Tracey's memorial

I attended Tracey's memorial yesterday afternoon. The Westend Anglician Church had a full mass for her. Only twenty people attended. As far as I could tell no one was from her family. Gregor wasn't there; his wife wasn't there; neither did he send flowers. But then Gregor wasn't at Daryl's memorial service either.

Both Tracey and Gregor died in fires last year trying to keep warm as they were shelterless in the middle of winter and Gregor has used their deaths to support his politicial agenda. Gregor could of made sure that both of them were properly respected. Because there were no flowers to give Tracey the minister asked that each of us place a small a rock to substitute on the alter (a jewish tradition).

Emergency Homeless Shelter Task Force

From:
"Audrey Jane Laferriere" View contact details
To:
provletters@png.canwest.com

I am totally unimpressed by Gregor's choice for his emergency task force on homelessness. These choices are the same people who have for years were totally against more shelters in the City and now they are given the mandate to solve the problem. Gregor is dreaming in technocolour if he thinks they will solve anything.

The problem could have been solved two years ago when city-owned Storyeum became vacant. It would have provided the ideal location for a shelter for all of Metro Vancouver because it is in the DTES and it is also close to all transportation. Although the Water Street section has been leased (in-camera) alledgedly to a highend furniture store, the Cordova side is still vacant. So why is there no talk about Storyeum even though Claude Richmond said he would finance a building as a shelter.

What this task force will create will be a logistic nightmare and chaos rather than an efficient centralized uniform solution. The street homeless need one place to go rather than searching nightly for space available in church basements.

Storyeum is a no-brainer.