DNC General Meeting Minutes - March 3, 2012

DNC Monthly General Meeting

Saturday March 3, 2012

Chair: Herb Varley

Co-Chair: Paul Martin

Meeting Minutes: Jada Martinson

2:30-4:30pm

1. Introductions & Openings

Kelvin

• Acknowledgements

Herb

• Introductions
• Board Members introduce themselves

Tami

• Reads Constitution

Herb

• Explains weekly board meetings at Jacobs Well
• Explains different committees with the DNC and encourages members to get involved
• Explains protocols of the meeting
• Reads the agenda for the General Meeting
• Motion to accept the agenda;  moved by Richard Cunningham, second by Marilyn. 1 abstention
• Motion Passes

2) Announcements

Aiyanis

• Teachers going on strike on Monday
• The last provincial budget is putting in additional money into education system but doesn’t cover inflation
• Organizing in the downtown eastside
• Intention is to support teachers right for collective bargaining, and standing up for public education, support learning and education for kids in our community including raising welfare rates
• Monday morning 9am solidarity picket at Strathcona School at the Princess entrance, making signs and talking to teachers.  It’s an important opportunity to stand with our teachers, and have teachers stand for us with respect to our struggles in the downtown eastside.  Everyone is invited to attend, it’s a community event not just for parents.

Herb

• Announcement regarding the LAPP
• Explains that it’s difficult to sit at these meetings
• Business as usual, need to remind them that we’re at the table too
• Friday March 23rd at 1pm, we’re going to Carnegie Theatre with members of the neighbourhood and have a discussion to see if its worth putting our efforts into this LAPP committee, or should we go back to just protesting?  Everyone welcome
• Thank you for Dave and Theresa for making the food!!
• Thanks to Kelvin and AFD for the coffee?

3. Role of Non-Profits and Gentrification

Wendy

• What is gentrification?
• Middle class moving into a neighbourhood and pushing out the working class or the poor
• It happens all over Canada, and it’s happening in the downtown eastside
• Condo?
• It’s when you can buy your own home.
• When they start building high-end housing, it increases the land value and creates a monopoly-like speculation, and puts up the prices of things like stores and eventually the hotels.
• We’re tracking these rental increases.
• In the centre-fold of the newspaper, we have mapped the new condos are coming.
• If you live in social housing, how are you affected by having high-end condos and stores?

Members:

• My rent has gone up
• Food prices has gone up, and welfare rates are unaffordable

Richard

• I’m not affected right now, but tomorrow I could be

Dianne

• Lose access to public spaces, they don’t want to see us
• We’re made to feel like we’re not welcome, like Tinstletown
• Not even allowed to stand on the street

Kelvin

• I can’t hear myself think
• This map that’s out here, is done by the people, the community
• The city can’t even afford to do a map like this, it took the community here to do it
• Be united!

Tami

• Those who think they are secure in social housing and that this doesn’t affect them, they are at risk like anybody else. Your rent will go up and you will be pushed out.
• As pockets of the downtown eastside gets gentrified, stores become non-inclusionary.

Wendy:

• Which condos are we stopping right now? Which ones are coming?
• Pantages, 3 condo towers by Raycam, Main Street/Keefer 2nd tower
• Like woodwards, creates an area that push out the poor
• Doozy question: who are the non-profit housing down here?
• Atira, Portland, Lookout, RainCity
• Are some of these helping the developers?
• PHS and Atira!
• They are helping the developers
• Atira wants to build condos above the United We Can bottle depot
• Atira is saying that this is key to the future of the neighbourhood that we do projects like this.
• The bottle depot must be moving eventually, we need to
• Atira thinks these projects are key to the transition from a low-income neighbourhood to mixed-income neighbourhood.
• People are still going missing.  Women are still living in poverty and are vulnerable.  Welfare rates are extremely low.
• If we want to stop gentrification, then we have to figure out what we’re going to do to stop the non-profit developers who are collaborating with them.
• What should we tell the non-profits at this stage?
• Wendy makes list
• Stop co-operating with developers
• Lobbying for federal housing for 100% social housing
• Atira needs to communicate and operate like the DNC that has a relationship with members
• Transparency
• Robo calling threats
• Real community power, not advisory
• Don’t’ take dirty money from develoeprs
• Lose space for ever – Atira should not sell out, it’s a place for the poor
• Need to tell them, who side are you on? The developers? Or Our side? They have to be on our side!  We don’t have a lot of money, but we do have our political voice, and we need to use it so we can secure our tenure of the downtown eastside.
• What about couples housing? Or families?  Condos out! Low-income people, stick together, we’ll get something happening.
• Tell Atira, sticking a new sink into a hotel isn’t providing us safe housing.  There are seniors living there, it’s not right.
• Atira is not the only one, RainCity.  We use to have a wonderful agency, it was DERA.  Unfortunately no long exits.  I would like to see that agency come back to life.  Rich Coleman announced that they’re going to fix up a number of SROs etc.
• No manhatten in the downtown eastside.
• Motion:  The DNC appeals to all social service agencies to end their collaborations with developers and work for 100% social housing.  WE call for the community and …..
• DJ moves , second by Paul Martin.  Discussion?
• Developers are motivated by profit.
• Add the word “membership”
• Ask for a written response from them within a couple of weeks.
• We want to see the light of day.
• We’ll create a background statement based on their comments.
• Give them a snapshot that’s up there.  We need to give them a background for context.
• The woman who runs Atira is married to Shame Ramsey.
• Atira does offer employment. We should acknolweldge  their good things.
• Mixed-income developments are not acceptable compromises form of housing and don’t count towards our 100% social housing.
• We’re ready to vote.
• Jim Green Movement? He didn’t realize that Woodwards would increase prices in the neighbourhood.  This is a question we should ask later.
• All in favor? 8 abstentions.
• Motion passes.

4. Board Reports

Herb

• LAPP Committee
• (pow, bam)
• This meeting is turning into a circus (applause)
• Police Committee
• Shelter Committee – great job Roland!
• Street Market – every Sunday
• We’ve launched the Downtown East, everyone should have a copy.  We’ll be coming out with this every month.  This is how we’re going to communicate with our membership.
• Calendar of events is included in the downtown east.
• Participation in an activist movement called Feed the Roots.  Elroy, who will report back to us.
• We encourage our members to take part in the ….
• We’re going to take a time out

[Time Out]

Paul

• Let’s all be nice, we’ll let this woman say what she wants to say

Member

• I have the information
• There are so many organizations
• This meeting is funded by Atira
• I have the legal forms, I have where your sisters and brothers out
• Even if I am nuts
• I have all the facts

Roland

• Treasurers Report
• Catching up from Cheques previously, delude in spending
• We have less than a $1,000 in the bank
• Most of our regular expenses (this meeting, board meetings) averages out to…
• We need to work on our delude spending

Tami

• Some of us are more challenged then others
• We all need to be tolerant
• We all bring our level down, chill, we know why we’re hear; lets move forward, lets kick some ass
• Presidents Report….
• Coordinating all the different projects that are going on, LAPP, Police Committee, Shelter Committee, Street Market Committee, DTES Not for Developers Coalition, Launched the DT East newspaper!  This Monday we’re starting a campaign with Feed The Roots at the Rizome Café.  3 members will attend for 10 weeks and report back.  Trying to use the weekly board meetings to coordinate these various campaigns, and encourage others to participate at these regular weekly board meetings, Thursdays at 5pm at Jacobs Well.

Herb

• Break-out into small group discussions
• Signs over the room, go to the group you are interested in
• We have 20 minutes for this

5. Break Out Group Reports

LAPP Committee Report

• 4-5 other people
• Discussed the basic what is the LAPP, what we’re doing and where we are right now
• How can you tell whether or not your work on the LAPP is actually effective?
• We decided that we would continue our discussions at the town hall meeting at the Carnegie Centre.  At this time, we’ll know where we are at with the City.
• We’re going to be faced with a decision that we stay or that we go.

