Jim Rankin/Toronto Star

Joanne Mitchell, 60, and an acquaintance panhandle at a subway entrance at Union Station.

In New York City, an advertising executive recently handed over her American Express Platinum Card to a homeless Manhattan man after he had asked her for change. The man, who had been without home after losing a job, used the card to buy $25 worth of deodorant, water and cigarettes. And then he returned the card.

Concerns over the wisdom of sharing of credits cards and credit card fraud aside, the unlikely encounter became a talking point — a feel-good story about, as the New York Post put it in a headline: “A bum you can trust — honest!”

Is that such a surprise?

Over the past two weeks, I wandered Toronto’s downtown core with five prepaid Visa and MasterCard gift cards, in $50 and $75 denominations, waiting for people to ask for money.

When they did, I asked them what they needed. A meal at a restaurant, groceries, a new pair of pants, they said. I handed out the cards and asked that they give them back when they’d finished shopping. I either waited at a coffee shop while they shopped or — in the case of those who could not buy what they needed nearby or were reticent about leaving their panhandling post — I said I’d return on another day to pick up the card. That’s when I would reveal that I was a journalist.

Some were unbelieving at first. All were grateful. Some declined the offer. Some who accepted didn’t come back, but those that did had stories to tell.

Early afternoon on Queen Street West. A young man with a short orange Mohawk haircut and a Superman tattoo on his left shoulder sat alone on the sidewalk, a skateboard at his side. A song by Michelle Shocked comes to mind, in which she asks: “What’s it like to be a skateboard punk rocker?”

Tight.

His panhandling sign read: “Too ugly to prostitute. Spare some change.”

I asked him what he needed.

“Food would be nice.”

“Can I trust you with this?” I said, handing him a $50 card and telling him to buy what he needs, but that I need it back when he was done. He nodded and scrambled to his feet. He said he would be back in a half-hour.

He came back right on time, slurping from a large McDonald’s soft drink cup — root beer — and with sweat on his brow. He wanted to have pork and rice from a Vietnamese noodle joint on Spadina but they wouldn’t take the card. So, he scrambled to McDonald’s. Lunch was a double quarter-pounder with cheese.

He handed over the gift card, having spent $8.69.

His name is Jason. He’s 28, has brown eyes, a wide smile and good teeth. He has been on and off the streets of Toronto since he was 14. He grew up in Northern Ontario. His mother, he said, is a drinker and his dad died last year.

Now, he is homeless, living with friends or at a “secret spot” on the streets, but is waiting on an apartment. “I just got a POA for welfare,” he said. That’s a promise of address. He wants to get his driver’s licence and a job as a courier.

On a good day, he takes in $40 to $50 through panhandling, most of which he spends on communal food for friends. Of his most effective panning signs: “Like Obama, I like change,” and “Smile if you masturbate. Spare change if you like it.” He carries his belongings in a knapsack — just a bit of clothing and toiletries.

I handed the $50 card back to Jason to spend the rest as he likes. We shook hands and he went back to his spot on Queen.

A man sitting on a suitcase at Bay and King Streets was suspicious of the offer. “Can I buy groceries with it?” he asked. It was peak panhandling time and he did not want to leave his post. “Take care,” he said, turning down a $50 card. “But thanks a lot.”

This happened a number of times.

Another young man, James, was selling newspapers for the homeless in Yorkville. He said he was living with his sick and jobless father. “Truthfully, I’m okay. I have a roof over my head.” He turned down a $75 card.

Mark , who appeared to be in his early 30s and wore his hair in dreads, worked people outside the St. Lawrence Market. He walked up and asked if I could spare change.

“No,” I said, as I reached into a pocket, “but I have . . . ”

“A million dollars?” he grinned.

Mark said he was hungry for a meal at a restaurant. I gave him a $50 card and he asked if I would come with him. No, I said, go get what you need. I said I was meeting a friend and would be at a nearby coffee shop. He could bring the card back there.

Ninety minutes later, there was no Mark.

A record of the card transactions shows that Mark spent $21.64 on a meal at The Corner Place restaurant at Jarvis and Front Streets. The next day, Mark spent $15.50 at the LCBO.

There was a hot sauce promotion underway outside Union Station. Commuters grabbed two free bottles at a time. The vast majority walked past the panhandlers without a word.

