DTES Literacy Roundtable

2020-12-10T18:57:00.005-08:00

Literacy Life in the DTES Community

March 2012

Mural at Gore and Pender

March 15 & 16: "Aboriginal Elders: The Forgotten Ones", 13th Annual Aboriginal Mental Health Conference at the Aboriginal Friendship Center (1607 E. Hastings). Conference runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days. This is a free event for the Aboriginal community. To register, call The Aboriginal Wellness Program at 604-875-6601.

March 26: The DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable will be meeting from 1-3 p.m. for their monthly meeting at the VCC - Harbour Light Learning Centre (138 East Cordova, between Main and Columbia Street), on the south side of the street. All are welcome to attend!

Ongoing In March 2012….

*The First Nations Languages Sharing Circle at the Aboriginal Front Door (384 Main St.) meets every Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. All are welcome!

Contributing Through Computers (March 2012)

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Contributing Through Computers volunteers and training staff.

Contributing Through Computers (CTC) is a free training program offered at the UBC Learning Exchange (612 Main St.) for volunteers interested in helping others to develop basic computer skills. This 3-year pilot project was a response to community feedback that while there is ample free access to computers in the Downtown Eastside, there is often a shortage of staff and volunteers to support the learning gaps that many people have around using computers. The feedback also indicated that many members of the DTES community have significant skills in computers, but have had little opportunity to share their knowledge with others. The idea of a computer facilitator training that would prepare volunteers to share their skills across the DTES community, as well as make using computers more accessible for beginners, was subsequently developed.

The main goal of CTC since it began in January 2011 has been to develop capacity at both the individual and organizational level. In the past year alone, CTC graduates have gone on to lead computer training workshops at Union Gospel Mission, Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, and the UBC Learning Exchange. Other organizations such as Ray-Cam and local schools have expressed interest in volunteers coming to their locations to lead computer training workshops. “It’s amazing to see what people can do if given the space and place to do it!”, said Dionne Pelan, Storefront Programs Coordinator at the UBC Learning Exchange and lead trainer in the CTC program.

Over the course of the 10-week training program, volunteers engage in activities which will help them to simplify and demystify using computers for beginners. One such activity asks them to discuss how they would clearly and concisely describe computer terms such as monitor (e.g. ‘It’s like a TV.’) and mouse (e.g. ‘It’s like the remote control’). Dionne encourages participants to keep their explanations simple, free of jargon, and to relate them to something people already know. The training asks volunteers to think about the different ways that adults learn, and to explore techniques to calm their own anxieties around speaking in front of groups. For example, deep breathing exercises are introduced as a tool to help volunteers relax, consciously slow down their pace of speech, and creates fluctuations in their tone of voice.

Korie, a recent graduate from the Contributing Through Computers program, completed her training in December 2011. She was motivated to enroll by her interest in doing some volunteer work. Korie shared that the CTC training helped her to recognize many of her own strengths such as developing a lesson plan, doing background research, and preparing handouts. The CTC training also gave her an opportunity to keep up her computer skills and to connect with and learn from others. “Working with colleagues allowed me to observe and learn about their thought processes and how they give presentations,” reflected Korie. Currently, Korie is sharing her computer facilitator skills with learners enrolled in computer classes at the UBC Learning Exchange. While still trying to move past her fear of being in front of a class, Korie said that in the future she might be interested in putting together a workshop.

Connecting Through Computers runs on Monday afternoons at the UBC Learning Exchange. No previous facilitation experience is necessary. For more information, contact Dionne Pelan at dionne.pelan@ubc.ca or call 604-408-5179.

Learning About Learning: Coming Together in Professional Development (March 2012)

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Colleen Rogan leas participants in a post-activity discussion.

Over 50 people gathered at the Union Gospel Mission on February 17^th for the first workshop in the Supporting Learners & Learning DTES PD Workshop Series. Those in attendance included both educators, volunteer tutors, learners, and service providers representing schools and organizations in the Downtown Eastside such as Carnegie Learning Centre, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House, Downtown Eastside Education Centre, Frontier College, Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Raincity Housing, SFU Community Education, Union Gospel Mission, VCC-Harbour Lights, and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The workshop opened with a free lunch during which participants had an opportunity to connect with others. Colleen Rogan from ELSA NET engaged participants in exploring strategies and activities to support adult English language learners. John Gotowiec from Pacific Community Resources led participants in a discussion around
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and about how to support
learners with FASD.

Presenter John Gotowiec

Participants’ motivations for attending the workshop were various. In general, most indicated that they wanted to:

Learn how to make a learning environment as inclusive as possible
Learn how best to positively support people with FASD in the DTES
Learn more ideas for facilitating ESL classes
Be able to identify particular learning styles and to work mindfully with this knowledge
Gain a greater awareness of students' perspectives
Understand more about their own learning differences and disabilities

Feedback following the workshop was positive and some of the highlights for included learning with colleagues, the informative scope of the presentations, and being reminded that the learner needs to set the schedule.

The DTES Professional Development Workshop Series is sponsored by the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable and its member organizations. The series has also been made possible through generous support from the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus. Upcoming workshops are scheduled for April 13^th at the Carnegie Learning Centre and May 11^th at the Downtown Eastside Education Centre. Workshop descriptions, presenters’ bios, and the on-line registration form can be found here on the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable website under 'Workshops 2012'.

Student Success Through Flexible Access at VCC (Feb. 2012)

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Vancouver Community College’s (VCC) commitment to student success has been a guiding principle in the college’s history and is at the forefront of VCC’s current strategic plan. In order to provide greater access to students in their learning journey, VCC offers programs and courses which suit individual student needs. The Department of College and Career Access (CCA) is an example of a unique environment and structure with a clear focus on student access and success. Through CCA, students participate in a wide-range of primarily self-paced courses which are designed to help them move to the next step in their lives. CCA offers courses in English, math and science high school upgrading as well as preparation courses for GED, language proficiency index and other prerequisites for college programs such as health sciences.

Diversity in background and interest is characteristic of students enrolled in CCA courses. “It doesn’t matter who you are, when you come to VCC, there’s a spot for you”, assured Ted Hougham, the department head for CCA. He highlighted that many of their prospective students are older and want to come back to school. For them, taking courses in college is seen as a fresh start. Residents of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) community are highly represented in CCA’s prep courses for VCC’s community counseling program. Graduates in this particular career program have an 85 per cent success rate of finding work, largely as front line workers in the DTES.

The CCA department aims to achieve approximately 1,200 course registrations each academic year and has already surpassed that number this year, says Hougham.

Hougham’s enthusiasm around the diversity and size of CCA’s student population is supported by VCC’s 2011-2014 strategic plan. According to the plan’s first pillar, student access and success means being a welcoming college that is reflective of students’ needs. For example, the strategic plan points towards redesigning VCC’s enrollment services to create a more effective, open, and inviting college experience.

CCA courses are accessible to students at any time in the year, and students are able to register in a course regardless of the academic calendar. Once enrolled, instructors develop personalized programs to meet each individual student’s needs and goals. CCA courses are tuition-free, with the exception of student union and enrollment fees. Students who are unable to pay these additional fees can access the adult basic education student assistant program (ABESAP) offered by the B.C. government, through a simple application process.

There are many advantages of taking self-paced classes, especially for the diverse student population enrolled in CCA’s courses. Sandra McKay, a CCA instructor, reflected that she has worked with students with a wide variety of learning differences. Many of these students would not receive the support necessary in a traditional college classroom and/or would find the expectations around the academic calendar difficult to adjust to. In contrast, the one-on-one instruction format of the self-paced courses enables students to work at their own pace, and have direct and frequent access to instructors. The CCA courses are made even more accessible for students as attendance is not mandatory; rather, instructors only keep records on their students’ progress in class. Typically, CCA students juggle family life, full-time jobs and other life commitments. The self-paced courses offer a way for students to create a study schedule that works for them. They come in when they can and receive one-on-one support from instructors. The hours during which instructional assistance is available are accommodating. The CCA classrooms at the Broadway campus, for example, are open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. (Sept.-June) and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (July- Aug.).

Of course, self-paced courses may not be suited for all students as they require a certain degree of self-discipline and motivation. CCA offers two of its courses—communications for health sciences and language skills access—via a more traditional, regularly scheduled classroom delivery.

VCC’s strategic plan also supports community engagement. The CCA department works in partnership with the Broadway Youth Resource Centre to deliver the adult basic education (ABE) intermediate program for youth. This program provides at-risk youth, ages 15 to 19, with individualized self-paced instruction in intermediate level ABE, upgrading and GED.

The CCA department also provides support in the DTES community through the Harbour Light and Vancouver Community College Learning Centre in partnership with the Salvation Army. The learning centre offers basic literacy and math skills, computer skills and GED preparation. Students at Harbour Lights take the self-paced courses while participating in a residential drug and alcohol treatment program. Some of the students who completed their GED prep coursework at the learning centre later transferred to VCC to pursue further education. In addition, CCA provides career planning and job search courses at the downtown campus, as well as computer courses. CCA is currently exploring the possibility of a women’s only career program that could be offered off-campus, and particularly at different locations around the DTES.

The college and career access department at VCC is a place for students to begin their journey to reach their academic and career goals at their own pace. For more information about the CCA program, call 604-871-7366 or visit vcc.ca.

The Work Behind the DTES Professional Development Workshop Series (Feb. 2012)

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Community mapping of literacy & resources in the DTES, 2010

The Supporting Learners & Learning Differences: DTES Professional Development Workshop Series will get underway this February in the Downtown Eastside community. Geared towards educators and volunteer tutors involved with students in the DTES, the series aims to help participants build their capacity as they work with various learners and learning differences. Hosted by the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable and generously funded by the Rotary Club of Vancouver Arbutus, these free workshops are scheduled to take place on the afternoons of February 17^th (at Union Gospel Mission), April 13^th (at Carnegie Learning Centre), and May 11^th (at the Downtown Eastside Education Centre).

The genesis of this workshop series traces back to the spring of 2010 when the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable engaged with over 140 individuals living, working, and participating in the Downtown Eastside to collaborate and share hopes and ideas for strengthening literacy in the community. During these conversations, ‘literacy’ was discussed not only in terms of reading and writing, but also as having the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate fully in one’s own life.

From these consultations, it became clear that two overarching goals were important to people when thinking about strengthening literacy in the Downtown Eastside: self-determination and working together. While both these goals were broadly defined by participants*, ‘self-determination’, in essence was understood as members of the DTES being heard and respected as they make decisions and take action on community priorities. ‘Working together’ was understood as collaboration, communication, building bridges, and inclusivity.

Within these two goals, six major priorities were highlighted for strengthening literacy in the community*, including building capacity to support people with learning difference or disabilities. The DTES Professional Development Workshop Series is therefore a response to this priority. It was shared that while there are dozens of effective and innovative education programs in the community, stronger knowledge and skills about learning differences are needed. Many people said they felt unsure of how to help themselves or their students when faced with learning differences/disabilities and requested more training and information sharing.

Moving forward with this priority, potential workshop presenters were identified by members of the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable in the fall of 2011. Educators working in the DTES community were then surveyed about what they, and the volunteer tutors they work with, would find beneficial in a workshop on supporting learners and learning differences.

The result of this background work is an exciting series of workshops—presented by experienced and knowledgeable practitioners— which are based on community priorities and working together. Equally important, the workshops provide an opportunity for educators and volunteers to connect, exchange skills, and share ideas.

On-line registration for each free workshop session, as well as descriptions of the workshops and presenters’ biographies are posted on the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable website.

*A detailed discussion of the goals and priorities can be found in “A Plan for Strengthening Literacy in the Downtown Eastside” (2010) posted on the ‘Resource’ page of the above listed website.

Conversations with Elders of First Nations Languages Sharing Circle

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Participants of the First Nations Languages Sharing Circle

Since September, the First Nations Languages Sharing Circle has been meeting at the Aboriginal Front Door every Friday morning. Focusing on topics such as numbers, animals, family, or nature, participants are invited to share stories or words from their traditional languages. All people from all nations are welcome to join the Circle and some of the languages that have been shared include Cree, Chippwyan, French, German, Gitsan, Kwak’wala, Ojibway, Russian, Sliammon, and Spanish. This inclusive approach to language learning has great relevance in the Downtown Eastside community where languages, in particular First Nations languages, are many but fluent speakers are few.

