Women's Memorial March on Valentines Day

"The February 14th Annual Women’s Memorial March is held on Valentine’s Day each year to honor the memory of women from Downtown Eastside who have died due to the violence of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual abuse. Now in its 21st year, the March is an immensely powerful women’s action that brings courage and commitment to remember and honor murdered and missing women, and to end the violence that vulnerable women in the DTES face on a daily basis." Almost 5,000 walked to bring attention to how women residing in the DTES are so often marginalized by main stream society.

Back in 2002 Robert Pickton, who bragged of 54 murders was eventually charged with 15 (all women from DTES). There is a major hearing going on in the courts today questioning the police's ineffectiveness at the time. The RCMP has publicly acknowledged their failure to take the early reports of missing women and Pickton as a suspect seriously. He started killing in 1991.  A spokesmen for Prostitution Alternatives Counseling Education claims that 110 streetwalkers from DTES have been slain or kidnapped in the past two decades.

Clutching his mother’s death certificate, an angry Troy Boen, 26, said he still has been told nothing about how his mother died, except that her DNA was found on the Port Coquitlam pig farm of serial killer Robert Pickton.

In a report sent to the United Nations on Tuesday, a coalition of a dozen B.C. women's organizations, stated 38 women are still missing on a task force list kept by Vancouver Police Dept and RCMP.

A 1995 survey of Downtown Eastside’s prostitutes revealed that 73 percent of them entered the sex trade as children. More than 80 percent were born and raised outside Vancouver. In 1998 they averaged one death per day from drug overdoses, the highest rate in Canadian history. This rate is much lower today since the advent of harm reduction and Insite (see under Education) on this blog.

Few active sex trade workers stay at First United. Fortunately there are support groups, counseling, safe lodging and medical care available in the DTES.

Workshop in the DTES

For 30 years I have been privileged to serve as an Alcohol & Drug Counselor in a variety of settings including prisons, jails, non-profit and government agencies, private practice and as a Pastor. These personally rewarding experiences have all contributed to a passion for teaching and passing on what I have learned. The two part workshops I teach provide an outlet for this.

On Feb 29 and Mar 7, from 2 – 4 PM I will be teaching a workshop at the Dugout Drop-in Centre in the DTES of Vancouver. My previous blog post on July 16 describes the Dugout in more detail.

This will be an experiment including staff from the Dugout and First United Church, some of the AA group that meets there at noon, as well as some of the 700 people that visit daily. The day starts with a soup line and then residents and the homeless of DTES stop in for a cup of coffee, bread, pastry, and other day old food items donated by local businesses. Most just come briefly, but some stop for at least a short visit. A few others spend considerable time there experiencing a temporary refuge and sense of community, which is the design of the Dugout. I am honored to be on the board of directors.

It is my hope that this may serve as a training for staff, an encouragement for those in recovery and an intervention and moment of clarity for those still struggling with addiction.  A special thanks to those of you who support and make these endeavors possible with your thoughts, prayers, and financial gifts.

OOPS ! Here's the Videos.

My Friends!

Not sure why the videos didn't come through. You can see them on my blog at 

rossbanister.blogspot.com  

                       or go directly to the links below.

http://youtu.be/OgXeCAeTmog

                                       http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eldz3uNsmv4

Hope you'll take a few minutes to view them, and would love to have your feedback about these new involvements for me.

Major Change in DTES

Major changes began just before the two weeks I was gone at Christmas.  BC Housing funds the main expense of housing and feeding up to 240 homeless folks staying at First United Church (FUC).  FUC was operating as a refuge, rather than a shelter. What this means is that no one was refused a bed or meal, and so the most troubled  and problematic were accepted, which included the expected difficulties they created. If refused, they would be left out in the inclimate weather to possibly perish as so many have here in the DTES. Extra sleeping pads and blankets were laid out in the dining room when the count went above 240.

The difficulties this created became a problem to local government even though numerous lives were saved. Many would have overdosed fatally from drugs had not ambulance service been called. The Vancouver Police Department answered over 500 calls last year to settle complications from housing the most marginalized of DTES. Tensions were understandably high between the Presbytery of the United Church and city authorities. Finally decisions were made by the Presbytery that would limit the most troubled and marginalized as is the policy of most shelters in North America. This is understandable as shelters try to help  as many homeless as possible but are not equipped to handle the most problematic.

Consequently Ric Matthews, Sandra Severs, and Gillian Rhodes who were the previous leaders at FUC resigned. They have since begun a new society they are calling the New Way Community Society. Their goals will be complimentary to those of FUC, as they intend to create a community modeled from L'arche. They plan to initially focus on 20  of the most marginalized in DTES who are so often excluded from help and services. I met with Ric last week and we discussed ways I can be involved, as well as continuing my current involvement at FUC.

Last night I attended an open meeting which discussed the initial goals of the New Way Community Society. The room was packed with extra chairs having to be added.  The attendees were enthused about the intended focus, and encouraged the services would be complimentary to those currently in operation at FUC.

I felt very grateful as Ric was sharing how this would be staffed and financed. He shared my ministry as an example. He complimented my home church (Redeemer's Fellowship in Roseburg OR) and my friends who are supporting me. The society will be encouraging this "Missionary Model" as well as other options.

I am beginning to see my interests in training and educating local churches in addiction and mental health  come to fruition.  As the society takes form it will be my goal to encourage participants in my ministry to visit and experience DTES to consider how they can serve in their local communities.