“I need pants,” said Joanne, who squatted at the entrance to the subway, her right arm in a sling. But, no, she wouldn’t have time to leave her post to buy them and get back to hand over the $75 card I offered. I left it with her and said I would come back another day. She thanked me and smiled.

Same deal with Al, who stood around the corner, holding a sign that read “Hungry and Homeless.” He said he needed jeans and shoes. “Thank you kindly,” he said, taking a $50 card. “I’ll be here.”

Despite a few visits, I didn’t see Al again.

At time of writing, it had not been used.

A few days later, Joanne was back at her spot, looking rougher. She had a cough. She was panhandling with an acquaintance, a man who had appeared with a can of beer and poured half into her paper cup.

Joanne appeared sober. She remembered me. She had doubts the card was legit. An ex-boyfriend, she said, stole it. She hadn’t seen a penny of it, which her friend confirmed. “I couldn’t fight him,” said Joanne, lifting her broken arm.

A history of transactions on that card shows it was used nine times over two consecutive days for purchases at McDonald’s and the LCBO.

Joanne Mitchell is her full name. She’s 60, has one daughter and seven grandchildren, who she seldom sees. She worked for Bell Canada as a service rep but got “fed up.” She’s been panhandling on and off for 10 years and lives in subsidized housing. She broke her arm June 25 while trying to hang a picture and has been losing weight ever since. She was down to about 115 pounds, she said.

Joanne owned two pairs of pants. The pair she was wearing, green capris, were dirty and damp. “We could have done a lot with the money,” said her acquaintance. “Could have also bought some groceries with that.”

I promised I would be back another day with another card, to spend as she wished.

“I’ve been looking for you,” said Laurie, smiling. I’d left her with a $75 card a few days earlier at her spot outside the south entrance to the Eaton Centre. She’s there most afternoons, in her motorized wheelchair.

“Here’s your card,” she said, pulling it from her wallet.

She bought groceries that would keep her diabetes under control. She put $15 on a pay-as-you-go cellphone. She confessed to buying cigarettes. She usually rolls her own but treated herself. She did all of her shopping at a gas station convenience store, spending all but 39 cents

I explained myself.

“I’ve been wondering when a reporter might find me,” she said, bright green eyes sparkling behind bifocal glasses.

Laurie, 44, is living on the streets in the west-end and couch surfing with friends, including her ex-husband. In addition to diabetes, she takes medication for manic depression and has been diagnosed as having fibromyalgia. She must use the chair to get around and takes about 30 pills a day. She’s on a list to get into a co-op.

She has two daughters in university. One hopes to be a doctor, the other something to do with math. On a good panhandling day, Laurie will spend money in an Internet café and Skype with her girls. On a “super-duper” good day, she’ll book herself into a cheap motel and watch TV.

Each morning, she works on her resume and sends it out to prospective employers. She has computer programming skills and can type “95 words a minute, at 98 per cent accuracy,” she said.

Her last job was about 10 years ago. Before she had to start using a chair to get around. She was a waitress at a greasy spoon in King Street. Since then, she has lived off benefits.

In March, she said, she slipped into a diabetic coma, and had it not been for her ex-husband who found her and called 911, she probably would be dead.

“I’m a very positive person and things can always be worse,” she said. And then she quoted a line from Joni Mitchell’s song, Big Yellow Taxi: “Don’t it always seem to go,” said Laurie, “you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.”

How the cards were used

Card 1: $50, handed to Jason. Spends $8.69 at McDonald’s. Returns card.

Card 2: $50, to Mark. Spends $21.64 at The Corner Place restaurant. Doesn’t return. Later spends $15.50 at the LCBO.

Card 3: $75, to Joanne. Card is stolen. Over two days, $24.95 spent at McDonald’s, $38.35 at the LCBO.

Card 4: $50, to Al. Card unreturned. Balance remains at $50

Card 5: $75. Laurie buys $74.61 worth of food, phone minutes and cigarettes at a gas station convenience store. Returns card.

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Cynthia Rosefield has been an activist since 1986 when she became homeless and fought the system to get AFFORDABLE HOUSING. Rules were changes for everybody as a result of her efforts. She is a long time resident of TCHC  and has been working in Lawrence Heights for 23 years as an advocate and activist.