The First Nations Languages Sharing Circle is facilitated by an Elder each week, and this role has been shared by Mabel Nipshank, an Elder from the Cree Nation, and Kelvin Bee, an Elder from the Kaw Kaw Ka Nation. Raised in Northern Alberta in a small Metis community, Mabel’s first language was Cree and she often shares stories during the Circle from her childhood and the practices that she learned from her kookim (‘grandmother’ in Cree). Kelvin has worked for the past year as one of the in-house Elders at the Aboriginal Front Door. Kelvin is a first language speaker of Kwak’wala and he brings to the Circle a rich knowledge of the many stories and dialects that are shared and spoken by First Nations people, particularly in BC.

The remainder of this article contains excerpts from two separate conversations with Mabel and Kelvin, during which they shared some of their reflections pertaining to the First Nations Languages Sharing Circle.

Q: What motivated you to become involved as an Elder?

Mabel: I realize how fortunate I am to be fluent in my language and that I still carry my cultural values and beliefs. I wanted to share this with other people who may not be as fortunate. I feel really honoured and privileged that I can share with others.

Kelvin: My motivation is to keep our language alive. If we don’t keep it in a good sense, it will die and the colonial attempt to wipe out our language will have succeeded. It has been my privilege to help this language program, especially in the Downtown Eastside where we don’t always use cultural practice and knowledge well. In this community, there are not only people from the West Coast Nations, but also from the Plains, the North West Territories, the Yukon, and the Metis. In the Circle, many people have come from the Manitoba and Ontario sections and so we try to involve all the languages.

Q: What do you think participants are learning in the Circle?

Mabel: I think they have an interest and thirst to learn about culture and language. The Circle follows the traditional values of sitting in a circle and sharing knowledge, language and food. People also want to be a part of a community. We are very much a communal people and we’re not meant to be isolated. Being part of a family or a circle alleviates loneliness. The Circle also offers opportunities to speak our languages which was taken away from us. It instils pride that we contributed in making what is known as Canada today.

Kelvin: They have an understanding that they’re going to learn a little piece of their language. Just this little piece is a glimmer of hope that shines in their aura. This gives them hope to hold onto and breaks cycles.

Q: What are you learning from the Circle?

Mabel: I am learning about other languages and dialects. It has also reminded me that our beliefs and legends are similar. There’s a lot of joy in knowing that.

Kelvin: It lifts me up to see those who come to the Circle grow. I get a feeling of wealth from watching their success in using the words, and from being able to help them move forward, even if it’s not my language.

Q: What are your hopes for the Circle in the future?

Mabel: I hope it will become larger. One of the challenges of this Circle is that the learning process is slower because there are so many languages around the table. I would like to see more people come to practice their traditional language. This way, they can work in small groups of 3 or so to practice the language. I hope the Circle will be kept informal and open so that those who participate can continue to decide how to learn best in their own way. If there is enough funding, my dream would be to go out and do a medicine walk with participants. To go out into nature and identify the plants used for medicine and pick sacred medicines.

Kelvin: In the future, I hope we will practice more building of words together in our traditional languages. I also hope that the Circle will include sharing of less used First Nations languages such as those spoken by the Haida Gwaii and Bella Bella people. It would also be good to have more resources, such as language CDs, for people to practice with. My hope is that this language program will be backed with more support and be recognized for doing good in the community and for bringing people in. There are regulars who attend and it seems there’s something here for them. The Circle is most successful because of the regulars and their determination to learn.

New Learning Centre at The LivingRoom

2011-12-02T13:53:00.000-08:00

Rene Merkel, instructor at VCC and the learning centre

at The LivingRoom, and William Oksanen, manager

of The LivingRoom.

A recent partnership between the Basic Education Department of Vancouver Community College (VCC) and the Lookout Society has led to the pilot of a new learning centre at The LivingRoom (524 Powell St.), specifically focused on learners who use The LivingRoom and/or live in buildings supervised by the Lookout. The partnership between VCC and the Lookout evolved organically out of the college’s desire to maintain a connection with the Downtown Eastside community, and the expressed interest by staff at The LivingRoom to have a fundamental literacy class. Since September 2011, free classes have been held at The LivingRoom on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. Learners are provided with help in reading, writing, computers, and math by Rene Merkel, the class instructor, and Jessica Jessome, a staff member at The LivingRoom.

Recruitment of students began in September with Rene spending time at The LivingRoom Drop-In Centre and getting to know the people who frequented there. Rene also recruited new students by literally knocking on the doors of residents living in Lookout housing units. She explained that when working with reluctant learners, “often a one-on-one connection is needed before a prospective student will cross the threshold”.

The new learning centre at the LivingRoom currently has 5 to 6 students regularly attending at any one time. Rene expects the number to increase in the new year. Located on the second floor of The LivingRoom and complemented by a kitchenette, the learning centre is resourced with self-paced materials and several laptops, both provided by VCC. As the class instructor, Rene says that she sees her role as encouraging people to come and learn, as well as to provide them with the ability to be lifelong learners. And already, she has observed successes in the students’ learning. A student who was at first hesitant to learn how to use a computer is now typing out his answers to reading comprehension questions on a laptop. Another student, working mostly on math questions, has reminded himself of what he learned in the past in order to solve the problems. Rene says that she has seen a student with a severe hearing impairment increase her vocabulary each class by using the Oxford Picture Dictionary to write out sentences describing the events in different pictures stories.

Yet despite these many successes, Rene still has questions around how to best support learners at the new learning centre, especially those who have challenges with routine or who feel uneasy in enclosed spaces.

One area, however, that holds no question for Rene is the importance of having multiple learning centres in the Downtown Eastside which can support the many kinds of learners in the community. As Rene said with a smile, “There’s no one size fits all here. We need different centres for the different learners.”

Literacy Lives: A Pilot Certificate Program in Community Capacity Building

2011-10-26T16:13:00.000-07:00

Recruitment poster designed by Health Initative for Men (HIM).

      Literacy Lives, a 6-month pilot certificate program run by Community Education Programs at SFU’s Harbour Centre, aims to provide a safe and supportive environment where learners can acquire the skills to create, set into motion, and evaluate their own community capacity building projects. At the same time, the program seeks to foster an increased awareness about HIV and the health determinants or conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. The program also seeks to support learners in developing and expanding their literacy skills. Funded by the Government of Canada’s Office of Literacy and Essential Skills, the program currently enrolls over 30 learners who have been attending classes since September 12^th. Literacy Lives is a free program and learners are provided with an SFU student card, which includes access to the library and   computer centre, bus pass, food and coffee, resources for child care, and a bi-weekly honorarium for attendance.

    Much of the success of Literacy Lives is dependent on the involvement of its collaborators. Each of these organizations-- Health Initiative for Men (HIM), PHS Community Services, Positive Women’s Network (PWN), Vancouver Native Health Society (VNHS), Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), Youth    Community Outreach AIDS Society (YouthCo), and Dr. Peter Foundation--work with individuals who are at the highest risk of HIV infection, some of whom live in the Downtown Eastside. Learner recruitment and interviews were conducted this past summer by a chosen staff member from each of the collaborating organizations. The additional hours worked by these staff members in their expanded role as Community    Coordinators with Literacy Lives is paid for through the program’s grant money. Community Coordinators, acting as a liaison between the learners and the program, meet together regularly as a team and attend classes in rotation with the   learners. Each coordinator also oversees the Learning Centres set up at their own organization, complete with computers and printers, provided by Literacy Lives for the use of learners.

     As in most cohorts, the learners enrolled in this program represent a broad spectrum of backgrounds, experiences, and learning styles. In response to such richness and diversity, the program’s coordinators and instructors have made appropriate changes to its delivery and structure. As William Booth, Community Liaison    Manager of the program, reflected: “You just can’t    anticipate some things until you get all the people in class.” Not surprisingly, one major commonality across the learners is their expressed motivation to become more active and involved in the community.

    The program’s curriculum, informed by community consultations with individuals and organizations in the Downtown Eastside, as well as the Carnegie Action Plan (CAP) and reports produced by the DTES Literacy Roundtable, requires learners to attend six hours of classes at SFU each week. Half of this time is spent with the large group attending classes focused on HIV awareness and its social determinants. The other three hours are spent working in smaller groups to develop the skills needed for their community capacity building projects, including community mapping. As the process unfolds, project teams will be asked to define for themselves what exactly ‘community’ means to them.

     Initial feedback on the impact of the program has been positive, and it seems that learners are already  beginning to develop a new sense of value of who they are in the community. One woman, upon receiving her student card at the start of term, stated: “This is the best day of my life!” Another man, wanting to share his accomplishments with his mother, scanned his student card to show her. Yet another learner, who has already been participating in various community capacity building projects, received a standing ovation after sharing the news of her enrolment from one of the   community organizations she is involved with.

With creating opportunities for learners as one of the main objectives of Literacy Lives, the challenge facing program staff is to create value around the Certificate in Community Capacity Building. “We are working with diverse organizations across the community to inform them of the significance of this certificate, and the effort required by leaners to gain it, so that their future opportunities will expand”, explained William Booth.

Learners in program will begin implementing their community capacity building projects later this fall; their evaluation of the success of the projects will begin mid-February. Graduation for Literacy Lives’ first cohort will be held at the end of March 2012.

Different Lives, Different Stories: Students' Learning Journeys

2011-10-26T16:00:00.000-07:00

Outside of DEEC, located at Powell & Columbia St.

‘What does learning mean to you?’ and ‘What has been your Learning Journey in Vancouver?’ were questions recently posed to 19 adult students enrolled in a Foundational English class with the VSB at the Downtown Eastside Educational Centre (DEEC). In this course, students work to develop their speaking, reading, writing, and analytical skills as they prepare to successfully take Grade 10 English.

Through self-reflection and small group sharing, students generated descriptions of their personal learning interests, styles, and strengths. When asked what they liked to learn about, some of the students’ interests included words, photography, art, food, nutrition, cooking, English, science, politics, and different cultures. As to where they like to learn, preferences ranged from in the classroom, to at home, the library, community centres, and at a women centre. Farid wrote that he enjoyed learning in the community because it contains “people from different countries, and of different nationalities.” In terms of who helps the students to learn, they named peers, teachers, study groups, children, siblings, and friends. When sharing what helps them to learn, students listed books, newspapers, encyclopedias, the computer, and TV.

Taken together, the students’ reflections highlight the multiplicity and diversity of people’s relationships to learning. Drawing further on their words:

Learning is very important to me because the world is vast, rich and colourful. I just know a few things of the world, so learning can help me to view the mysterious world better. (Bill)

When I learn about anything, I can describe it. From learning, I am thinking differently and I change so that I can feel it. (Parvaneh)

Learning means change to me. Change starts from giving, volunteering, and acting now. (Peter)

I learned English in Vancouver and made a good friend from China. She is very nice and very friendly. I learned about Chinese food from her. (Tahereh)

Besides reflecting on what learning means to them, the students also sketched out timelines of their Learning Journeys in Vancouver. For example, Farid shared how he began studying English at Immigration Services Society (ISS) in September 2008. In April 2010, he participated in English classes at VCC, and from September to December 2010 he worked as a volunteer at the YMCA. Currently, he studies at DEEC.

Below, you can read more about what learning means to these students, as well as their learning journey in Vancouver. As Bill, one of the students, observed: “Our lives are different, and so are our stories.”

******

Anonymous:

I came to Canada in August 2006 with my wife and children. Before we arrived, my friend rented an apartment with two bedrooms for us in West Vancouver. He was waiting for us at the Vancouver airport for a while because we were too late. Finally we got out and we saw each other. Then he gave us the keys and address. We were at that apartment for five months.

