RIP Wendy Babcock

        This past summer, Wendy Babcock passed away. She was a former sex-worker that later gained entrance to Osgoode Law School. Her dream was to help future sex workers and advocate for sex-worker rights. Her story of resilience is so remarkable, I get goosebumps just thinking about it. After entering the sex industry at the age of 15, Babcock later made a remarkable transition in her life, and in the lives of those around her.

CBC:

Sex worker turned law student dies

Wendy Babcock, 32, sought prostitution law reform

Obituary, written by friend Holly Kramer, as featured in the Globe and Mail:

         Community activist, law student, writer, mentor, sister, mother, friend. Born May 29, 1980, in Toronto. Died Aug. 9, 2011, in Toronto of unknown causes, aged 31.

Wendy Babcock had a tough, amazing, terrible, wonderful, all-too-short life. It could even be said that she lived several different lives in her 31 years.

When she died so suddenly, so unexpectedly, a host of diverse people, from sex-trade workers to law students – members of her chosen family – showed up to plan her memorial service, for Wendy had been both a sex worker and a law student.

Wendy’s childhood was less than idyllic, and she suffered sexual abuse at a very early age at the hands of a relative. Eventually she went into the foster care system. By eighth grade she had been raped. By ninth grade she had run away, dropped out and, of necessity, become engaged in prostitution to survive.

You’d hardly expect that, before the age of 25, a young woman with her history would have the wherewithal to turn such experiences into something good, but that’s exactly what Wendy did. She became a harm reduction worker, a mother and, ultimately, a student at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Wendy’s goal was to be in a position to effect real change in the lives of some of the most marginalized people in society. With her uncanny ability to zero in on the fault line of any argument, the wisdom borne of her life experiences, her capacity for critical analysis and her persuasive powers, there can be no doubt that she would have been one hell of a lawyer.

Along her way, Wendy founded the Bad Date Coalition – an interagency network of people who advocate for those working in the sex trade. She won the ear and respect of representatives of the Toronto Police Service and worked with them to ensure that sex workers could and would report assault.

Wendy had a razor-sharp wit mixed with the endearing ability to laugh at herself. She was clever, compassionate and courageous; sweet and sassy, lovely and loving. She was tolerant of everything but intolerance in others; her activism on behalf of transgendered people is but one testament to this.

In 2008, then-mayor David Miller presented Wendy with a Toronto Public Health Champion Award in recognition of her advocacy work, an award she richly deserved.

On Sept. 15, Wendy's life will be celebrated by a huge gathering of her friends and colleagues. We will continue her work to fight stigma and discrimination, and toward social inclusion for all, in her memory.

Her son was the most important person in Wendy’s world, and she wanted him to be as proud of her as she was of him. Those who knew and loved Wendy are confident that, in a few short years when he’s old enough to realize the profound impact his mother had on so many lives, he will be justly proud.

Holly Kramer is Wendy’s friend and colleague.

The POWER Report on sex-work

The Toolkit is a comprehensive report on the state of sex-work in the Ottawa area and abroad. The Toolkit was produced in partnership between POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist) and the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. You can find it here: The Toolkit: Ottawa area sex workers speak out

***Above is a screen-shot from the rabble.ca website when I accessed this podcast. I thought that the wording of the Valentine's day ad banner at the top of the website was highly topical to the podcast lol***

Below is a relatively short podcast from rabble.ca (~12mins), it discusses some the strategies for dealing with prostitution and their drawbacks.

Show Notes:

Lawyer Katrina Pacey talks to Paul Ryan about why street-level sex workers would be just as unsafe if laws were introduced to criminalize sex work clients. Katrina also gives an update on legal challenges to change sex work laws in B.C. and Ontario. Read the Toronto Star article mentioned in this podcast.

You can find the Podcast here: 

Why criminalizing clients won't work

PIVOT towards decriminalizing sex-work

Sex-work is a highly controversial issue facing urban communities. As we have seen and heard, sex-work is often the product of poverty; a means to make money in the face of little opportunity. Sex-work has been a point of contention between different groups for a very long time (it is said to be the world's oldest profession).