She is also a GRADUATE of VOICES FROM THE STREET 2005-6, and a member of the EDITORIAL BOARD of PEACOCKPOVERTY.

The Lawrence Heights Commmunity: Now And After Revitalization

by Cynthia Rosefield

Photos by Ron Craven

Ron began taking pictures of hydro poles. They were painted with bright colors and hopeful sentiments from our Youth.  The community health promoter, Domenic Brizzi, who is a safe harbor for residents, directed this  youth initiative and they’d  done a wonderful job of uplifting the neighborhood.

A youth initiative  to spruce up their ‘hood.       

We walked to my house which fortunately I’d tidied up. They commented on how spacious it was, the window in the bathroom, the yard, as well as the new cupboards sideboard. All that seemed to be needed was a good paint job.  I have been here 9 years now and I haven’t painted although it would not have been a huge burden on the maintenance budget.  If I could afford to paint and do repairs I would probably be living in my own house.

we have gates in our community that keep us separate from Lawrence Manor,  a large community of high-end private dwellings.next door.

On the way to the gate we met with a very nice man who was out tending a small garden in his yard. We stopped to talk and he told us that his thirteen year old son had planted it and he was trying to keep the squirrels away.

A 13 yr old boy planting a garden? I’d say his odds in life are pretty good!

What a tradition to pass along to our youth.

Ron kept commenting on how much green space we had and how beautiful the trees were.  I decided to show them our community gardens.  I explained how they came to be.  That this was entirely a tenant initiative by and for the tenants so the people in the apartment buildings would be able to have fresh fruits and vegetables themselves.

At the very beginning the tenants enlisted the help of the Community Health Promoter to be able to get tools, soil and water to start digging the plots up.  The Property Manager agreed and they were off.   The tenants worked day and night planting and weeding and looking after their space, many times with children at their sides.

Although we have no reasonably priced stores to shop at within a reasonable distance from our homes, I realized just how great this community is. I always knew the people in the community were just as great. We continued on to the other gates and were disappointed that some things may never change.  But one thing that is going to change is “our home”:  the revitalization of Lawrence Heights. Something that will take away all the beauty we have.

The next article, I will talk about the “revitalization”

***********************************

The Truth about Revitalization

By Cynthia Rosefield

Well after such a lovely article on the beauty that is Lawrence Heights, the sprawling green spaces, the large backyards enjoyed so much by families celebrating milestones such as birthdays and babies being born and barbecues just for the sake of getting together. The healthy community that provides 102 acres of homes, apartments, playgrounds and gardens is rapidly reaching its destiny as part of a Toronto Community Housings initiative they call Revitalization.

Revitalization is another word for selling as much city owned land now occupied by rent geared to income housing and subsidized homes to achieve a mother load of income for the housing providers, taking away those beautiful green spaces and replacing them with modern steel and glass buildings. They will be sure to provide one big park in order to appease the city mandate for land restructuring.

Toronto housing also proclaims that this move forward into the future with areas that will be filled with people who have mixed incomes will achieve a panacea where the pockets of ghetto crime will no longer exist.  They have proclaimed how well these mixed income housing projects will turn things around. They never the less forget to mention that the housing will not actually be truly mixed. People with low incomes will be confined to their own areas and buildings and people who come to purchase the endless new condominiums will also be segregated from the low income community.

One can see the fences being raised and the no trespassing signs now.

Our youth will gaze at these areas and contemplate the obvious differences. They already struggle to separate themselves from the stigma attached to living in a housing project. The hurdles they must overcome are enormous from peer pressure to racial profiling by the police and single parent homes without their fathers as role models. This is more than what should be expected from any child in life. They may also shoulder the blame in the event a crime is committed in the area, after all “that’s what poor young (esp black) kids do.”

Aside from their feeble attempts to manipulate us into believing that our old crumbling housing needs to be replaced it is obvious gentrification is taking place, forcing people out of their community.  The loss of our community means more than breaking houses. It means breaking lives.

When we were told about this project in 2007 we were at a loss because this decision was already final and the only thing that was possibly malleable was the process that would be undertaken. We placed zero displacement as the number one priority.  People would otherwise have to leave the area during this construction. After a long fought battle by a small number of tenants we were told that this could be done here because of the amount of empty land spaces throughout the neighborhood.

