We, the Solidarity Group, have been meeting to discuss the unity of people in the Downtown Eastside. We are working on ways to get people together, to look out for each other and bring back the old days when people stood together, worked together and played together for the common good of all.
In the old days you had to work to live and if you ripped someone off, everybody knew about it. Down here it seems nothing’s being done about it and we need to restructure this way of thinking and behaving. Getting back to being solid is the first and foremost rule of the street or any community. An unhappy area leads to negative feelings because for every action there is a reaction. We are trying to discourage violence, it doesn’t do anything. It just brings bitterness and negativity.
Maybe you received a stone with a message from us. That is our Petroglyph Project (writing/drawing on stone) that we hope will get people thinking about changing towards the life they want to live and the place they want to live in. BE SOLID.
The Solidarity Group was formed to try and reach the women of the Downtown Eastside (Hastings) in Vancouver. One of our projects was the “petroglyphs”. We bought bags of tumbled rocks and then brainstormed about sayings that would get the women to think about solidarity on the street. Sayings like “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Don’t judge a person unless you’ve been in their shoes.” “Respect yourself…Respect others…Walk the talk – No violence is justified – Be Solid.” etc. We typed up the lines then cut and wrapped them around with rocks with stickers.
The reactions varied, at first. It went from “Why are you giving me a stupid rock?” to “When are you passing out the next batch”? I think, although a small project, the petroglyph project helped a little.
Charlene Ottenbros