Sex-work can be viewed as either legal, illegal, or somewhere in between (decriminalized). Different morals and values will change each individual's view. PIVOT is an organization pushing for the decriminalization of sex-work. They argue the illegalities of sex-work have forced it underground, where no oversight or protection can be given to sex-workers. As a result of sex-work being illegal, more harm will come to the most vulnerable person involved, the sex-worker themselves. Here are some of the things PIVOT advocates for:
    -Sex-workers having full control over their legal rights, and working conditions
    -Developing a frame-work for the implementation of decriminalization
    -Drug-policy reform
    -Affordable housing for the homeless

Economic Hardship Report for Guelph-Wellington

Hey All,

Janet found a great report on poverty within Guelph-Wellington County, and the services/policies offered. The report was created through a series of focus-groups and it offers the perspective of the people who actually use the public services the city offers. You can find it here.
Something I thought was interesting, was how someone on a limited income rationalizes the use of the city's free means of equalization and poverty reduction. For example, one woman describes how the city gives her free swim tickets for her daughter to use the rec-centre pool, but the cost of transportation is such a great barrier to reaching the pool, they cannot do so.

"They giver you 12 swim tickets, and (daughter) and I we have no money for bus fair. You've got to take your money to go down and swim that is $5.50 each way for my daughter and I, so it's really kind of counterproductive isn't it? They're giving with one hand and taking away with the other. You can't really enjoy services offered, and that's a big problem, and they wouldn't give us bus tickets to go."


A lot of other topics are covered, such as the state of housing, food security, healthcare, recreation, and legal issues. One thing I haven't been able to fully comprehend since moving to Guelph, is why University students get such a great deal on the bus pass, while other disenfranchised community members pay more.

"If I didn't have a lift to get into work Sunday nights, I had to take a cab and I'm a single mom making this money so why is it they can cater to University students, but they can't cater to the rest of us? The community that can't afford vehicles and need the transit system, you know?"


The follow up report from 2011, can be found here:

Economic Hardship in Wellington County: A follow-up Report to the Community Researcher Project: Exploring Economic Hardship in Guelph and Wellington, April 2011

does love make being homeless, less like being homeless?

I really like pet doggies. I have always had pet dogs growing up, but I feel it is only now I am beginning to appreciate the dog/man relationship.
I am fascinated by homeless and their dogs. While the vast majority of people disassociate themselves with the homeless, canines are blind to the conditions of their homeless master and provide unconditional love. Having a pooch around is also probably a good way to be alerted to people trying to steal your stuff, while you sleep; a problem clearly identified in the last video. The comment sections of this website, also brought up some other benefits of having a canine companion, such as keeping you warm on those cold nights. Check it out if you have a minute!

Fifth Estate on Homelessness

The Fifth Estate did a show about homelessness in the DTES; I found it pretty interesting. The Youtube videos are segmented, so I picked one that answered a question I had been pondering: How do homeless people sleep? It was sort of touched upon in Streets of Gold, but this gentleman does a better job of explaining the situation. I'll admit I teared up a bit when he described his lack of roots.
He also has a good take on the Insite Clinic, and its role in the homeless community. During the interview he sort of describes this internal conflict he constantly goes through, and rationalizes its endless cycle.



Check out the other segments of the video if you have time.

Homelessness is Hamilton

Hello PSC Vancouver,

On Thursday (Feb 9th) we have the privilege of speaking to Suzanne Swanton, a Street Outreach Worker from Hamilton. Suzanne's experience has given her great perspective on the systemic issues of homelessness and urban poverty in own backyard. I was hoping we could all think of some questions to ask Suzanne; in hopes of filling in any gaps of knowledge we have.
I'll be posting some resources to provide some insight into youth homelessness, and homeless in Hamilton specifically.

Above, I have posted a report on homelessness in Hamilton, found here. 3600 people utilized Hamilton's shelters in 2009, which is pretty significant for a city with a population of 500 000. I found it most interesting that the great utilizers of the shelter service are people 40+ years of age. I had thought the greatest shelter users would have been younger.

Stereotyping homeless

Hey All!

I was thinking about our discussion on Tuesday, and about some of the stereotypes regarding the homeless. I remember a video I came across that features an interview with Maurice Johnston; a homeless man, that due to a series of unfortunate events has ended up on the street. He is a former aeronautical engineer with several university degrees. He isn't necessarily as vulnerable as some other members of the homeless community, but I thought his perspective and story was valuable.

