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.