We would certainly have had more demands approved had the community rallied around our issues.  The unfortunate part is that the majority of our community are newcomers from war-torn countries in Africa. This made it much easier for T.C.H.C. to carry out their mission. Knowing that people who had just found refuge and safety in a foreign country would not dare to complain or have their voices heard for fear they would be homeless once again, T.C.H.C. rolled out their plans. Everything began falling into gray areas which no one with any authority seemed to know much about.

The ‘consultation’ meetings were intentionally held close together and at times when the majority of people were just coming home from work.  People began to feel meeting exhausted. The repetition of another so called consultation with the community worked to wear down even the strongest voices. It has become glaringly obvious that the train is on the tracks and we are merely being tolerated along the way.

to be con’t

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Hands off our Special Diet!

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Gaugin’s ‘Brooding Woman’ wall mural by c.smith and d.ma

Walking in This World

The Practical Art of Creativity
A 12-week course in Discovering and Recovering Your Creative Self

STARTING Sunday, September 19, 2010
Facilitated by: Yolandy Glynn

76A Geary Avenue (@ Dovercourt) Toronto Ontario

2pm – 4pm
$30/course

·      Who Can Use Walking in This World?

·      The Morning Pages

·      The Artist Date

·      Weekly Walks

·      Required Material

·      Meeting Schedule

·      How To Register Registration Form

·      Confirmation of Participation

·      About the Facilitator

Who Can Use Walking in This World?
The twelve-week program is an empowering passage for aspiring and working artists in all mediums, fields, industries, disciplines, specialties, and genres.

Based entirely on Julia Cameron’s Walking in This World we will informally meet at Encore Rehearsal Studios and accomplish the interactive course that is dedicated to discovering and recovering your creative self.

Space is limited, so attendance and participation are at a premium.  In turn, the informal gathering is hands-on and each person will be expected to fully participate in the activities, which are fun, and engage in the discussions, which should be quite interesting and insightful for all involved.

As set forth by Julia Cameron there are now three basic “pivotal tools in creative recovery: morning pages, the artist date, and weekly walks:

The Morning Pages
“You will do the morning pages daily through all the weeks of the course and, I hope, much longer,” says Julia Cameron.  For our purposes, the morning pages are considered private and are only shared or referenced voluntarily.  In turn, Cameron confesses, “[m]orning pages do get us up the other side of our fear, of our negativity, or our moods.  Above all, they get up beyond our Censor.”

The Artist Date
“[A]n artist date is a block of time, perhaps two hours weekly, especially set aside and committed to nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist…You do not take anyone on this artist date but you,” instructs Julia Cameron.

Weekly Walks
“Walking in This World is intended as a gentle pilgrimage.  We will move issue to issue, walking and talking about the deeper concerns of our souls,” instructs Julia Cameron.

Required Material

s  All participants will need their own copy of Walking in This World by Julia Cameron.

Check out these bookstores for discounted yet great condition second hand copies of Walking in This World:

Seekers Books

509 Bloor Street West

(416) 925-1982

BMV

471 Bloor Street West

(416) 967-5757

There are also many other independent bookstores that will carry Cameron’s work; try World’s Biggest Bookstore (20 Edward, 1 block north of Dundas & Yonge, off of Yonge), Book City, Chapters, Indigo…

Walking in This World Meeting Schedule –
Have Fun With Others & Share Your Playful Side

September 19       The Introduction & Basic Tools

September 26       Recovering a Sense of Origin

October 3              Recovering a Sense of Proportion

October 10            NO MEETING THANKSGIVING DAY WEEKEND

October 17            Recovering a Sense of Perspective

October 24            Recovering a Sense of Adventure

October 31            Recovering a Sense of Personal Territory     Halloween

November 7          Recovering a Sense of Boundaries                Daylight Savings Time Ends

November 14        Recovering a Sense of Momentum

November 21        Recovering a Sense of Discernment

November 28        Recovering a Sense of Resiliency

December 5          Recovering a Sense of Camaraderie

December 12        Recovering a Sense of Authenticity

December 19        Recovering a Sense of Dignity

Now, before you say yes to partaking, please take a moment to answer these two questions?