Hope you're all keeping warm!

The need for WISH

An Article about WISH, and the services they provide:

 

Sex workers lose all-night support system

 

Provincial government failed to renew funding for van carrying clean needles, condoms

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Life/workers+lose+night+support+system/1696026/story.html#ixzz1jv08feZc



          VANCOUVER — Four sex workers appear from the shadows on Kingsway at 11:30 p.m. and run over to a parked van. When they come up to the window, they’re handed condoms, clean needles, Gatorade and an updated list of known sex abusers.
They only have a few minutes between johns to get restocked, but sex workers could count on the van being there every night — at least until last Friday.
That’s when it was pulled off the road after the provincial government, citing financial pressure, failed to renew $250,000 in funding for it.
A dozen people, including former sex workers, lost their jobs when the van was parked. Vancouver’s sex workers lost their only all-night — 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. — support system.
Every night for the past five years, in a dark alley in the Downtown Eastside, three young women have stocked the van with boxes of condoms, clean needles, sterile wipes, first-aid equipment and refreshments.
On June 4, Larissa Deer and her co-worker Sarah Rogers, with a Vancouver Sun reporter riding along, were in charge of the van. The two women had the difficult job of reminding the sex workers they served that the van would only be coming around for another week.
The van was run by Women’s Information and Safe House (WISH) and Prostitution Alternatives Counselling and Education Society (PACE).
It was fitted with a bench running along the inside for sex workers hopping aboard, and a wall unit stocked with supplies and brochures about support services. The inside of the van was plastered with posters about missing women and abusive johns.
The service was started five years ago to enhance the health and safety of Vancouver’s sex workers, especially those who didn’t have access to a downtown drop-in centre. It was used by 40 to 50 women every night.
“These women are people, mothers of children, and the vast majority of them have had horrendous childhood experiences,” said Dr. Patti Janssen of the BC Women’s Health Research Institute. “It’s because we failed them as a society that they need our help now.”
The van followed roughly the same route each night, unless staff got specific calls for help. It started by trawling through the Downtown Eastside, then moved into dark, narrow alleys further east. Gatorade and condoms were the top requests from women who flagged it down.
“It’s such a good service,” said Selina Thompson, a sex worker in the Downtown Eastside. “Handing out condoms stops the spread of diseases, and of course, it’s the same for the girls using drugs and needing clean needles.”
The van also travelled to isolated strolls, such as near Kingsway and Fraser, trying to help keep women safe in a job that leaves them vulnerable. More than 60 sex workers have disappeared since the 1980s.
Being alone in isolated parts of the city makes these women vulnerable to those who prey on people on the margins of society, said Vancouver police Sgt. Tony Cavezza, and sex workers are victimized more than other women.
“If there’s no van, I don’t know what we would do, said Rawel Ladher, a sex worker who has called on the van when she was being stalked. “The job is often dangerous and the van goes into the dark places to help us.”
On the June 4 outing, Rogers makes a note of each woman the van meets. The records help keep track of the women and how strolls are changing.
“They make me feel safe, just knowing they are out there,” said Sandy Hubert, who regularly flags down the van to check in or check up on friends.
Staff members also take “bad date” reports, which record experiences with abusive or dangerous johns. Ninety-five per cent of all such reports — which go to police officers, sex workers and service providers — are generated by the van, according to WISH.
Police said they use the reports to find out about what’s happening on the street that they wouldn’t otherwise get.
Along the entire route, it’s clear that the women are grateful for the service. All thanked the staff on the van; many said good-bye with a sincere, “Drive safe!”
“It really hit home for me telling the women. It’s sad telling people it’s not going to be here. It’s such a fixture in the community,” Deer said as the van headed back from Kingsway into the darkness of downtown.
rtebrake@vancouversun.com


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Life/workers+lose+night+support+system/1696026/story.html#ixzz1jv0DwJFv

How much does welfare pay?