After five months we bought an apartment and moved there. We have been living there. It has two bedrooms and a nice view. Its location is around BC place and it’s very convenient. Every day I go shopping, walking, running, jogging, and biking. I go three times a week for exercise to the gym. I go swimming and I got to yoga every morning. I go to the library and borrow some books. I go to school two days a week. I do my homework, read some books and watch TV every night. I listen to the radio and sometimes I call my children in Iran.

I have a plan for my future. That is, if I can learn English very well, I will open my own business and bring my children from Iran to Vancouver. We will live together in a big house like we did in Iran. Our big house in Iran included eight bedroo0ms and three big salons and a nice yard with lots of flowers and trees. Now I hope I can do that. I hope so.

Bill:

Learning is very important to me because the world is vast, rich, and colourful. I just know a few things of the world, so learning can help me to view the mysterious world better. If you are thirsty for knowledge, you have fun learning.

I am a senior, but according to the Chinese proverb, ‘If you live to be older, you should study continually’. The world is beautiful, so I think it is a good idea to record some scenery in photos, not just in my memory. In June 2009, I went to a community school to begin learning photographic technique which included how to use difficult lighting, how to create a tableau, and hot to adjust the aperture and speed. In October 2009, I joined a group called ‘Walking and Talking’ in which I met many friends, some of whom were very good photographers, and then we visited many famous landscapes together to take pictures. They directed me when I took pictures, and I have advanced my technique by practicing everyday.

In the future, I plan to learn Photo Shop from my friends and study on-line. Photo Shop is very important to improve the aesthetic feeling of pictures, so I will learn it well.

Peter:

‘Learning’ means change to me. Change starts from giving, volunteering, and acting now. Give and pay more attention to everybody. To give is better than to receive. Volunteer. Help people to solve the problem. Act. Action is the first, then talking. Talking all day is like wind. Too many words are not useful. To help other people, we must do. Action and doing are of huge importance for everyone!

Farid:

Learning is a broadening of your horizons. It is a process where you become more knowledgeable about the world and society. Learning will also help you become more productive. It also helps you understand more things.

I’ve been told that when I feel strongly about something, I can really get going. To me, learning is an ever changing weather pattern. For me, learning is the most amazing, exciting, frustrating, intoxicating, messy, and beautiful experience—and it’s what makes me feel alive.

What do you want to learn in the future? This is a great question—and it’s something I often reflect on as someone who is in a position to ensure their vision becomes a reality. I think it’s essential to make a habit of revisiting one’s vision, to shifting the goal posts, and that means we need to be a little flexible for the future. Each person has their own wish on which to build their life, and it’s a guide to the future. The wish does not work alone without a dream. Over the course of a life time, one dreams a lot. After that, a goal follows the dream.

First of all, I have already had extensive life experiences, but my experiences and background do not make sense because I cannot communicate in English very well. In addition, I can clarify that my experience and my background combined with my ability to communicate in foreign languages is going to be helpful in moving to my main goal in the future.

Parvaneh:

When I learn about anything, I can describe it. Brain revolution or brain storm. From learning, I am thinking differently and I change so that I can feel it.

My journey to Canada, Vancouver’s society changed my life because I met different people, culture, language, society, and I learned many things. First, when I came to Vancouver in 1997, I got a job in a community centre to teach Iranian to children. At the same time, I got a job in a day care. Then in 1998, I started to learn English at King Edward campus. After I finished three semesters, I attended the health care course. In 2000, I got a job and I continue to work and have other experiences too. Now I have a plan to learn more English. As a result, I improve my writing and communication.

Peymaneh:

After I applied to Canada, I came to Vancouver for a short trip last year. I stayed here for one month, and I understood that learning English was very important to communicate with other people. So I decided to improve this item. When I went back to Iran, I registered in a school called Kish Institute. I also studied English by myself and listened to English radio and watched English films.

In July 2011, I came to Vancouver again and I wanted to find a long program for learning. After a while, I registered my children in the VSB and I started learning English at home. Then I got some information about centres of education and I registered in an ESL class. In September 2011 was the beginning of this class. Although I am very busy, I try to continue this process and complete learning English.

Suki:

I came from Guandgongi, China to Canada in March 2007. But I didn’t go to high school when I came to Canada. I think it was a bit late to go to high school in March. So I went to school in September 2007, and on the first day of school, I called it B-day. B-day is boring day. Every day I went to school and did the same thing. It was boring. The days just kept going on.

I went to Science World in May 2008. It was not a very hot day. I went with my friends, and we learned some science. But I don’t care about science. July 2009 was a fun day. So many people in the waiting line at PNE, and so am I. Vancouver’s PNE wasn’t fun enough, and no Disney. In March 2010 I went back to China, bought some comic books and a few more clothes. I visited my friends that I had not seen for a long time. I brought back 100 plus more books in my bag. That’s a lot and so heavy.

And now, I study in adult school. The place where I have school is a bit far from my house. It takes 40 minutes to get there. I would like to travel around the world in my future, search delicious food, meet some people and make friends. That would be so nice in my life. I will enjoy it.

Tahereh:

I like to learn about new things and new places. I like to travel. For example, I like to learn English and talk to many people from other countries. I learn that everything is possible.

I learned English in Vancouver and made a good friend from China. She is very nice and very friendly. I learned about Chinese food from her. I learned yoga and swimming.

I want to learn English more. I want to read and write more easily because I want to start a jewelry business in Canada. I love Canada.

Connecting People: Alley Health Fair 2011

2011-09-30T13:44:00.000-07:00

The fourth annual Alley Health Fair opened on the morning of September 15th with a traditional Aboriginal welcome and drumming. Over 45 community booths lined the south side of Hastings Street between the Carnegie Centre and Columbia Street. And despite the rainy weather, well over 600 residents and members of the community took part in the fair, gathered relevant information, and made connections in general. Free beauty facials, massages, acupuncture treatments, and haircuts were available. The lineup for the on-site HIV testing was steadily packed and testing continued well past the fair’s closing time. A hot lunch of rice, beans, and ribs or baked vegetables was served. Give-away bags containing toiletries, socks and a long sleeve shirts were also distributed.

