today was a special day at the new our place.
i call it the 'new' our place because i still remember when it was 'the open door,' a friendly, funky, old house where the street community (tiny, by comparison) would gather for coffee or tea or a sing-along at the piano or a game of pool. the new our place, built on the ground where the old open door lived, also has a pool table (in the basement) and a piano (on the second floor) and today, it was like the entire support community made an appearance.
there were people representing the winter shelters, and friendly folks from pacifica housing (who are delighted about the new supportive housing (some disability required) on humboldt although it's years away, and the new spaces on cloverdale although they're only for very hard to house folks, and who weren't aware that bc housing, from what i've heard, have lots of money stashed away - if the olympics doesn't get it first). there were haircuts, and acupuncture, and pet care support.
the detox folk were excited that their bed numbers have increased by 300% (from 7 to 21 detox beds on the whole of vancouver island), and there were lots of other very special people who are doing their best to put the bandages on the gaping wounds that capitalism has created.
i learned that legal aid and the student law centre are still there, despite funding cuts, to help folks with legal matters, and that lawyers who work for legal aid do get paid, just not much .... only 90 dollars an hour --- which, i was told, sounds like a lot but isn't much if you're a lawyer. maybe i oughta be a legal aid lawyer .... 90 dollars an hour is about 300,000 times more than what i make in an hour.
friendly volunteers had offered up about 700 backpacks with important stuff inside, collected from all over town, but by the time i got there the only ones left were bright pink. i joked that at least those lucky recipients would be easily seen by cars, the friendly distribution woman said she'd been trying to entice folks to take them by considering they're supporting breast cancer awareness month. i suppose, as my friend suggested, backpacks of any colour are in endless need since the police consistently steal them.
two things happened today that concerned me, just little bit. three, actually. first was the 'survey.' a lovely young lady asked if i'd mind participating, and i agreed, but was a little put off when her first question was "how old are you." she accepted my 'over 40' response, and went on to ask me how long i've lived in victoria and what kind of housing do i experience. then she asked whether i've ever been diagnosed with a mental illness, and whether i think i've got a drinking or drug problem and, when she suggested the coalition would like to know what sort of services i think are needed in the community, i was sure she got a complete quote about how impressed i am by the efforts of olympia's tent city and portland's dignity village which offer an opportunity for homeless people to create independent housing options for themselves. the mayor's coalition does like to collect information, don't they? i'd be asking different questions, if it were up to me, like why do you think gordon campbell's salary has increased by over 60% these past 8 years while homelessness has increased about the same amount? but i'm not a part of the coalition ... and that's why.
the second thing that concerned me was the diabetes test. the woman was very friendly, helpful, informative, easy to talk with, answered all my questions, and then asked me if i'd like to test my blood for diabetes. i agreed, and she poked my finger, put a drop of blood onto a small test stick thingy, and informed me with a smile that i do not have the disease. i was delighted, and pleased that i was able to access a bathroom afterwards to wash my hands
and hope that whatever may have been on my hands prior to the poke wasn't able to infect the new little hole in my hand. shouldn't there have been some rubbing alcohol involved in the process, or is that just too risky at a drop in shelter?thirdly ... what's the point of all this talk about "we care for you" and "we want you to be healthy" when, outside, they're feeding people hamburgers, on white bread, with slices of processed chesse, and corporate genetically engineered ketchup and mustard, served up on paper plates?
oh, and a fourth thing .... if someone did steal my cuba flag off my bike, rather than it flying off all by itself, i thank you that's all you took, and inform you that cuba's definitely all about sharing, but not without some discussion first.
i started my morning feeling anxious after a night of fitful nightmarish sleep (it's that time of year, i guess), and felt a lot more relaxed after finalizing the november newz, visiting some of the most down to earth folk on the planet, and attending to my body's yoga requirement. today was definitely a special day for me, and for the new our place. there were a lot of very groovy things going on and, like everything, always some room for improvement.
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