Saturday night an old friend asked me to help him take some youth into the DTES to hand out blankets and clothes to the homeless. We used to do it quite regularly but I haven't gone for years. I just get so frustrated with the futility of it all. All this talk is worthless as long as we hand out free crack pipes, promote unsafe injection sites and let drug dealers sell crack and everything else under the sun all around them. We are enabling such sorrow it drives me insane.
Every year there are more and more homeless on the street. This year I was amazed at the number of women suffering in the DTES. Not crack hoes, just regular women living in cars with a child. We were set up at Pigeon corner and I sensed many women uncomfortable around the male leaders so I stepped back and let some of our female leaders take over. The compassion, the hugs and the genuine concerns was refreshing to see. They spoke of the fear and violence they are subjected to there. This is why I am so ashamed we closed the police station behind Main and Hastings to public access. They have no safe place to go when stalkers are harassing them. Suppressing crime statistics like that is an abomination. Things in the DTES have changed. They don't take care of their own any more. It is time to bring back project old timer.
Sarah McLachlan - In the arms of an angel
What you describe, ordinary women living in cars with a child, well that is poverty, pure and simple and that is the result of the current B.C. Lieberals not wanting to develop a Poverty Reduction Plan. we are the only province in Canada which doesn't have one and we have the highest rate of child poverty in Canada and have had for 15 years. Kids are poor because their parents are poor. That results from having once again the lowest min. wage in Canada, no decent affordable child care programs, and little affordable housing.
ReplyDeleteThe DTES might not be a great place, but at least if you don't have money you can get fed there.
While our premier, photo op queen, is preening before the cameras, as you report, women and children live in their cars. its disgusting and getting worse. there has been no increase in welfare or disability rates since June 2007.
The police station ought not to have been closed but the police chief then and now, along with city council are the haves and have little connection to the working poor, the unemployed, the mentally ill. they are so out of touch, if it weren't so sad, it would be funny. We have a mayor who wants to be environmental so they have bike lanes, but senses hundreds of tons of decent houses to the dump so bigger ones can be built.
The council wants to be green, as in safe the environment, but save a woman and her kid, not happening.
Thanks for joining your friends.
Take a look at the story on ACOM Dan Malo on cknw site. Looks bad on E division brass
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