Tapping into the importance of fostering a healthy mind, the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable was amongst the community booths lining the street. People passing by were invited to ‘exercise their mind’ by playing trivia and sharing their ideas around learning. More than 150 free copies of the reference guide Literacy, Learning, Training and Education Services in the DTES reference guide were also given out (available on this website under 'Resources'). One recipient commented that the guide was “exactly what we need.” Those who enjoyed playing trivia picked questions from various categories, with some preferring to have the question read to them while others chose to read it themselves. People also contributed to the trivia game by writing their own questions. When asked to share how they exercised their mind, a few of the responses included reading the newspaper, doing crosswords, playing sports, volunteering, taking computer courses, and watching movies.

At a booth nearby, the Carnegie Library issued new library cards to nine people. Upon receiving his new card, one man said, “This is great! I haven’t had a library card since I was twelve years old.” The Carnegie Library also waived fines for another thirty people, with the oldest fine dating back to 1993! Many shared stories with Carnegie librarian Emily Sobool, about how their cards had become blocked with fines due to circumstances beyond their control. Emily said that it was great to be able to welcome so many people back to the library for a fresh start. The Carnegie Library also gave away over 200 free books to those who stopped at their booth.

At yet another booth, Lucy Alderson and volunteers from the Carnegie Learning Centre invited people to share or write down on colorful mini-posters what their learning goals were for the year. Their responses covered a wide spectrum of goals including high school upgrading, health, and addiction reduction. People were also encouraged to share what was the smallest action they could take towards their learning goals and whether there was anything the Carnegie Learning Centre could do to support them in this action. The Carnegie Learning Centre also passed out copies of Literacy, Learning, Training and Education Services in the DTES at their table and Lucy reflected that it was an awesome resource to use.

Overall, this year’s Alley Health Fair was deemed a success and members of its steering committee (headed by Beth Davies from Carnegie Library) noted that there were lots of people and interactions at all of the booths. As one committee member observed: “It’s about connecting people. It gets them set for the year. They know what there is and that it’s really close.”

Ashley Machiskinic’s death (September 15, 2010) was remembered and her life honored in a ceremony held at the outset of the fair, led by an Elder from the Aboriginal Front Door. Sadly, the day after this year's fair, Verna Simard fell to her death from a window of the Regent Hotel in what seemed a senseless repetition of Ashley's tragic death.

Refreshing Memories of the Cree Language

2011-09-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

Horace Daychief with his Cree languge notebook.

Horace Daychief has been leading Cree language classes in the Downtown Eastside community for the past four years. He says that he enjoys teaching these classes, held at Life Skills on Cordova St. across from Oppenheimer park, because he’s good at it and he likes saying the Cree words over and over again. Horace also enjoys teaching the language because he’s a fluent speaker.

Growing up in Alberta, Horace learned from his mother (who was a kindergarten teacher) and Elders how to speak his Cree language. His Elders also taught him how to hunt and tan hides. Horace is proud that he comes from a family of good hunters.

In 2007, Horace made the journey from his home in Alberta to Vancouver on foot. After arriving in Vancouver, he began studying for his GED with Wendy Henderson at the Union Gospel Mission. Horace explains that he respects Wendy as both a strong woman and teacher; unsurprisingly then, the Cree name he uses for her can be translated into English as iron.

How does Horace structure his Cree classes? At the start, he begins with a smudging. He then asks his students, who are both Cree and non-Cree, what they want to know. “I do what’s going on in their lives,” he says. Once, one of his students was going camping and he jokingly told her to watch out for missi monous, which means cougars or ‘big cat’ in Cree. Another time, it was lightly raining outside and he taught the class gimm moo a sin, meaning ‘little showers’. On cold days, he tells his students to dress warm, or spug see who. This was something his own mother would often say to him when he was growing up. (The Cree transliterations have been provided by Horace: “You’ve got to spell it like you say it”, he explains).

Over the years, Horace has seen some of his students advance from using single words in the Cree language to speaking in sentences. “Being in my class brings back their language, it refreshes their memory. I help to bring it back and it makes them happy.” Horace helps his students to learn the language by telling them Cree stories. He also brings to class his notebooks in which he has written down a large collection of Cree words and phrases. He says that the words often come to him at 2 or 3 in the morning when he’s alone, and he feels compelled to write them down. So far, Horace has filled five notebooks with Cree words and expressions.

Since coming to Vancouver, Horace does not often have the opportunity to speak Cree with others in conversation. However, he still speaks in Cree with his family back in Alberta when they talk over the phone. “I’ll never forget Cree,” Horace reflects. “It will always be here.”

Hum Invites New Students From Across The Community

2011-08-30T15:00:00.000-07:00

Photo Credit: Margot Butler

UBC’s Humanities 101 Community Programme (or Hum for short) offers free university-level education for low income people with a passion for learning and living in and around the Downtown Eastside and Downtown South. Now entering its 13th year, Hum offers Humanities 101 & 201 courses (8 months) and a Writing course (3 months). Through a lottery system, 70 students have been selected to participate in the Hum courses beginning this month at UBC’s main campus.

Hum’s intake sessions were held across the DTES community during the first two weeks of August. Those in attendance were provided with general information about the Programme, encouraged to ask questions at any time, and invited to fill out an application on site. Finally, all interested applicants were asked to briefly go over their application with a Hum faculty or staff member.

Up until 2006, Hum’s intake sessions were held only at the Carnegie Centre and The Gathering Place. But starting in 2007, other sites were added based on recommendations from Hum alumni who spent time or were involved at these locations. This year, Hum’s intake sessions took place at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC), Carnegie Community Centre, Crabtree Corner, Vancouver Recovery Club, Dr. Peter Centre, and The Gathering Place. By expanding the number of sessions (at six locations and during different times in the day), Hum staff hoped to connect with a wider range of potential students. For example, the intake session at DEWC might allow Hum to connect with women who feel less comfortable attending sessions elsewhere. This year, 13 women at the DEWC applied to participate in Hum.

Gentrification leading to the displacement of low-income residents away from the DTES community has also moved Hum staff to a shift in who they accept into the program. Margot Butler, Hum’s Director, explained to those present at the Crabtree Corner intake that displacement has prompted the program to expand their definition of ‘residents of the DTES’ beyond strictly geographical boundaries. This expanded definition includes people who participate in and are part of the DTES community, even though they may not live there.

Staff working at the various locations of Hum’s intake seemed to be supportive of the program and the opportunities it could provide for people. One staff member at the DEWC excitedly commented that the turnout to the intake was “awesome”. At Crabtree Corner, staff members were helpful with directing people up to the intake (it was on the third floor) and extended an invitation to Margot to make an announcement in the dining room where some women were having lunch. A staff member at Crabtree also collected Hum application forms and information for a person keenly interested in applying but who was unable to attend that day.

Often there are Hum alumni volunteering at the intake sessions, such as Antonietta Gesualdi (Hum 2007-08), who also originally suggested the Crabtree as a location for Hum’s intake sessions. Antoinetta has volunteered at the Crabtree intake for the past four years, in addition to serving on the Humanities 101 Steering Committee. Her young daughter, Maria, often accompanies her to the intake and committee meetings (Maria was two and a half when her mom began with Hum). Antoinetta reflects that she likes to participate in the intake session because it allows her to stay involved in the program. “Sometimes I just end up helping out by handing out pens and applications. Sometimes people have questions I can help answer. I think it makes an impact too, for newcomers to see that Hum isn't just a one-time course, but you can stay involved afterwards in different ways.”

New Books Selected for Carnegie Library

2011-08-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

On August 18th, seven community members volunteered to join staff from the Carnegie Library on a book buying trip to a local bookstore. The goal was to select a range of non-fiction books that would improve the library’s collection and also be of interest to patrons.

One volunteer said that he wanted to rectify the fact that there were no books by Marshall McLuhan in the Carnegie library. His selection of books included McLuhan’s The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man (1951) and Empire and Communications (1950), a book by McLuhan’s predecessor, Harold Innis.

Another volunteer explained that he tried to pick a diversity of books to reflect the different tastes of the community. Some of his book selections included the humorous Old Is In: A Guide For Aging (2004) by Canadian author Eric Nicol and Hockey: A People’s History (2006) by Vancouver resident Michael McKinley.

A third volunteer came prepared with a list of book titles. Amongst her selections was The Trouble with Billionaires (2010) by Canadian authors Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks, and the autobiography Bossypants (2011) by Tina Fey. She explained that Bossypants should be in the Carnegie Library because the waiting list with the Vancouver Public Library for this book was 400 people!

At the end of the book buying trip, 51 books had been selected and the volunteers were enthusiastic about the experience. “Thanks for a lot of fun!”, one volunteer said to a library staff member and another compared the book buying trip to “rolling around in chocolate.”

The 51 selected books will all be available at the Carnegie Library by the end of the month.

ESL Creative Writing Group

2011-08-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

ESL Creative Writing Group at the UBC Learning Exchange

Since early March, Marianna Young, Azam Iranpour, Soudabeh Akharti, and Takako Shimoda have been meeting as members and peers of an ESL Creative Writing Group at the UBC Learning Exchange. Facilitated by Janice Jacinto, a visual artist and writer from the community, and Lisa Okada, ESL Program Coordinator at the Learning Exchange, the focus of the group has been on exploring their own voices and identity(ies) through the medium of creative writing in English.

Stuck Cups (by Marianna)

We are coupling stuck!
Surfing up rainbows,
Higher and down,

Better than six-forty-nine!

When asked why they enjoy participating in the group, the women shared that they like learning and they value having an opportunity to develop their friendships with the other members. Some of the women also shared that being part of the group is a good chance for them to practice and gain confidence in their English speaking and writing skills.

Dentists (by Azam)
To be honest with you, this word reminds me of some fears and an unhappy feeling. It also reminds me of a person with a white long dress with a mask covering the mouth. This person also carries a large syringe….

During their meetings, members of the ESL Creative Writing Group experiment in different forms of writing including stream of consciousness, poetry, and short stories. Within such different modes,the individual voice and interest of each writer comes through. Marianna’s writing incorporates humor; Azam writes as realist; Takako’s work is lyrical; Soudabeh creates pieces that are metaphorical and often political.

When I Was Young (by Soudabeh)
Many years ago, there were two cages: a golden cage and a black cage. In the small, golden cage lived a leader and armed birds that were hungry for power. The birds lived in the highest level of injustice and prosperity…

On July 7th, the group hosted an audience at the Learning Exchange for a special reading of their work so far. One member of the audience reflected: “To hear the depth of expression and metaphor from people who have not spoken English all their life, it amazes me”.

The Calm Sea (by Takako)
...After a long marriage, they hardly engaged in conversation. They occasionally smiled at each other. They look towards tomorrow, a week later, a month later and the future. They live slowly, in peace and quiet. They will surely have calm weather tomorrow, too.

The ESL Creative Writing Group meets on Thursday afternoons and new members are welcome. For more, contact Lisa Okada at the UBC Learning Exchange (lisa.okada@ubc.ca / 604-0408-5183).

Summer Reading Tent in the Park

2011-07-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

     Frontier College’s Summer Reading Tent once again is in action around the Downtown Eastside this summer. Tent Coordinators, Katie Kiwanuka and Sharnelle Jenkins-Thompson, explained that the aim of the Reading Tent is to provide fun opportunities for children -who may otherwise not have access to books, reading,and word activities - to develop their literacy skills. Specifically, the Reading Tent brings with it a spread of games mixed with engaging literacy activities around such themes as dinosaurs, space, Vancouver, travel, insects,and plants.

    It’s first stop in the community was at Woodland Park on July 5th. Katie and Sharnelle spent time under the tent with 15 campers (ages 6-12) from the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre. The theme for the day was ‘Vancouver’ and campers were invited to share where their favorite place in Vancouver was. The aquarium, PNE, and “my home” were some of the places named by the children.

      After a moving-around game out on the grass, campers played some ‘Vancouver Bingo’ under the canopy of the tent. Many of the older campers volunteered to read the text on the Bingo sheet aloud (e.g. “Someone who has been in Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens”). Through this activity, the children were able to practice both their counting and reading skills.Some of the younger campers drew pictures showing their favorite place in Vancouver and wrote a few words about it. One camper drew a picture of his grandmother’s house and wrote “My grandma’s house is fun”. During the activity, another camper excitedly exclaimed: “We usually don’t ever write at Day Camp!”