Street Market Report

• There’s a lot of mis knowledge going on out there
• Congratulate and thank every vendor who comes out and supports the market
• We have to be good neighbours
• We be the ones to be the good neighbours, and you guys are doing a good job
• Some people don’t remember a few little things, like no drinking, don’t sell porn
• We’ve highlighted that we’ll have a DNC donation sales table
• Toilet facilities, especially for seniors in our community
• Phone 311 that we want power at the street market
• Don’t give up Pigeon Park for other location
• We need some donations for tables, tents etc.  Anybody have ideas?

Shelters Report

• Remind everybody that we have meetings every Monday at Jacobs Well at 6pm
• They tried to get rid of First United Church, it’s a very important part of gentrification
• There are a lot of people in those shelters, and they are a part of the community
• Policies from shelters provided, they need to be understandable to everyone in the shelters
• Rights!
• Council for Residents.
• There needs to be a balance of power.
• Not to be moved from the shelters to the street, they need to be moved to better shelter, to better housing.
• Quick Resolution: We would all prefer to live in a resident run social housing.  Don’t shoot the donkey without having another ride.  This neighbourhood should say how many shelters, shelter beds, the conditions.  The threat of closing a couple of shelters.  DNC does not support the closing of any shelters, etc. DNC urges BC Housing to fund new low-barrier shelter beds to replace what is lost.  BC Housing must maintain low-barrier beds in the downtown eastside. Etc.
• Paul motions, James seconds.  Any discussion?
• Given the demand for shelter beds, we should change the wording from maintaining what exists to increase what exists.
• Aim towards stable social housing.
• Does your motion address Mila’s concern?
• I worded it so that if they change a number of beds, now we can negotiate.
• Buddhist Temple follow-up?
• Coastal Health still owns it, we stopped it from being sold to developers, but we don’t know what is going on with it now.
• All in favor? 1 opposed. 1 abstention

Police Committee Report

• Jen Allen is a fabulous co-chair and leading Vancouver Cop Watch
• Police Meeting will be March 9th at Carnegie at 2nd floor at 5pm
• We’re accepting new members, it’s an open committee
• Go to Vancouver Cop Watch
• Mostly run by Jen Allen and Jamie Richardson
• They take a lot of photos of police officers.  You can upload photos too.
• Dave Hamm has a vendor ticket charter challenge.  If you have a ticket, we’re collecting them for a charter challenge.  People have the right to try to stay alive. Welfare rates are so low, and you are supplementing your income with selling this, then the ticket violates your right to supplement your income to stay alive.
• March 15th is International Day against Police Brutality.  Recommendations to prevent women going missing.  Find Ann for more information.
• How the police mind this community for crime, criminalizing.
• We want the Beat Team to stop filming their Beat Tv show.
• Cards you can give to the police that states your rights if you want one you can just give it to the cop and it states your rights.

Tami

• Don’t take pictures without permission

Anti-Developers Coaltion Report

• Pantages only 8-10 units at welfare rates
• It’s a bomb in the downtown eastside that needs to be stopped.
• Housing consulting company to help the developer put the project through to city hall
• We need to put some pressure on that consulting group and let them know that this is a project that will displace people on the downtown eastside
• We’re planning an action on Terra Housing Consultants on Commercial Drive, we’ll let you know when we figure it out.
• If all these condos are coming in, and I’m living in social housing, will I be affected? Example, not in Little Mountain.  We need to fight for residents controlled spaces!

DT East Report

• One every month
• Communicate our message
• We decided that in here that is if you want to submit any articles, we want you to give it to us directly.
• All Editors to stand up. Hand it to one of us.
• We have an editorial collective, collective choice of articles that will be published.
• Distribution: the paper is only going out in the downtown eastside, it should go further and get our message out to other neighbourhoods.
• Creative thing? Artist of the month? Copy of their artwork at the centre-page
• Asked to work with single moms with kids.  Jean is organizing a meeting around this.
• The teacher strike, will have someone write about this
• Suggested that we have a map of the places, maybe have a map of where we use to go.

Herb

• Ivan to be our 3rd alternative for LAPP Committee?
• All in favor?  Motion carries.

Paul

• Closing the meeting.
• Moment of silence.