Thank you again for supporting me with your thoughts, prayers, and financial gifts.  I have such a profound sense of the Sovereignty of God and His purpose for me in the DTES. I will certainly keep you informed. Please take a few minutes and view the included videos of L'Arche.  I would love to hear your feedback.

GUEST BLOG: Ross' Workshops

Last July, Ross overhead me talking to someone in a Birch Bay cafe, and expressed interest in the church we were planting. That overheard conversation led to a sharing of ministry visions and eventually a relationship that produced two addictions workshops in our local area -- the first of which was held at our church.

His first two-hour workshop taught 15 of us about the scientific and medical aspects of addictions. Too often, Christians make recovery a simple “moral” issue, when there are so many aspects to the problem. We learned about genetics, the brain and neurotransmitters, and the psychology, social and environmental aspects of addictions.

For me as a pastor and a relative of several addicts, one of the greatest lessons I learned was what dislocation means and how addiction fills needs and medicates the emotional and physical pain in people’s lives. But just knowing that addiction is a many-headed monster with no simple solution was good to hear.

During the second meeting of his workshop, we learned how the church can be a haven for those trying to recover. Again, the main message was that Christians can help their friends and family best by not making it purely a “spiritual battle.”

While there certainly is a spiritual aspect — and a need to take it to God in prayer and exercise the other spiritual disciplines — it is not as simple as “good” vs. “evil.” Instead, it is more like helping those with other illnesses: providing medical help, emotional support, education, employment opportunities or other resources. When you bring in spiritual concerns, these are all things that churches can provide. The addict needs a place to belong that replaces his drug or alcohol abusing culture.

All of these lessons were important to learn and could have been discovered from a book or DVD. But Ross made it not only easier to comprehend and digest, but more personal to where we were.

He shared stories from his own life and ministry that made the facts come to life. He involved the audience in the presentation, encouraging us to share our questions, thoughts and feelings.

From a chance meeting, Ross was able to teach interested church leaders and reach other congregations. He also graciously agreed to help when addiction struggles come up in our church family, and even volunteered to help get a halfway house started in our community.

My hope is that God continues to use Ross, his powerful story and his ministry of workshops and writings to not only help the addicted of Vancouver, but to help Christian families and the church at large become havens for the many who need God’s love and healing as they seek to recover.

Pastor Jim Carberry
Water’s Edge Church
Birch Bay, Washington, USA

I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF HERE

As a Mission Congregation, First United Church has started a new format on Wednesday evenings. On this night table cloths are put on the tables and the residents are served by volunteers rather than going through the usual food line. After the meal a short spiritual message was shared. It was hard to keep the attention and focus of those who remained seated waiting for dessert and more coffee.

Now after the meal, we collapse the tables and set up chairs in concentric circles. There are 30-35 volunteers, staff, and others who are attending. Last night Rabbi David Mivasair shared a couple of Hebrew chants from the Psalms and then Don Roberson (retired United Church Minister) shared from John 1 and Jesus bringing light into the world.

The church is going through a leadership change which has been unsettling, and Sally McShane, a new part time minister of pastoral care led a check in for participants to share what forming such a pluralistic faith community meant to them.

A number of residents ventured into the meeting and joined us which is the main purpose of the evening. It was then that a man who is new to me, but has been in the community long term shared “I don’t know how to get out of here.” 

I was so moved by this statement! I was reminded and impressed again that the only way a resident can get out of here is with the support of a variety of community efforts. First United as a refuge is limited to mostly providing harm reduction. This is working to prevent unnecessary hospitalizations due to preventable infections and diseases. It is trying to keep people alive and healthy while working to engage them in treatment for the addiction, mental health, and poverty issues that create homelessness.

This reinforces my belief that with training and education the church at large can be the ideal community to aid the homeless, addicted, and mentally ill. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayer and partnering with me in the DTES.

BOOK REVIEW

Beyond Homelessness Christian Faith in a Culture of Displacement by Steven Bouma-Prediger and Brian J Walsh is the most important book I have read on this subject.  It is an excellent, well documented sociological study. After each chapter they share the social construct dealing with homelessness in the Old Testament. This begins with Adam and Eve becoming homeless when expelled from the garden. They offer 8 criteria of what it means to have a home.

 A home is a place of permanence. To be ‘at home’ somewhere is more than simply having a place to stay…Home…signifies a certain degree of spatial permanence, an enduring presence, or residence. In a speed-bound culture, every highly mobile person is a victim of some form of homelessness because there is no time to foster a sense of enduring emplacement. Shelter alone is not sufficient.

 A home is a dwelling place but not the same as a house. A house is a domicile, while a home is an abode. Home is a relationship that is created and evolved over time. A house refers to its construction while a home has deep psychological and social significance.  

 A home is a storied place. A home becomes a home when it is transformed by memory-shaped meaning into a place of identity, connectedness, order and care. Rituals like celebration of holidays make a house a home by linking our personal and communal stories with a particular location.

A home is a safe resting place where you can relax and be yourself. It’s a safe place where you can be vulnerable and learn to trust, a place of safety and rest.

A home is a place of hospitality. As opposed to a fortress, few are strangers there and there is room to include others.

A home is a place of embodied inhabitation where a person feels a sense of rootedness. To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul. A resident is a temporary and rootless …The inhabitant by contrast ‘dwells’… in an intimate, organic, and mutually nurturing relationship with a place.

A home is a place of orientation in which we know where we are and what we are in this world. A home provides a sense of order and direction to our lives.

A home is a place of affiliation and belonging where we experience recognition, acceptance, and identity.