Archive
Sights at Night around the DTES
A few photos from around our neighborhood on a winter’s night.
Ovaltine Cafe – a beacon for hungry folks for food and for nostagia
Save On Meats – Due to be sold soon?
Two pigeons huddling together and “cooing ”
Seascape art on Gulf and Fraser Bank Building
Lonesome Teddy Bear waiting for someone to pick him up from the bicycle basket
Purple lights illuminating and beautifying our sidewalks
Food wares on the block
Old school graffiti tag
Countdown to 2010 – Fences around venues put up!
AHA MEDIA attends Little Mountain Art-In, 2nd Edition
AHA MEDIA attended the Little Mountain Outdoor Art Gallery to help support their strong statement for affordable housing.
The following statements are excerpts…
Total demolition of Little Mountain Housing announced
Tenants and CALM say “STOP WORK NOW”
At a meeting of Little Mountain housing tenants on November 7, BC Housing announced that the demolition of the 230 units that have been their home has begun. Earlier in the week a contractor began boarding up windows as a prelude to full demolition “early next year.”’s request that elderly people, families with children at the local elementary school and other tenants who want to stay be housed on site while construction proceeds in stages.
BC Housing Regional Director Dale McMann said that it has no control over when new housing will be built by the private developer who is buying the property. Like the Expo lands, the site could sit empty for years, perhaps even a decade, a desolate 15-acre moonscape in the heart of the city at the eastern foot of Queen Elizabeth Park. A faltering economy and housing market could cause major delays. This at a time when Vancouver needs urgently to gain affordable housing rather than lose it.
Fewer than 20 families have resisted pressure and financial incentives to move. At the meeting they heard no response to CALM
Although the global economic crisis may lead to a worsening of the already severe housing crisis in B.C., the provincial government is selling off this land to a private developer, promising only to replace the existing social housing units. All of the Little Mountain site should be redeveloped as affordable housing, as part of a provincial plan to provide homes for the homeless and to improve the situations of people living in substandard, unhealthy housing. Even better, in these uncertain times there should be no sales of public land, only redevelopment to increase affordable housing.
——————————————————————————-
and its controversial aftermath
The artists created a wide variety of pieces—children’s and child-like art, realistic family portraits, political cartoons and slogans, and surrealistic depictions of homelessness, poverty and eviction. Five Vancouver newspapers covered the event.
On December 11th a work crew posted the art from the Art-In.
On December 12th BC Housing sent the company Goodbye Graffiti to paint out art that it deemed offensive.
Jenny Kwan with daughter CiCi, Lauren Gill
AHA MEDIA’s Painting Contribution
12. “Don’t destroy our house”
11. “Poor people need homes too”
10. “Embrace community diversity. Against marginalization”
9. “Shame on our city. Developers cause homelessness”
8. “Would you want to be kicked out of your HOME?”
7. “Society will change the day our politicians are homeless”
6. “House our brothers and sisters”
5. “Put people first, people before profit”
4. “Affordable housing now!”
3. “Can i have my home back now?”
2. “Home is where the heart is, don’t break my heart”
And the number one most objectionable statement about affordable housing, according to BC Housing:
1. “Love still lives here”
(Actually, BC Housing was least fond of a piece that used the imagery of the children’s game “Hangman” and the slogan “The Death of Social Housing.” Indeed, the death of social housing is highly objectionable.)
A Poverty Olympic Athlete eats in Guru Nanak’s free kitchen in the DTES
World Class Poverty
Canada is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. And the province of British Columbia (BC) is among its most prosperous regions. But some people are being left behind.
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside — the city’s poorest neighbourhood — was singled out in 2007 by the United Nations Population Fund as a sign of “trouble in paradise.” The HIV rate here is 30% — the same as Botswana’s. Other diseases like Hepatitis C are rampant. Visitors who think of Canada as a caring, wealthy place are shocked to see the malnutrition, addiction, homelessness, and other harsh signs of grinding poverty all around.
It’s not just one “problem” neighbourhood either. British Columbia has the highest poverty rate in the country. One in five BC children live in poverty.
There are about 10,000 homeless people in communities all around our province, even in small towns. More than 2,000 of them live on the streets of Greater Vancouver. Pivot Legal Society estimates that homelessness in Vancouver is likely to triple by 2010.
———————————————————————————————————–
The Second Annual Poverty Olympics will be held on February 8, 2009
1:00-3:00pm at the Japanese Language School, 487 Alexander St, Vancouver, BC.
——————————————————————————————————-
A photo of the Provincial Homelessness Initiative – Carl Rooms
Here is a photo of Hendrik standing with his BC Lotteries Bingo ticket while dreaming about finally being able to win the jackpot and acquire a real home to live in.
We wish there were enough affordable housing for everyone to live in.
Follow Us!
AHA Media 