sleeping bags to camp out in the yard, but I am thinking about how NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) and poverty are related. I've been writing about poverty, specifically in Canada and poverty affecting children. But it seems like the topic would be incomplete if I didn't take a look at the notorious face of poverty- Vancouver's downtown eastside.

We are all aware of the issue of poverty however, too often, it remains hidden (i.e. the "working poor" who live around us) or it is swept into a corner of the city and we hope it won't come creeping out so we have to face it. The downtown eastside has been called "Canada's poorest postal code" and is littered with (pun intended) homelessness, drug-use, alcoholism, the sex-trade, violence and crime- the very things we don't want in our proverbial backyards. Yet anyone who has lived in or visited Metro-Vancouver in the past 5 years has seen these "things" creeping into other areas of the city. Living in New Westminster for 10 years certainly gave me a glimpse into this side of poverty. When my youngest daughter was a baby we would go for long walks in the Columbia Street neighbourhood. This area, adjacent to the skytrain, was a gathering place for transient people. Ironically, pushing a stroller with a cute infant made me more approachable and the "locals" often initiated a conversation with me (or more often than not, the baby). They would then tell me about their children who they hadn't seen in years, a family member that had died and they didn't get to see them, or a story about travelling across the country looking for a job. I was usually at a loss for words, I often could only listen and mumble a "have a nice day." A father. A sister. A brother. A son. People. Not just a an alcoholic or a homeless person. Real people who deserve compassion and not judgement or ignored.

Addictions related poverty issues are complex. But extending compassion to people who find themselves dealing with those situations shouldn't be. When I think of hope for the downtown eastside I think of Union Gospel Mission & First United.

Union Gospel Mission has been on the downtown eastside since 1940! (Sadly, it's been needed for 70 years!) I usually think of the meal programs & emergency shelter but UGM offers a drug and alcohol recovery program, sending kids to camp program, back to school event (which gives kids school supplies), a mobile mission van which takes food, blankets, basic medical supplies out to the alleys, and more. Check the website: ugm.ca An innovative event organized by UGM is the November Eastside Cultural Crawl with artwork created by professionals and UGM clients.

First United Church has been on the site since 1889 and has a strong history of helping the community. They offer meal programs, shelter and strive to be an inclusive community. "A community at the margins- a community without margins". firstunited.ca