thank you very much for your reply on my email from 6/18/2006. I am hopefully waiting for your update and I hope, too, that your decision in this tricky situation will be in behalf of Mr. Gardiner, whom I don’t know personally, but through the report of his friends, and some video interviews at the internet.

I have visited your website, and recognized that you met His Holiness the Dalai Lama two years ago. I have had the great honour to meet him, too, as a former representative of the protestant church of cologne, several years ago. I totally agree with his statements, published at his public talk at the SkyDome in Toronto, April 25, 2005, “the power of compassion”, and several times in his countless speeches, he took the view that we have to support any own initiative of poor people to organize themselves.

As I was told by his friends, Mr. Gardiner has built himself an “alternative housing”, which means, that he is not homeless anymore. Please take care, that he never will be again… As well as in Germany, social systems are beginning to collaps worldwide. I am convinced that we cannot afford to put people who organize themselves into social services, unless they call for it. As I heard about, Mr. Gardiner doesn’t expect any additional help, except for the permission to live where he lives. Why not take his own initiative as a shining example for “alternatives to dependency of administrative social support”?

I am looking forward to receiving an early reply,

With best regards

Yours sincerely

http://www.flickr.com/groups/help_me/discuss/72157594178497898/

Dr. Soenke Behnsen
Cologne, Germany

http://www.flickr.com/people/colso/

Ana Crisan (aka Spirited Away)

Why Ana Crisan’s (Spirited_Away) fight against “Homes to Houses” matters…

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BillyWarhol (Toronto #1 Contact)

JaMmCat (Toronto #2 Contact)

Raphie Frank (East Coast Contact)

Meg McDonald (West Coast Contact)

Mysti2 (UK Contact)

join the BLOG TO flickr group ::: www.flickr.com/groups/blogto/

join the Torontoist flickr group ::: www.flickr.com/groups/torontoist/

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self-portrait by permission

REMEMBER THAT “THE OTHER” TAKES MANY FORMS… HER FIGHT IS ALL OF OUR FIGHT…

In torpedoing the Toronto Animal Rights Society’s plan to build condos for pigeons under the Gardiner expressway, mayoral adviser Chris Phibb stated that , “It just seems hurtful to install housing for pigeons where we’re doing outreach for people under the Gardiner. The irony intended may not be appreciated.”

Hmmm… Asst. Phibbs? Wheer do we start here? With laughter? With anger? Or with tears? Not sure what gets me most…

Is it that you are unaware that your boss is removing the cause of your objection to the pigeon condos by evicting the people now living there?

Is it that Toronto is fine with treating people and pigeons the same, but stops shy of treating pigeons better than people?

Is it that you suggest a compassionate stance you call “outreach” even as you present ultimatums to the Gardiner Homeful 20 and I find it likely that progressive activists desired to draw a parallel between treatment of animals and Tornto’s stance towards human beings?

Is it your bafflingly poor command of the English language that equates EVICTION with OUTREACH? (Many other terms come to mind “kick out,” “boot” “throw out”… but certainly NOT “outreach.”)

Unless, of course, that is, the city has reconsidered its stance and is letting the Gardiner 20 remain? Bravo! Or not.

FOR SHAME Toronto… we are watching… from Seattle to NYC to London to Prague to Hong Kong. Don’t think we’re not…

Click to Read

Here is a letter I sent out to "Calder Lorenz of The News is Now Public." I believe it gives an overview of what I find myself referring to as Toronto’s "Homes to Houses" Push, kicking people hurting noone out of their homes and off the streets…

A Letter to Calder :: Think We Can Get The World to Get Toronto’s Back?
www.flickr.com/groups/help_me/discuss/72157594172872667/

And this is Ana’s original appeal. I fight for Ana because she is fighting for her homeful, homeless friend Chris. I believe in her and she believes in him…

Help my friends PLEASE!!! NOW URGENT!!!
www.flickr.com/groups/help_me/discuss/72157594169042336/

And who is Ana?

Ana trusts almost noone, folks….
boojummy.blogs.friendster.com/snipehunter/2006/06/wow_ana…

See, Mysti, we fight for the people we care about. And our natural allies are the people with whom we share common interests, passions, hopes or desires. My connection to you, Mysti is that you are an optimist and know better. I found you through another photographer who liked you and so that influenced my opinion of you because I respect his judgement.

My connection to Ana is that she is afraid and feels alone and yet still fights the fights that need fighting. And she is JUST 23 years old and was homeless once herself. I used her pictures in early April to illustrate two of my songs that were meaningful to me.

Dandelion Feathers
boojummy.blogs.friendster.com/snipehunter/2006/04/dandeli…
Alone in a Crowd
boojummy.blogs.friendster.com/snipehunter/2006/04/alone_i…

It’s a story, Mysti. It’s a story of hope and redemption and overcoming fear to fight for what you believe. It’s LIFE, Mysti. That’s why you can’t just simplify it. There are a thousand different angles because Ana is a microcosm of the best in us all. Let her down now and I think we let all of ourselves down. Because we are all connected and we are all points of light in a universe otherwise far, far too dark.

Think about it, Mysti, is the one-eyed man yet still King if the blind guy has a gun and turns out all the lights?

OR

Just think of Ana’s story and the story of the Homeful 20 as one of duck balancing. We’re in a quacky world, Mysti, doing the best we can to keep it happy and trying our darndest to keep it all from tumbling down. It’s hard sometimes, I know and it’s easy to get frustrated and give up.

That’s why we’ve got to talk to each other because we need to know that we are not alone as sometimes we think we are. And it all begins with an honest conversation…

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If you’re in a pinch, publish your question and this response and I believe you’ll have your post right there.

Homes To Houses ain’t the way to Clean Up Toronto
(your post, Ana, cleaned up…)

PASS IT ON…

Spirited_Away says:
Please, I’m begging to you call the Mayor, David Miller 416-397-2489 and urge him to stop this eviction. Write him a letter and fax it to 416-696-3687 E-mail: mayor_miller@toronto.ca please watch this video too:

Homeless Nation
Chris’ Page

Please, this is a man that has been living on the streets for a very long time after a terrible accident. I met him 8 years ago when I was homeless myself and living in the same place he is still living now. ..

I knew him as "Chris the penny guy" because all day long he was picking up pennies, and this is all he is surviving on. I remember I used to sit with him at Coffee TIme and help him count his pennies. I lived there for almost a year. Today he is still living off pennies, has built a house of his own, and doesn’t bother anyone, just sits on his sofa and watches an hour of TV a day ( that’s only how long his battery lasts in 24hr) ( Usually waits for the Simpsons to come on at night and anyone living around him are welcome to join him. Does his SODUKU puzzles and reads the newspapers.

I have spent the last year and a half a lot of my time down there again…. 3-4 days a week, summer and winter, the place they are talking about destroying is like my second home…. like my second family, the best of friends, people with tragic life stories that brought them all together under that bridge as I call it, or the Gardiner express way, Lakeshore and Spadina, Toronto. .

People always with a sad reason of how they ended up there… smart people, with University degrees….. I can go on forever about all that I have learned from being on the streets. ……..A place where some call their home… a long time ago it was mine too…..And is a big part of my life. Chris will be getting kicked out soon, as you read in the article below.

And what it doesn’t mention on there is that there is another friend of mine that is almost finished building his "HOME" (Eric pic below) and four other young boys sleeping in that area that is where they always sleep and have all their belongings. Kramer a man that is very sick, has lost hearing and completely went nuts, also a very smart man, I feel for him, my words cannot express….. Chris is a man I could’nt even take a picture of, he didn’t like it…only of his artwork hanging on his walls. I have so much respect for him…And now he is so desparate – him and his home are for the world to see…. I will have to go see him as soon as possible, I’m worried….

Please, I’m begging to you call the Mayor, David Miller:
416-397-2489
and urge him to stop this eviction.

Write him a letter and fax it to:
416-696-3687

My heart can’t handle seeing what is happening to my dear friends

Here’s the e-mail I got:

CITY OF TORONTO THREATENS TO EVICT GARDINER RESIDENT
Stop the Eviction of Chris Gardiner!!

Chris Gardiner has been living under the Gardiner Expressway for 8 years. Friday June 9th an unwelcome visitor entered the fenced in compound in which Chris built his home and has been residing for the past 8 years. This unwanted intruder was none other than Supervisor With Works & Emergency Services extrordinaire, Barrie Chavel. Barrie is very well known within thehomeless community in Toronto. She has been personally responsible for the eviction and destruction of numerous homes of the otherwise homeless.

On this occasion she was there to give Chris a verbal warning, he will be evicted shortly and his home will be destroyed. Barrie was accompanied by a Streets To Homes housing worker. Kind of ironic isn’t it? Kind of like bringing a doctor before you stab someone in the back. If Chris’s home wasn’t about to be destroyed he wouldn’t be homeless.

Needless to say Chris refused the "help" of the housing worker and informed the two that he would not be leaving his home. Chris has been threatened with eviction in the past, and according to him, the only reason he has beenable to stay where he is as long as he has is thanks to the efforts of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. OCAP have been having run-ins with BarrieChavel dating back to the eviction of the Bathurst Street Bridge in June of 2004. Chris’s home was next on the chopping block until OCAP moved in.

Now OCAP is prepared to move in again… figuratively and quite literally. We are prepeared to do everything in our power to prevent this injustice from happening through every channel open to us. Should those channels fail we will stand with Chris to prevent them from destroying Chris’s life’s work.

We urge you to call the Mayor, David Miller 416-397-2489 and urge him to stop this eviction. Write him a letter and fax it to 416-696-3687.

**
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
10 Britain St. Toronto, ON M5A 1R6
416-925-6939 ocap@tao.ca www.ocap.ca

For more information and to stay updated on the situation visit:
homelessnation.org/user/424

If all else fails and the eviction order goes through come and stand
with us to say no to this eviction.

please watch this video:
homelessnation.org/node/1359

the below has been slightly edited…

Hey Calder,

I hope www.nowpublic.com is going well, but let’s make it better…

Help MAKE the news Calder Lorenz. That’s what I’m doing. Work with me to do it. Do a Google Search for “Ana Crisan.” She’s 23 years old and she is trying to make a difference. She is fighting the battles noone else will fight and she is terrified and she is alone, but she knows New York, Seattle and Croatia and London at least have got her back. Let’s add Vancouver and all of “The News is Now Public” to that list. www.nowpublic.com .

Ana is fighting in Toronto for the Homeful 20 (that’s an approximation number-wise), because the City of Toronto wants to remove them from their homes simply because those homes happen to be under a bridge rather than under a roof. What’s the point Calder? Who are they hurting?

What are they going to do with that real estate? Pave over 20 hearts + maybe Ana’s also and make it a parking lot? I don’t know Calder. I just know, that near as I can figure, they are hurting no one and the “Streets to Homes” City Agency is starting to sound a lot to me like “Homes to Houses,” probably half-way ones at that and there ought to be some good answers to reasonable questions such as “Why?” that include more than “sick” or “not normal” as justifications…

WE can stop it or at least make them think long and hard about it. Not just Ana. But me and you and Mysti too. This is not about 20 people in Toronto. This is about the definition of “Home.” This is about hypocrisy. This is about what we do to people who are different so that we need not be troubled by the sight of them. Toronto will cite compassion I am sure, but I see no compassion whatsoever if they will remove happy homeful people from their living quarters. We need to tell them “There’s a better way. Let’s figure it out.”

Mostly, Calder, this is about fighting for the people you care about or with whom you have shared interests. I am fighting for Ana who is fighting for them. I’d love for you to fight for me because I am fighting for her, but also because I believe in what you are doing. Let’s fight for each other. Let’s make each other stronger because if we can pull this off, then the next time someone in London says “What can I do here in London to affect Toronto?” we can both say “What, you think I’m better than you? Well I don’t. I’ve already done it and so has he. And so has 23 year old Ana Crisan (aka Spirited_Away), who was homeless once herself and had the fuc*ing balls to suck it up and reach out and ask for a helping hand all the way to NYC.”

This email, Calder, is on the record. For more info, go to www.flickr.com/groups/help_me/

You can also find more about it on my blogs:

Snipes, Logomancy & So So Psychosis
boojummy.blogs.friendster.com/
&
Raphie Frank :: Business Artivist
raphie.wordpress.com

Best,
Raphie Frank
(of the Blizzard2006 pix)

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Oh, and give yourself a plug Calder…

This site is dedicated to the emancipation of our global community. In seeking to create change through shared words, an endless network of friendship & resources on earth will set us free sooner than later. We are all connected; even Conservative Evangelical Loonies. We all know that no matter how much fear, torture, and ignorance is spread throughout this world. The sharing of laughter and liberation, either within mind or body, by words or action will hold our emancipation. All are welcome:) www.globalemancipation.blogspot.com/

That’s corny, Calder, but it’s sincere, so I’ll let you get away with it…

Change is one to one. One idea, one voice, one action at a time. These guys at Torontoist are already working hard and the simple fact is, you’ve got to make it worth their while or I’ll be taking their side, not yours, not on the issue, but on the best use of their time…

I mean, please, why should they care if you don’t? Would you?
www.torontoist.com/archives/2006/06/no_home_nowhere.php

originally posted to the Torontoist group on Flickr

To Mysti2 in London: Why Ana Crisan’s (Spirited_Away) fight against “Homes to Houses” matters…
www.flickr.com/groups/help_me/discuss/72157594173625657/

PHOTOS OF REAL PEOPLE:
www.flickr.com/photos/anacrisan/

posted to the Torontoist group on Flickr, amongst other groups.