Comments on: A resident advocate’s view of the Downtown Eastside

By: Lil Truth Sayer

Lil Truth Sayer — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 13:39:25 +0000

Bulloze the whole area !! Move the addicts to an addict colony on one of the many islands off BC’s coast and make way for new development where jobs can be created and the stink can finally come off the east side.
These people are a pariah on society and cannot be fixed.

By: Rolf Auer

Rolf Auer — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:13:13 +0000

Just one more comment: I don’t know why Audrey is attacking me personally. I have written letters of support for her to newspapers. Here’s one of them: http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/letters/story.html?id=2746e73e-ccb1-4a3e-8770-afa70e5cd4ab
I find that this seems to be a pattern of hers: you (or your organization) help her with something, and she turns around and attacks you (or your organization) later. I’m not expecting gratitude, but attacks in response to helping is disconcerting, to say the least.

By: Rolf Auer

Rolf Auer — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 03:38:32 +0000

First of all, my name is Auer, not Auger, as Audrey continually misspells it. Second, both the Cargnegie Community Centre Association and the Carnegie Community Action Project have written letters of support for Audrey. Third, who I am friends with and what I support has no bearing on this issue. Fourth, Audrey is still on the Save Low Income Housing Coalition listserve of which Wendy is a member. The Carnegie Community Volunteers listserve no longer exists. That’s the one Audrey thinks she is removed from. Fifth, I repeat, CCAP supports the idea of shelters, just not to the exclusion of building social housing (in fact, CCAP considers the latter a greater priority), which is what is upsetting Audrey. Sixth, no members of CCAP have torn down flyers that Audrey has posted, to my knowledge. Seventh, Audrey recently attended a couple of meetings of CCAP. Eighth, what is clear from Wendy’s post is that she (and so many working with her) consider the DTES a vibrant, culturally alive, close-knit community and only wishes the best for it.

By: audreylaferriere

audreylaferriere — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:50:58 +0000

The Carnegie Centre is against shelters. Saying something in public to protect its ass after two years of being against it is not being supportive. If the Carnegie had compassion for the needs of its neighbourhood then it would be focusing all its resources to eliminate street homelessness in the DTES.

Rolf Auger is a personal friend of Jean Swanson, he is on the Board of Carnegie, he is a devoted volunteer working for Wendy Pedersen and he writes letters to media every week.

In June of 2008 I approached the Board of Carnegie and was told by its President that it had other priorities than going after Storyeum as a shelter. I asked him what priorities were more important. He mumbled something about his funders. Maybe the funders do not want the area changed. I don’t know for sure. But both VanCity and the Real Estate Council both have a vested interested in keeping the DTES property values low. Saying that social housing in an area that has 75 to 85% social housing already seems on the surface to be a waste of time. When I asked City Wide Coalition, a Wendy group, to include shelters in its stands for housing, it refused.

The things I got from the Wendy groups is tearing down of my fliers and being told that I could not be a volunteer for any of her groups for fear that I would disrupt them. Being allowed to voice another opinion that is so crucial to the survival of the dTES is not being disruptive. I was also removed from all her email lists that she monitors.

From Wendy’s post it is clear that CCAP wants the status quo to remain as it is so a few residents (supporters) of the DTES can continue to be involved in the free leisure programs in the DTES and to occupy low cost housing.

There are 6,000 signed up members for Carnegie as memberships are required to play pool. But less than one percent attend Board meetings or vote. The membership doesn’t know what the hell is going on.

I pray that there will be a revolt of the area residents that will force Carnegie to insist that the area needs additional shelters now.

On March 31st 2009 the Gregor shelters and the yearly cold and wet weather shelters will be closing forcing 900 shelters user to be on the streets again.

audreylaferriere@yahoo.ca
778-329-1250

By: Rolf Auer

Rolf Auer — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 00:06:40 +0000

Wendy Pedersen and the Carnegie Community Action Project have publicly made it known that they are in favour of shelters. What may be bothering Audrey is that Wendy and CCAP are above all in favour of more social housing.

By: audreylaferriere

audreylaferriere — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:42:28 +0000

To the not running for mayor comment February 25 2009. Storyeum was used only as a location to let the City voters know there are places that the City owns and could be made into shelters overnight. Be it Storyeum or BC Place or somewhere else. From me wanting DTES shelters it became obvious to me that the community did not want them and it is the community who is responsible for the dire state of the DTES and not the street homeless people. I cannot even blame the politicians as they do what the community wants. The DTES says it wants more social housing rather than shelters but we already have 75-80% social housing and the desired level of social housing in any neighbourhood is 8% (Raymond Louie).
audreylaferriere@yahoo.ca
778-329-1250

By: Not running for mayor

Not running for mayor — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:06:27 +0000

Why do people keep suggesting Storyuem for a homeless shelter, do they not notice that it’s underground and doesn’t provide enough entry/exits to be used as a dormatory? Could you imagine the liability should there be a fire with 200hundred people sleeping down there?
This is tongue in cheek but why not suggest BC Place as a homeless shelter, you could fit thousands and thousands of homeless people, it’s empty most nights and every night after 11pm at the latest. If there’s no trade show going on you even have space to store everyones buggys. Not to mention there are plenty on entry/exits, washrooms are already built in, there are even shower facailities.

