Former film-
maker and transit
operator is
hoping for a cure

By CHRISTOPHER THOROSKI

manpal Sara is permanent-

ly confined to an electronic

wheelchair after being di-

agnosed with Parkinson's
Disease nearly 12 years ago. His speech
is nearly inaudible and he no longer has
the physical ability to do the activities
that he loves.

Parkinson's is a long-term degenera-
tive disorder of the nervous system that
affects a person’s movement and coordi-
nation. On April 11 World Parkinson’s
Disease Day will take place around the
world to help spread awareness of the
disease and the work put forth by or-
ganizations dedicated to eradicating it.
Sara, now 60 years old, hopes that med-
ical treatment methods will continue to
improve.

“Im quite hopeful that in two or
three years a cure will be found and I
shall be able to play soccer, cricket and
badminton again, as well as do bhangra
and karate again,” Sara said. “I could
utilize my energy and efforts to produce
good movies which will contribute to-
wards making lives livable.”

Sara immigrated to Canada from
India in 1979 and began driving taxis.
Years later, he began driving buses for
BC Transit. From film making to driv-
ing buses and taxis, Sara had been more
than active in South Vancouver for 35
years. In his spare time, he would write
short stories, poetry and plays.

Ujjal Dosanjh, a former B.C. premier
and federal Liberal cabinet minister,
is a first cousin of Sara. Dosanjh has
followed his accomplishments and he
admires Sara’s literary influence in the
Punjabi community.

“He’s a brilliant writer, he has done
some wonderful short stories, transla-

tions of English work to Punjabi. If

Vancouver
Parkinsons wont dim h

"wee

this [Parkinson's] hadn't happened,
he would be a writer to reckon with,”
Dosanjh said.

Additionally, Dosanjh praises his
cousin's community activism and says
Sara helped him in his 1979 NDP cam-
paign. Dosanjh contributes his proac-
tive community involvement to their
grandfather’s participation in the In-
dian independence movement.

Ujjal Dosanjh visits his cousin Amanpal Sara at the George Pearson Centre. PH0T0 BY SUKHWANT DHILLION

“He’s an activist...he always tried to
get involved.” Dosanjh said. “So, that’s
in him and I think we inherit that partly
from my maternal grandfather, who was
a freedom fighter. He shares that with
me.”

Every few weeks Dosanjh drops by
the George Pearson Centre and pay
Sara a visit. However, because of privacy
restrictions at the centre, residents are

is hopes

unable to use the internet. In the eyes
of Dosanjh, this is very limiting for his
cousin and is unfortunate because Sara
still has a lot of stories that have not yet
been published.

“He feels he has a lot to share,” said
Dosanjh. “His literature that he wrote
is now prescribed to some universities
in Punjab. He is a very well-known
short story writer back home.”

Coin co

With a shift to
online, only a

handful of the
shops are left

By EVAN HAGEDORN

ntering Chantou Coins &

Stamps in South Vancouver

you may be startled by the

lack of customers or be over-
whelmed by the plethora of collectibles
and memorabilia. Coming across a coin
and stamp shop like Chantou in Van-
couver however has become a rarity —
there is only handful left and as the coin
business increasingly shifts online, the
rareness will only increase.

Giuseppe Iorio, the owner of Chan-
tou Coins & Stamps has been collect-
ing coins since the moment he had
some spare change in his pocket. Grow-
ing up in Montreal and not being able
to afford rare and expensive pieces, the
young collector hoarded all coins that
were different and caught his eye.

lecting shops rarified

Giuseppe lorio (left) and a volunteer (right), going through the morning

edd

routine of organizing coins and opening the store. PHOTO BY EVAN HAGEDORN

Like many collectors, Iorio had a
passion for coin collecting and wanted
to make a career out of it, however he
quickly realized opening a successful
shop in Montreal wasn’t possible due
to the saturated market. In compensa-
tion, the coin collector became a banker
— a job which harnessed his passion for
coins and money.

However, in 1971 after quitting

his banking job, Iorio moved west to
Vancouver to open Chantou Coin and
Stamps first location on Richards and
Hastings.

Since then the store has moved from
three locations.

Looking back on his history within
the coin business, Iorio has minimal
regrets regarding opening a coin shop,

and hasn't lost his passion for the hobby.

“The only thing that made me think
twice about opening the business, is
every year I have to pay the property
tax,” said Iorio. “I don’t understand how
a small business can open up and suc-
ceed.”

Being new to Vancouver and having
a business succeed was all Iorio needed,
although the business was nearing clo-
sure not because of high taxes, but due
to a break in. The incident occurred in
the first months of opening and with
the high valued collectibles stolen, the
business was on the verge of closure.

The tough times weren’t over, as the
coin business as a whole has been hit
hard by the innovations of technology,
which has taken the kids out of coin
collecting.

lorio explained that when he opened
the business, many kids and families in-
volved, however video games have taken
that aspect away.

Another factor which has pulled
the youth out of the hobby, is the lack
of involvement from schools. Iorio
explained, that in his younger days’
schools would offer a coin and stamps
clubs so like-minded collectors like
himself could discuss their collections
and trade between one another.

In the first part of a two-part series, we show-
case inspiring Vancouverites who stand apart
and inspire our community.

Stand-up
comedy
saved her

Being addicted to her
dream helped her
through mental illness

By JASON GILDER

performing stand-up comedy,
Melanie Rose may not be alive
today.

A signed Yuk Yuks Canada come-
dian of 10 years, Rose desired a career
in stand-up comedy since she was 11
years-old. The majority of her mate-
rial is based upon her past experiences
of bi-polar disorder, depression, and a
failed marriage to create an engaging
stand-up gig.

Rose recalls her first performance at
the Stand-up for Mental Health show
11 years to indictae that stand-up was
for her.

“I was hooked, it was like a drug,”
Rose said. “I was high on it.”

Rose said the euphoria of the first
show led to her losing three straight
days of sleep. Rose was inspired by
comedy legend Carol Burnett. Rose
has vivid memories of staying up late at
night with her grandmother and want-
ing to jump into the TV set and tell
jokes on stage.

Another inspiration of her Heavy
Mental Comedy show is her experi-
ences working at a homeless shelter at
First United Church in the Downtown
Eastside. Rose points out that many of
the people living in the homeless shel-
ter deal with not only mental health
issues, but drug and alcohol addictions
as well. She says these addictions can
change a person drastically, especially
in their late-teens, early-twenties.

“A young adult can look fine one day,
and then three or four months later
they are a completely different person,”
Rose said. “It’s very heartbreaking.”

Rose also said that a large number of
shelter residents are in the age range of
18-21 years old.

A main goal of Rose’s is to expand
her already existing Heavy Mental
comedy show, a production to bring
awareness to mental health issues. Al-
though she has previously performed
this show in Vancouver, Rose hopes to
increase its popularity outside British
Columbia.

“I want to expand it through all of
Canada,” Rose said. “To get that kind
of exposure would be huge.”

Rose recently performed for Yuk
Yuks in London, Ontario, her first paid
Yuk Yuks gig outside of B.C. She plans
to do her next Vancouver Heavy Men-
tal show this April.

IE not for her life-long dream of

In a given year, one in five experi-
ence mental health issues.

Seventy per cent of people in the
15 to 24 age group affected by
mental health issues.

Mental illness can reduce life
expectancy by 10 to 20 years.

SOURCE: CENTRE FOR ADDICTION AND
MENTAL HEALTH