I keep cudgelling my brains over whether that term is politically incorrect, and the answer that keeps coming back is, No. I (over-)explained this previously, but to recap, the term was coined -- or used a lot -- by the late Paul St Pierre in his stories about life in the Chilcotin region of BC. In his world of Smith and Ol' Antoine, people were united by a trust of the governments in Victoria or Ottawa (especially the former) and a desire to be left alone to live their lives peaceably. Whites and Native Indians lived together and interacted and accepted one another ... and the principal way of getting a message to someone was by word-of-mouth: eventually, by someone telling somebody else and that somebody else passing it along, the message would reach its intended recipient. So "Moccasin Telegraph" was actually a reflection of reality.
In this day and age of texting, instant messages, Facebook and Twitter (not Google Plus -- that's like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it off a ship ... into a whirlpool), moccasin telegraph is still the main way of finding out about people on the Downtown East Side. This, for example, was pasted up on some hoardings next to Gospel Mission (I blotted out the names):
This shows you how desperate people can get to find someone who's disappeared into the maelstrom of Hastings Central. Someone will see that and might have seen J----e L----- C-----n and will tell her about it.
Maybe.
Maybe.
Denise complained the other day about the lack of contact. "I've lost two friends in the past six months," she said, "so I just stayed in my room for two weeks. And you know what? Nobody called. No one came over. It's not like they don't have my number or know where I live."
I've written about Denise before. She has definitely had a hard life, having been handed over to Child and Family Services, then losing contact, one way or another, with her own children, and losing her husband a few years ago. For all that, she inspires others (including me) by overcoming that and working to help people individually and as a volunteer. It seems, though, that she complains about things to remind us that, despite her "tough cookie" exterior, she still needs caring, too. It's something we could all stand to remember: someone who reaches out to help others often needs to be reminded that he or she is making a difference and is a blessing to others.
But her point about people not calling her is illustrative. Tracking down someone in the DTES -- as the people with the poster are -- is one thing: the time delay in realizing something's not right with someone is another. Richard Johnson was in hospital for three weeks with a life-threatening blood infection before word got to us that he was sick. People tend to disappear for a while and then re-surface, so they could be gone for a couple of weeks before someone says, "Say, has anyone seen Bob lately?" Often, it's assumed that they've "just gone somewhere" and will turn up again. Or not. Much has been said about the missing and murdered people from the area (more often women, but quite a few men, too, disappear -- as Denise has been quick to point out), and I'm sure one factor in many of those cases has been the tragic truth that, often, it takes a little longer for people to realize that someone's missing at all.
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Barbara is one of the ones who isn't seen much in the area these days -- and for good reason. She's moved out of the DTES. She still comes back to the area, usually for medical appointments, but she finally managed to get a BC Housing apartment in the Commercial & Venables area -- a considerable distance away from the DTES. As others have pointed out, getting out of the DTES is a major step forward, and even though Barb has to come back for some services, the fact that now, she doesn't actually have to stay there is a great step forward.
I introduced Barb to you last year, when she and another woman, Lorraine, came to me, upset that a third woman was trash-talking me and they wanted me to know they wouldn't stand for it. I pointed 0ut that the third woman has "issues" and we needed to cut her slack (although people who would trash-talk me don't necessarily have "issues"!), but it was a moment when three wildly different people came together as "family" -- a sign of what relations can be like on the DTES.
Barb gets around on a walker or sometimes a scooter and has multiple physical ailments -- many, the result of drug abuse in years past. She would often talk about her husband, Dennis, who also has health problems and would be still in bed when Barb would go out to the methadone clinic a block from us and then over to The Lord's Rain to say hello. As I was leaving The Lord's Rain the other day, she was arriving -- with Dennis at her side. Dennis is 60-something, stocky, jovial, and you can tell there's a mutual caring between them that's carrying them through some pretty tough times. We chat, we pray -- especially over a blood clot that is "somewhere" in Barb's system and the doctors can't quite pinpoint it. That has Barb very worried, as you can imagine ... although one can also tell that having the new digs is lifting the spirits of both of them.
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A debate that sometimes comes up when people have nothing else to argue about is the practice of making people sit through a sermon before giving them dinner at a Mission. I won't go into the argument here, but in an interview for the "In His Image, Too ..." project, Kim Mogensen talks about it in relation to his own "journey" that led him to the DTES for several years. Kim and Janet got married in May, and I wrote to you about it at the time, describing it as a miracle -- which it is, for both of them. But during his years as a drug addict/alcoholic/street person, Kim truly resented having to have his ears bashed in order to get a free meal. "How dare they interrupt my eating time with this Jesus stuff?"
Kim often talks about being "that guy who came (into the Mission) between the 'Amen' and 'Pass the food'", but also freely gives credit to the Lord for healing him of those addictions, so something must have been getting through. As my friend, Cal Weber, head of campus ministry at BCIT, says, "water flowing over a rock has the same effect as a hammer: it just takes longer." It also does a more complete job. When the interview with Kim is ready, I'll send you the YouTube link: I think you'll find what Kim has to say very inspiring.
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To close, a follow-up on our fundraising campaign for The Lord's Rain: through 2013 and the early part of 2014, we responded to a fund-matching challenge from the R. Howard Webster Foundation, which funds a variety of uplifting projects across Canada. The Foundation had provided a grant of $10,000.00 and then pledged to match up to $10,000 in further funds that we raised. Individuals, churches and other groups contributed just over $8400.00 in that challenge, and the Foundation has now rounded that up to $8500, so the total raised through that campaign is $26,900 and change. It goes without saying that we're grateful to the Webster Foundation for the contribution -- and to everyone who responded to the challenge. This is also on top of the ongoing contribution from The 625 Powell Street Foundation.
Of course, foundations like those two wouldn't contribute to something that wasn't having a positive effect, and The Lord's Rain has been doing that. It's been the support from all of you -- in whatever form that support has taken -- that's put The Lord's Rain in that position, and we're most grateful to all of you.
If you live or work in Vancouver, please consider stepping up as a volunteer at The Lord's Rain: we have some really dedicated people carrying the load, and any help will be welcome. Please post a comment here and I'll put you in touch with Janet.
