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Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan Open House in Strathona Community Centre in Vancouver
Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan
The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, and the historic heart of the city.
The DTES has many assets, especially for its low-income residents, who appreciate feeling accepted and at home, and benefit from living near health and social services. Many volunteers contribute countless hours to help improve the community and work for social justice.
In recent years, the Downtown Eastside has struggled with many complex challenges including drug use, crime, homelessness, housing issues, unemployment and loss of businesses in the community.
Council and staff have been working to improve the quality of life in the Downtown Eastside for many years, and are now launching the Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan.
About the Downtown Eastside local area plan
The goal of the Downtown Eastside local area plan is to create a vision and plan for the Downtown Eastside that will focus on ways to improve the lives of low-income DTES residents and community members.
The DTES local area plan will be developed in partnership with the DTES Neighbourhood Council (DNC), Building Community Society (BCS), and the Local Area Planning Committee.
Through each phase of the planning process, there will be a range of community engagement opportunities, where you can share your ideas and offer feedback.
See more here
Vancouver Coastal Health DTES Community Health Services Open House
Vancouver Coastal Health shares your ideas on new directions for health services in the Downtown Eastside, and learn about their recent work with health service partners who provide care in the community.
Richard Cunningham speaks at Vancouver Coastal Health DTES Community Health Services Open House
Kip Woodward speaks at Vancouver Coastal Health DTES Community Health Services Open House
AHA MEDIA’s video for Vancouver Minute video contest by Vancouver Courier
Help Me Understand the Heart of our Downtown Eastside (DTES) community in Vancouver
Beauty is only skin deep “they say”… in the civilized world
In the “uncivilized world” look a little deeper,
Than what meets the eye…
There is more unity in this community,
Than you may think!
Henny – B
AHA MEDIA
Help me understand…
Women are the most vulnerable,
It is important that we remember…
Never thought I would feel this way,
I committed crimes when I needed.
Tired of being hungry and poor…
84 dollars please!
Now I run!
Hunger Strike,
Day 14?
Heart of the City: Share, Hope, Respect, Home!
Everyday is a gift
Live in the DTES,
Understand the DTES!
– – VPD dances with community – –
We Won!!! InSite Won: Insight Won!
AHA MEDIA helps us understand
W2, Victory Square,
Woodwards,
DTES CAN!
New Media,
Social Media…
DTES LAPP?
Got Gear, Good to Go!
Puppy is here…
Carnegie Centre is here
AHA MEDIA right here!
Community is…
Always here,
In the Heart of the City! ❤
Tina Tomashiro and TPPRS’ Fresh Start Produce Distribution Program in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Today’s TPPRS Fresh Start Fresh Produce Distribution went well. We were able to distribute to about 20 or so community members today, plus we provided all the veggies needed for the Vancouver Food Bank’s Community Kitchen. Thank you to Nester’s Market & their Representatives, Jamie & Mike, for allowing TPPRS to empower our community in healthy ways!
Get On The Doc Bus
Join the adventure this summer as documentary filmmaker and OPEN CINEMA founder & director Mandy Leith makes a pilgrimage across Canada to explore our country’s documentary legacy – past, present and future.
DOCUMENTARY IS IN TROUBLE
Canada has played a leading role in the birth and development of the documentary art form. Today, it’s at a treacherous crossroads. It’s time to meet with documentary lovers and supporters to explore the new territory together, to take the pulse of the industry and put the players on the map.
A CROSS CANADA COMMUNITY SCREENING NETWORK
Traveling from Mile 0 BC to Mile 0 Newfoundland, Mandy will engage community, explore our vast country’s documentary legacy and share OPEN CINEMA’s innovative hybrid event model. The goal? To seed a Cross Canada Community Cinema Network that will connect existing documentary screening programs and community partners from coast to coast to coast.
While many great documentary screening initiatives already exist, there is no shared learning network, no best practices, no online hub to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts. We want to help fix that.
The Website Hub: a map-based database
We’re developing a website that will serve as a database of community screening partners. We’re using a WordPress theme that uses Google Maps API to create a map-based directory. You’ll be able to register your organization, choosing from a dozen categories that specify your affiliation with community screenings. Whether you’re an arts org, screening venue, film producer, distributor, non-profit org, food provider, we want to hear from you! Your organization will then appear as a pin on the map, with links, photos and posts associated to it. This will serve to form the beginnings of a grassroots network.