Ok so we've all seen those homeless experiments, where reasonably well off people slum it for a given period of time. Misha Kleider did it in Streets of Plenty, Guelph Students do it during 5 Days for the Homeless, and recently a member of BC's legislature did 30 days on a welfare budget. While these experiments often try to reproduce the emotions and conditions of the homeless there is always one caveat that takes away from truly replicating a homeless person's experience. The people conducting these experiments have a safe place to go when the ordeal is over.

How much is a welfare allowance, and how do people make budgets considering the strict limitations of accessing welfare? it is not as straightforward as it may seem. In order to the limit abuse of welfare and ensure adequate money goes to those that need it, Provincial bodies such as the Ontario Disability Support Program create a complex network of pathways for receiving welfare (ie. if you meet criteria a, b, and c, you will receive x amount of dollars). For example: Jagrup Brar, the BC MLA mentioned above, would have qualified for $610 dollars a month under BC's welfare laws. In Ontario, provisions for receiving welfare include:
    - Job status (Are you looking for a job? Can you prove you're looking for a job?)
    - If you have kids (more kids equals a greater allowance)
    - If you have a mental illness (or a physical disability)
    - Living situation (are you living alone? with parents? with friends?)
    - Age
    - etc, etc, etc.

I am curious how much welfare I would qualify for, but I am daunted by the immense and technical process of qualifying, applying, and keeping welfare. What boxes do I check on the paperwork? What conditions must I satisfy in order to get welfare? So many questions.

I have linked to the ODSP in order to explore how much money I would receive on welfare; hopefully this will make the process a bit more clear.  Also, I have copied the article covering Jagrup Brar and his 30 days on welfare, taken from the Epoch Times, for your reading pleasure :)

http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/odsp
The Ontario Disability Support Program helps people with disabilities who are in financial need pay for living expenses, like food and housing. Ontario works is a program run in conjunction with ODSP; more information on Ontario Works can be found on the left hand side-bar. 

Living on Welfare Tests Politician’s Endurance

‘You feel hungry all the time,’ says MLA who took on a month-long ‘welfare challenge’

A B.C. MLA is finding that surviving on welfare is just that—surviving, with every waking minute devoted to scrounging enough money for his next meal.

“Living in poverty or welfare is hard and demoralizing,” says New Democrat Jagrup Brar, who began a challenge on Jan. 1 to live on welfare for a month.

“It’s a tough life. You spend your whole day basically looking for food and shelter. It takes away your self esteem. It basically makes you a completely different person.”

The Surrey-Fleetwood MLA embarked on the experiment in response to a challenge issued to all 85 B.C. MLAs by Raise the Rates, a coalition of poverty advocacy groups.

Brar, 52, the only MLA to accept the challenge to live on welfare for a month, says he did so “to tell the story of a half a million people in B.C. living in poverty.

“As a father of two young children, it’s hard for me to imagine that we have 137,000 children living in poverty in a rich province. It is hard for me to believe that 70,000 people use a food bank every month and one-third of them are children,” he says.

Out of the $610 a single person receives on welfare in B.C., Brar spent $420 on rent, $42 on bus tickets, and $25 on a phone. Phone and transportation are necessary for welfare recipients who are required to look for work. After these expenses, he was left with $108 for food and any additional needs.

“I went out the day before yesterday to buy my groceries with a budget of $30 per week. I ended up spending $33 dollars, and I am right now left with $67 for the rest of the month,” he says.

“With a $30 weekly budget, when you go to buy groceries the first thing you look at is the price, not at the quality of the food. So that’s a huge challenge—not only that you can’t eat healthy food, but you can’t actually eat enough to survive.

“You feel hungry all the time. Hunger becomes your biggest challenge during the day.”

As organized by Raise the Rates, Brar is allowed to spend one night a week at his home—but must pay for any food he may eat there—and he will work one day a week in his office.

“During this month I will listen,” he says. “I will meet with the people living in poverty and on welfare, listen to their stories and share those stories with the people of B.C. to raise awareness about poverty, and hopefully initiate a debate based on the on-the-ground reality.”

Less Purchasing Power

In the 1980s, NDP MLA Emery Barnes lived on welfare for seven weeks, when the rates were just $375 a month. Barnes, a former pro football player, lost 30 pounds during his stint on income assistance.