   Katie believes that having the tent outside in the park allows campers the freedom to move about and participate in the literacy activities as they feel comfortable. The program also provides campers with healthy snacks and prizes such as pencils, erasers, mini-notebooks, and bubbles.

    The Reading Tent will once again return to Woodland Park to spend time with campers from the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre several more times this summer. At the end of August, campers will be presented with their own book to take home with them.

Conversation with Betsy Alkenbrack

2011-07-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

Betsy Alkenbrack has worked as an adult educator in the DTES since 2005 with Capilano University Learning Centres at WISH, Carnegie and Strathcona. She was a key player in the Literacy BC Whole Life Learning with Learning Disabilities Project, and one of the founding members of the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable.

Q: What is your favorite music?

I like songs that combine social justice and beautiful, danceable music – from Pete Seeger to Abdullah Ibrahim to K’naan (yes, there is an African theme!). I loved that K’naan’s “Waving Flag” became the Soccer World Cup theme song, and I also like “Take a Minute” (“Any man who knows a thing, knows he knows not a damn, damn thing at all.”).

Q: What are a few things you've learned from the colleagues, volunteers and students you've worked ?

Colleagues: Lucy Alderson has taught me how to make democracy and community development real by including students and volunteers in decision-making, and about creative ways to combine education, art, social justice, assessment and technology (and get funded to do it!). Catherine Mnisi and the staff at WISH taught me the importance of paying your dues. You can’t expect people to jump in and participate – they need to learn to trust you. From volunteers, I have learned more than can be written here, but I will say that Stephen Lytton’s magical way with people will stay with me forever. The most important lesson that students have taught me is not to judge people by their language skills or education level. Brilliance can easily shine through poor grammar if you let it.

Q: You are one of the original members of the DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable. How have you seen the Roundtable change and evolve over the years?

It started as part of a Capilano research project, but people quickly jumped in and took ownership, often doing extra work off the sides of their desks. For example, Sophie Yendole and Dana Alvaro took the lead on writing a powerful submission to the BC Ministry of Education a few years ago, and of course a huge amount of work went into the Literacy Now project. I have really enjoyed working with everyone and getting to know about their programs. Our referral system is so much stronger because we know and trust each other.

A concern I have is that there has been a movement, not just in the DTES but across the province, towards focusing on people who have more than a grade 8 level of education. There are still lots of people, both Canadian-born and immigrant, who need literacy at the lower levels, but the system does not encourage us to work with them. Funders demand that we demonstrate progress in the form of job entry or passing grades, and that learners make that progress within 12-week courses. Some of our lower-level learners can take years to make progress, but their learning is just as real and just as life-changing as the high-school graduates and workplace trainees. I hope the Roundtable and other groups will find a way to collaborate to meet their needs.

Q: Where is life taking you now?

I have been offered the Literacy Outreach Coordinator position for the Saanich peninsula. The community is located between the Swartz Bay ferry terminal and Victoria, and is a combination of farms, villages and suburbs. I hope to also get a bit of part-time teaching work, do lots of vegetable gardening and cycling, join a choir and pottery class and explore Vancouver Island. I have been commuting back and forth to Victoria for the past 2-3 years, and am really looking forward to staying put and living in one community.

ESL Conversation Resource Books: Sharing the Process

2011-07-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

     On May 16th, tutors at the Carnegie Learning Centre gathered for their monthly Tutor Workshop. Paul Crombie, a volunteer ESL tutor at both Carnegie and the UBC Learning Exchange, facilitated the workshop on developing original ESL resources.

      Crombie shared the process followed by volunteers at the UBC Learning Exchange this past winter during a pilot project to create new ESL Conversation books. He also outlined the template developed and used by Learning Exchange volunteers to write the new lessons. Crombie emphasized the transferability of this template: “Anybody can do it. The format is set, but the book is flexible.”

     Carnegie volunteers were enthusiastic about the books created at the Learning Exchange. “This is great”, one volunteer commented, “And we shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel. We can use these!”

     Crombie invited those at the workshop to brainstorm topics they might like to develop as a new ESL lesson. Some of the topics generated were family, public transportation, fire drills, and the Carnegie. Breaking up into small work groups, the tutors used the Learning Exchange’s framework to draft two new lessons on fire drills at the Carnegie and attending   meetings at the Carnegie. By the end of the workshop, participants were discussing the exciting possibility of working together to write their own ESL book for use at the Carnegie. This book might include additional lessons on Carnegie’s history, the library, the cafeteria, the Learning Centre, the surrounding neighbourhood, and ongoing activities.

First Nations Languages Sharing

2011-07-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

On June 21st, Oppenheimer Park hosted a lively and sunny National Aboriginal Day celebration. Music, ceremonial drumming, dancing, storytelling, and food were all part of the day. There were also an array of community tables, which included representatives from the Carnegie Learning Centre, VPL Library, Vancouver Native Health Society ADAPT, Neighbourhood Helpers Project, DTES Neighbourhood House, Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre, and the Aboriginal Front Door.

The DTES Adult Literacy Roundtable also had a table where people were invited to share or write down any words they knew from a First Nations language. For example, people shared that the word for ‘Hello’ is Tansi in Cree, Yo in Kwak’wala, Hy-dey in Carrier, and Chok-Maha in one dialect of Coast Salish. Others shared that ‘Thank-you’ is Miiguich in Ojibway and Howa in Haida Gwaii.

Besides words, people also exchanged cultural stories, reflected on who had taught them their First Nations language (e.g. parents, grandparents), and talked about why they no longer speak their cultural language (e.g. residential schools, lack of people to practice with). The issue of various dialects within a First Nations language, as well as the non-written element of so many First Nations languages, was also discussed.

At the same time, people were invited to contribute to a community map about where First Nations sharing (such as language, culture, music, dance) is happening in the DTES community. Some of the information shared included Cree language learning at Oppenheimer Park and Haida language learning at the Friendship Centre.