We Want Your Ideas!
We want your input on everything from the name, to how it can serve the documentary community! For now we’re calling it a Cross Canada Community Screening Network. Tell us your thoughts!
If we all work together, we can make this happen and support our struggling documentary industry.
WHAT WE NEED
We want to build community, so that’s why we need you! You can contribute in a variety of ways.
- We want to CONNECT with film lovers, filmmakers and community screening organizers like YOU as we travel across the country. We’ll discuss what’s working, what issues you’re facing and talk about possible solutions using live and virtual technologies. Please contact us to arrange a meeting when the Doc Bus is in your area June – September 2013. We’ll do our best to meet you, based on scheduling and geography.
- We want to create a map-based DATABASE of community screening organizers and stakeholders across the country. This will be a first step towards developing a broad grassroots network as we move forward. To that end we’re developing a website using Google Maps API which will become an online database. The website will launch in early May, when you’ll be able to submit your information to www.getonthedocbus.com. Meanwhile, visit our temporary websitehttp://www.getonthedocbus.wordpress.com
- We need FUNDING to help us make this mapping project happen! We’ll make a pilgrimage across the birthplace of the documentary, so we need money for gas, food, basic living expenses, campsites, a roadie/cinematographer honorarium, website development, social media support, insurance. You can contribute $10, $100 or $1000 or more. Details of our budget breakdown below.
THE DOC BUS BUDGET
Here’s a detailed breakdown of our budget for the project.

The biggest expense is food and living expenses for Mandy and the digital roadies/cinematographers who will join her at different points along the way.
$12,000 covers $100/day for food and basic expenses for two of us for 4 months on the road. And I figure we’ll spend about $3000 on gas. A project like this needs to be filmed as much as possible, so we want to pay someone (or a few someone’s) an honorarium to get on the bus as a digital roadie.
WHAT’S THE WORST CASE SCENARIO?
If we don’t make the full amount during this campaign, Mandy is going anyway, but it might mean she’ll travel alone, or shorten the journey as needed. Your contribution, however small, will help make sure Mandy can go all the way to St John’s Newfoundland, where there are some dedicated documentary fans and committed groups we’d like to meet.
WE HAVE PERKS FOR YOU IN RETURN!
In return for your contribution, we have a bus load of great perks to offer you, including online and offline promotion, custom photos of your favourite spot in Canada and beautiful Get on the Doc Bus 2014 calendars. For bigger donors, we’ll give your logo nationwide exposure by adding it to the bus!
So now that we’ve covered the basics, here’s a bit of background about the rationale for the project…
DOCUMENTARIES MATTER!
Documentary is one of the few genres of investigative journalism we have left. They keep us informed, tell our stories and serve as calls to action. Let’s find ways to keep the documentary industry alive and well. Developing a grassroots network of community documentary screening programs is one step in the right direction.
WHAT’S UP WITH THE DOCUMENTARY INDUSTRY?
Documentaries are hot, people are hungry for in-depth stories about real people dealing with real issues, locally and globally. Judging by the growing popularity of documentaries at festivals, in cinemas and at award ceremonies, the average filmgoer believes the genre is on the rise.
But behind the screen, the changing economic and digital landscape is throwing the documentary industry into crisis. Broadcast documentary strands are dwindling, production companies are closing their doors or retooling and the traditional models of production and distribution are breaking down. This leaves the industry with a lot of unanswered questions about how best to fund, produce and distribute documentaries, utilizing their potential to inform, entertain, and engage in an always-on digital universe.
GET ON THE DOC BUS!
We hope you will join our cinematic pilgrimage as we explore and document the grassroots organizations that are doing their best to weather the storm. Mandy’s goal is to share her passion and experience running ‘one of Victoria’s most successful cultural enterprises.’ (Micheal D. Reid, Times Colonist).
GET YOUR TICKET TO RIDE!
We can’t do this without you, so if you love documentary, please contribute to this exciting movement building opportunity.
If you can contribute financially, every $10 helps. Thank you!
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!
A like or a share is also a great way to support documentary. Please, tell your friends, family, co-workers and film lovers. Documentary needs you!































































































