ommunity EDITOR ALANNA HARDINGE-ROONEY THE VOICE, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2012 7 Forum sparks discussion about child poverty Speaker says the face of poverty has changed, but issues remain the same By ASHLEY VIENS city, 16.4 per cent of children live be- low the poverty line. In a panel on child poverty held at Langara College on Wednesday night, eight panelists, from pediatricians to teachers, spoke of their experiences re- garding child poverty in Vancouver. “These families are doing every- thing the government and society ex- pects them to do, yet they are still poor,” said Adrienne Montani, the pro- vineial coordinator for First Call: BC Child and Youth Coalition. Carrie Gelson, one of the panelists, spoke of the letter she wrote in Septem- ber asking Vancouverites to help chil- dren in their city struggling with pov- erty. “Don’t assume that these kids are like anything you’ve experienced,” she said. The letter quickly became popular, prompting the Vancouver Sun series about child poverty in the schools. “These are children where you live, how does that makes you feel?” asked Gelson. [: the world’s second most expensive Gelson, mother of two, has been a teacher at Sey- mour elementary school for 16 years. “Why do some children deserve to survive, while my children deserve to thrive?” CARRIE GELSON In her — class- Seymour room, Gelson sees Elementary firsthand that chil- teacher dren living in pov- erty also struggle with illiteracy, es- pecially kids whose parents are living with mental illness. “If social and emotional needs are not met, it’s all a mess,” she said. Having a sense of humour and ac- cepting the kids for who they are helps, said Gelson, especially when dealing with the intense relationships that de- velop between teacher and student, and with their parents. “The face of poverty has changed overtly, but below the surface, the is- sues are still the same,” said Darrell Cavanagh, the principal at John Hen- derson Elementary School. Henderson, just six blocks east of Langara, has been a designated inner- city school for the past three years. “Tt really does start with the commu- nity ... our community is really gener- ous,” said Pawan Sumra, a Grade 1 teacher at Henderson. “Parents are doing the best they can with what they have... but sometimes kids fall under the radar,” she said. So how can communities help? People can volunteer to read with students in one-on-one reading pro- grams, and mentoring programs like Big Brothers provide kids frienship, fun, and a much needed support struc- ture. Advocacy and social media are also effective, bringing awareness to a so- cial problem which is otherwise not discussed. “Awareness is key,” said Gumra, stat- ing that people want to help if they know what’s going on in their own com- munity. “One child in one family in one com- munity has a ripple effect,” said Gel- son. MICHELLE GAMAGE photo Bruce Wallace, the 24 Hours distributor at the Langara — 49th Avenue Canada Line Station, says he loves making someone’s day. On the front lines of friendly Newspaper distributor shares his story of overcoming life’s obstacles This is the first in a weekly series of profiles of people who live and work in South Vancouver. By MICHELLE GAMAGE ing and driving and it has affect- ed me every day, for the rest of my life,” said Bruce Wallace, re- calling June 7, 1981. He was 21 then. After a night of drinking in Point Roberts he rolled his jeep and changed his life forever. Langara students know Wallace as the friendly, orange-vested 24 Hours distributor at the Langara - 49th Ave- nue Canada Line Station. Sipping coffee with cream and wear- ing a Vancouver Canucks T-shirt, the 52-year-old recalled his life before the crash. He had been an avid hockey player at the University of Wisconsin, playing right defenseman with his eye on the | / made the wrong mistake of drink- European Hockey League. That all changed for Wallace when he drove drunk and crashed, irrevers- ibly damaging his brain stem. He was in a coma for a week and then spent a year relearning how to walk. He would never play for the EHL. “My employment picture darkened, my relationships were under pressure. It was really bad,” he said. But Wallace refused to let his injury dictate his future. He returned to the University of Wis- consin and set up a disabled students recreation club. He graduated in 1985 with a bachelor of science in education degree. “It’s how you face [obstacles] that shows what you’re made of,” said Wal- lace. He started working at 24 Hours last year. He applied for the job and then ap- plied seven more times till he got an interview. He now works mornings, 6:30 to 9:30, rain or shine. “Pm not curing cancer or anything but ’'m making workers’ commutes more pleasant,” said Wallace. “I’m on the front lines. It’s rough but someone has to do it.” Wallace also volunteers with the Ca- nadian Disabled Individuals Associa- tion and is a road safety speaker for ICBC. He speaks at high schools and universities. “People think they’re indestructible. What they don’t realize is that people are very fragile. If you’re talking about a 2,000 pound vehicle and you crash; then you can be hurt very badly, if not killed,” said Wallace. “It’s good to learn by experience. But it’s even better to learn from someone else’s experience so you don’t have to go through it your- self.” Wallace says he is not crazy about handing out papers, but he loves mak- ing someone’s day in his woolen orange toque that his mother-in-law crocheted. City council is looking into creating a database of rental units in the city, but some say it’s not enough By CARISSA THORPE s renting in Vancouver gets more [sitesi city council hopes a new ental database will help ease the pressure. The proposed database will enable prospective renters to see information such as who owns what buildings and whether there are any property viola- tions or work orders pending. Council voted unanimously Jan. 17 to have city staff report on the resourc- es and costs associated with streamlin- ing the information the city currently keeps on rental housing buildings into a searchable online database. “The idea is to give renters as much transparency as possible,” said coun- cillor Tim Stevenson, who put the mo- tion for the database forward. Stevenson said there are about 5,000 buildings built for rental purposes in Justin Glaboff and Samantha Clifford are general studies students who rent in the Kerrisdale- Dunbar area. CARISSA THORPE photo Vancouver that will be listed. But Ellen Wordsworth of the Coali- tion of Progressive Electors said the database doesn’t go far enough. Woodsworth said it would exclude private rental suites or homes and sin- gle-room occupancy units, meaning “thousands of the most vulnerable renters will be excluded from partici- pating. The most urgent need is to pro- tect the lowest income renters,” who live in such units. “It would be useful, [but] I don’t know if I’d use it,” Justin Glaboff, who rents in Kerrisdale-Dunbar. Computer Science student Sean Bro- phy thinks the city could go further and “make it a bylaw if you rent [out a suite] in Vancouver, you have to be part of the rental database.” Council expects a report from city staff including findings and recommen- dations within the next two months, so students and citizens are encouraged to contact city council to offer input on the project. RENT in Vancouver ME Average price of a one-bedroom apart- ment: $934 2-bedroom: $1,181 HM Vacancy rate: 2.8 per cent Mout of 104, 494 rental units in Vancouver, 2,968 are available Source: 2011 Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation report