Unfortunately my knee isn't getting better as I would like and it caused me grief, in time it might get better. The police are closing my file, or rather it is now inactive as nothing new has happened or come up (nothing found, and the only likely suspect cannot be called in on what they have currently), sigh. I still find myself not quite as resolute of step and am still looking over my shoulder far too much.
I still have a lot of paperwork to do, much of it futile. The victim's assistance will only help with medical and counselling costs but not with replacing stolen goods, maybe with added transportations costs (stolen bus pass), but for that alone it is a lot of paperwork. That 20 dollar cheque that social services had agreed to add in for those emergency funds, never materialised, something they said to get me out of the building. I expected it, they take joy in the misery of others (shadenfreude).
I'll be back to my jolly self if I can get a break from this headache. Certainly I know who values me, friends and family, and devalues me, the government and agencies designed to help out those in need (throwing the helpless on the compost heap). I've passed through the worst of my nightmare, but if I have an ounce of spare energy here and there it will be spent screaming at the people in charge over their utter failure to help the needy, and that includes the media, who failed to do any kind of follow up when the people a block away from me suddenly found themselves homeless, quite a few now wander all day long with their few possessions, shelter to shelter. It sickens me to see the sanctimonious lot fawning over the 2010 Olympics and the surplus of tax monies in this province.
_____________ a bit more reading on topic if interested _________
this time about my building:
Drugs, noise anger neighbours City loath to close low-income housing despite drugs and crime Doug Ward, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, October 23, 2007
VANCOUVER - Paul Sahota isn't the only landlord with an east Vancouver apartment building that has been a longtime source of woe for neighbours, police and city inspectors.
Giovanni Zen's apartment complex at 2255 Pandora has been the subject of allegations of rampant drug-dealing and other criminal activities... http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=440c823e-4cd9-47ba-b6b3-ce6c200c6b03&k=90331
The building one block down: http://www.streamsofjustice.org/2007/10/audit-of-slumlords-pushed.html
http://www.cknw.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428872912&rem=77839&red=80187223aPBIny&wids=242&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
More time for residents forced out of their homes in East Vancouver Oct, 25 2007 - 8:40 AM
VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - People forced out of a rundown East Vancouver apartment building last week are getting more time to find a new place to live. http://www.straight.com/article-76686/harper-government-ignores-housing-crisis http://www.euro.who.int/Housing/Activities/20041012_1
Living a block away from an apartment building closed due to despicable lack of maintenance on the landlord's part, and read in various publications where this is blamed as much on the tenants as the landlord. My building is another dangerously close to being closed thanks to neighbourhood obsession with goings on, the age of the building, the socio economic state of the tenants and the desirability of something more upscale in it's place.
While there are tenants I would not approve of and rather not live in the same building as, this would make me homeless, and living on the street with a progressive illness terrifies me more than any of my neighbours. Frankly I've never lived in a building anywhere on any income level which did not have problem tenants, or mice, but don't the poor make for a handy target. Retroactive NIMBY.
So while my neighbours cheerily wish me a good day they are also busy-bodying doing all they can to see me homeless, doubtless no more than a shrug and an expression of too bad there has to be some collateral damage. That collateral damage consists of people - families, elderly, disabled, people recovering from years of tortuous life on the street, just barely scraping by spending more than half their income on basic housing only to have their housing security threatened by the "well-intentioned" neighbours? I would offer my wishes for a good day to these "neighbours" the upwardly mobile who bought fixer uppers next to our building, thinking what nice people, but noticing more and more that they were on fishing expeditions. I'm not stupid, the driving force of the local economy is the brisk trade in real estate, there is no room for those whose incomes do not let them play.