By: audreylaferriere

audreylaferriere — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 21:43:51 +0000

I am going to use this post to promote my special interest in the DTES. I want the Gregor Shelters and the Cold and Wet Weather Shelters to remain open 365 days a year. A letter just written by the Vancouver Downtown Business Association has stated that street disorder is down because of the Gregor Shelters. However, even with this evidence the emergency shelters all are going to be closing on March 31st leaving up to 900 street homeless seeking the sidewalks to sleep on again. Judy Graves says in addition to the emergency shelters 500 people still sleep outside. Although I have tried to get the DTES community organizations interested in demanding that we look after our most vulnerable with shelters (Storyeum) all I got was politeness. We love your idea but we are going to do anything to help you. Everyone in the DTES is enamoured with Housing First rather than Shelters First. Wendy Pedersen and all those affiliated with the Carnegie (which is all of the DTES) are all against shelters. Even VANDU with over one-half of its population homeless is against shelters. If these organizations cared for the community no one would be sleeping on our streets and the rest of us would feel safer. When I spoke to the czar of housing from the USA Philip Mangano he was totally perplexed that the City had a policy of limiting shelters so the street homeless have no where to sleep. He said what are they going to do with the sleep homeless until there is affordable housing. I was horrified when the City’s Housing Centre in an open forum told me this as well. Those that are in the shelters now are happy and I have been told repeatedly that even if social housing was available they would not qualify anyways. As for the non-profits not supporting shelters I will cite one example: DTES Neighourhouse which works closely with Carnegie, if not under Carnegie, continuously takes downposters I put up advising of shelters and in particular the flier directing the street homeless to the United Church Mission Shelter at Main and Gore.

By: njb

njb — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:20:41 +0000

I think the life of comments on this post has come to its natural end, but I can’t help but add this link to a recent Tyee story to bolster my points above. The article is called “No Money Down Mortgages Still a Good Idea? This One Works” with the subtitle: “Helping renters buy homes, leave social housing, makes space for others.”

http://thetyee.ca/News/2009/02/24/Mortgages/

By: Jeannette M

Jeannette M — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:36:01 +0000

@CV who are these people who are stopping the area from evolving? I’ve not heard a single person working in DTES speak out *against* re-development of the Pantages theatre, but I’ve heard many people in other neighborhoods call fowl.

I live down here, and while “the current methodologies” aren’t necessarily working – the people who are working down there are doing what they can to provide compassionate care to those who are marginalised in lieu of other services.

The Union Gospel, Salvation Army, other churches, and even the “reviled” PHS don’t have the mandate or the means to employ entirely new treatment methods for addicts and homeless and mentally ill: They are not responsible for creating detox beds, mental health hospitals, or subsidised housing throughout the province. They do what they do because they are mandated independantly to provide compassionate support and assistance. To expect these organisations to do otherwise is naive.

Do you think that any of these organisations would be upset if the provice suddenly opened 2,000 new detox beds, 2,000 mental health/assisted living beds, and 10,000 units of social housing dispersed throughout the province – and a corresponding program to co-ordinate services to get people to these places? Does anyone really think that should some government actually have the balls to change the entire way we approach the margninalised people that the PHS or the Union Gospel Mission would suddenly cry fowl?

The “povertarians” do what they do because – no one else is doing anything – they do what they do because if they didn’t do anything, who would do something? They do what they do because they cannot stand to close their eyes to the things the rest of us tune out as we drive down Hastings on our morning commute.

The DTES IS a treasure. In any other city, a Heritage district like this would be treasured and well looked after. Is blind Gentrification the answer? No – look at Coal Harbour – we don’t need another soulless neighborhood. Is careful planning, including mixed income housing in DTES and ALL neighborhoods going to help? YES. I don’t hear many povertarians getting upset when new social housing units are announced for Kits.

But you know, as much as it’s easy to stand back from a distance and say that everything going on there is completely wrong, that we shouldn’t make a new ghetto, etc., god forbid we put low incoming housing in YOUR back yard. I’ve never heard any of the people who rant about the DTES advocate for social housing in THEIR neighborhoods…. funny, that.