Back then, Barnes said welfare rates needed to be raised to $700 a month. But rates today have even less purchasing power, notes community organizer Jean Swanson, who initiated the challenge Barnes accepted 25 years ago and the current one with Brar.

MLA Jagrup Brar shows reporters a breakdown of his expenses on welfare for one month. (Jagrup Brar's Constituency Office)

Swanson, whose organization paid the $610 for Brar because as an employed person he wouldn’t qualify for welfare, says Raise the Rates issued the challenge in hopes of bringing about change.

“We want to raise public awareness about how low welfare rates are, how punitive the rules are, and how inaccurate the stereotypes about people on welfare are,” she says.

“I think the combination of the low rates and the rules actually push people into crisis and make it more difficult for them to get back on their feet,” she adds.

“If you’re ‘employable’ you’re not allowed to keep a penny of what you earn, and this includes so-called employable single parents. You’re not even allowed to keep a penny of child support.”

The B.C. government says income assistance is intended as a temporary measure.

“Employable applicants are expected to look for work before they receive assistance and, where able, people receiving income assistance are expected to complete an Employment Plan, seek work, and participate in employment programs, so they may reach their goal of self-reliance,” the Ministry of Social Development’s website says.

According to December 2009 data from the ministry, the number of those receiving income assistance in the Expected to Work category increased by 45.4 percent between 2008 and 2009.

Finding accommodation that fit his budget was one of Brar’s biggest challenges. During his search he looked at several places, one of which reduced him to tears, he says, because the conditions were so bad, with tiny rooms costing as much as $400 a month.

“I’ve been told there are many others—there are hundreds of other houses like that.”

He finally found a room in a decent house in a nice neighbourhood, which he shares with eight others.

“My room is like a seven-star hotel compared to the things I saw,” he says.

“But it has its own challenges. Living with eight people is not easy. There are people with addictions and if you are depressed and a soft target you could become a victim of that situation.”

Brar says that although he’s finding the going tough, he’s in good shape and believes he “can last one month.”

“It’s only one month for me, but [there are] close to 200,000 people who live this life for too long.”

Check Out the blog of his experience at: http://mlaonwelfare.com/

**Ughh sorry for the green highlighting, I don't know how to get rid of it! sheesh, so frustrating...

Lullabies for little criminals

Janet mentioned the book "Lullabies for little criminals" on the last email, if anyone was interested. I have read it, and it is a pretty vivid portrayal of street life, addicting and the sex-trade. It follows a girl living with her addicted father in Montreal, and her entrance into the sex industry. I have an extra copy if anyone is interested, it is a pretty easy read! Cheers,

TED Talk: Steven Levitt on crack dealing

Hey All,

It was great seeing everyone on Saturday! I know we mentioned the researcher's perspective of the Downtown Eastside. Steven Levitt, writer of Freakonomics, has a TED talk covering the crack/cocaine epidemic and the economic realities of a crack dealer. It's pretty interesting, and it answers question's like: how much crack dealers actually generate in revenue, and how they get drawn into the lifestyle. Sadir's story isn't based in the Downtown Eastside, but it seemed relevant nonetheless. Check it out!

Communities of the Downtown Eastside

Chinatown: Founded in the late 19^th century, Chinatown expanded after the repealing _­­of the Chinese Immigration Exclusion Act after World War II. It continues­ to be a vibrant part of the Downtown Eastside.

Gastown: Founded in 1867 when “Gassy Jack” Deighton built a saloon. In the late 1960s features such as a cobble-stoned street and vintage lighting were restored as part of an effort to attract tourists.

Victory Square: Named for its war memorial cenotaph, Victory Square contains businesses, downtown campuses of post-secondary institutions, and a number of single room occupancy hotels that house approximately 1500 people.

Strathcona: A diverse area with light industry and many forms of housing (apartments, public housing, converted housing, and rooming houses). Nearly sixty-one percent of residents in Strathcona speak Chinese as their first language.

Oppenheimer: Initially home to many Japanese Canadians. In World War II, the area was devastated when Canada interned the Japanese and moved them to camps in the interior of BC. Today, Oppenheimer includes a courthouse, police station, , Buddhist temple, theatre as well as social services, retail businesses and some light industrial facilities.