1.    Is this really of interest to me?

2.    Do I have the time for this forum?

If you answered yes to both questions then join this unique journey…

How To Register – Friendship Starts Here
To register to participate, please fill out and submit the Registration Form below to Encore Rehearsal Studios at encorerehearsalstudios@gmail.com by September 13, 2010.
Registration Form

1)   Participant’s First and Last Name:

2)   Telephone:

3)   Alt. Telephone:

4)   E-mail:

5)   Alt. E-mail:

6)   Artistic Medium of Interest:

***PLEASE NOTE: QUESTIONS 1, 2, 4, and 6 MUST BE COMPLETED.
If you have any questions, please feel welcome reply via e-mail to Encore Rehearsal Studios at encorerehearsalstudios@gmail.com
Confirmation of Participation
All registered participants will be given a call/e-mail by to reconfirm their presence to the course.  If any space becomes free the seat/s will be made available on September 17th on a first come, first served basis.

About the Facilitator
Yolandy Glynn, attended Film School at York University, has worked in the film and television industry for over fifteen years on union and independent productions for theatrical release and television broadcast, and has independently produced and directed music videos and documentaries.

–

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Connecting Science and Spirituality

Dr. Norm Shealy is a Neurosurgeon and former Instructor at Harvard. He is currently President Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Energy Medicine at Holos University Graduate Seminary, which offers doctoral programs in Spiritual Healing and Energy Medicine. As well as being an accomplished neurosurgeon, Dr. Shealy holds eleven patents for innovative discoveries including the TENS unit used for pain control, and has published over 300 articles and 25 books including Life Beyond 100 and 90 Days To Stress-Free Living.

Dr. Norm Shealy M.D., Ph.D. #TheAwareShow.  click link for broadcast

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INUIT CREATION

Raven made the world and the waters with beats of his wings.

He had the powers of both a man and bird, and could change from one to the other simply by pulling his bead above his head as one lifts up a mask.

His earth was dark and silent. He had created water and mountains, and had filled the land with growing pea-pod plants.

After five days, one of the pea-pods burst open; out popped a fully-grown man, the first to walk on Raven’s new earth.

At first the man was dizzy and confused. He drank from a pool of water at his feet, which made him feel a little better.

Raven had been soaring above his earth when he caught sight of the movement below.

For a long time Raven and the man stared at each other without saying a word.

Finally Raven spoke:

“Who are you and where did you come from?”

“I was born from that pea-pod” replied the man, pointing to the plant.

Raven was astonished. He had made the pea plant himself without any idea that something like this would happen. However, he was pleased that his earth would now have inhabitants.

“Have you eaten?” asked Raven.

“I have had a drink of water…” replied the man.

“Wait here for me,” said Raven, who lowered his beak and took the form of a bird. With a flurry of dark feathers, he flew off into the night sky.

The man waited for Raven for four days.

Raven returned carrying two raspberries and two heathberries.

“These are for you. They shall grow all over the earth to feed you.”

Man devoured the berries in one gulp; Raven realized that berries alone wouldn’t be enough to feed his hungry creation.

Raven then began working clay to form two fat mountain sheep. When he waved his black wings over them, the sheep sprang into life and bounded into the hills.

He made more and more sheep. Man looked at them so hungrily that Raven carefully placed them far up in the mountains so that Man wouldn’t eat all of them at once.

Raven went on making fish, birds and other animals, and waved his wings over each one to bring it to life.

Each one he put someplace out of Man’s reach so that he wouldn’t kill them all – the fish in the rivers and the birds in the air. Already Raven could see other men growing in pea-pods, and they were soon going to emerge hungry too.

Raven created a huge bear from the same clay, to make sure Man had something to fear.

After a few days, Raven noticed that Man was lonely.

Raven went off to a quiet corner of the earth where Man couldn’t see what he was doing.

He started building a figure out of clay. It looked like Man but was smaller and softer. Raven brushed his wings over the new figure, and the lovely being sat up and looked at Man.

“This is Woman, your helper and companion,” said Raven.

Man was very pleased. Together they filled the earth with their children and before long Raven’s earth filled with the sound of many voices, and overflowing with many forms of life.

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