By Kelly Holmes and Jason Neufeld - Resource Assistance for Youth

By Kelly Holmes and Jason NeufeldWhat does “street culture” mean to you? What sorts of imagesdoes the term evoke? A ball cap askew, squeegee kids on thecorner, car thieves trolling dark streets, gang members moving inpacks, sex trade workers on Ellice, panhandlers with sad stories,drug-addicts skulking through back-alleys, con-artists lookingfor their next scam, or all of the above? One aspect of streetculture that is often ignored and rarely spoken of is the life ofthe traveller. You’ve all seen them. They’re easy to spot, withtheir dreadlocks and their tattered army fatigues, their tattoosand tribal piercings and their loyal dogs by their sides. They looklike they’ve stepped out of a punk-rock version of some postapocalypticHollywood movie. Living their life outdoors, theyare wind-burnt with soil jammed under their fingernails and dirtground into their calloused hands and feet. It’s as though theyhave grown out of the earth itself.Not unlike youth of past generations, these travellers are trulyanti-establishment. For one reason or another they exist on theouter fringes of society. Theirs is a culture that doesn’t judge anindividual in the way we are used to in mainstream society. Intheir world, an individual doesn’t score points for the numberof toys that they possess or the size of their house or the levelof education attained. This is a culture that values the power ofcommunity; you share what you have, you get what you need.All of them unique. All of them similar. They are a tribe of sorts.Although some may be running from their past, they fully embraceand live authentically in the present. They have establishedcomplex and varied modes of employment, communication andtravel that are uniquely part of their world and their culture—street culture. It’s a culture that transcends borders, race, religionand gender. These youth come from varied backgrounds—somefrom wealthy homes, others from abject poverty. They are asymptom of our society—our creation. How can we judge them?They choose to abandon their birth names and adopt vulgarlabels—Crusty, Barf, Spaz—names that reflect how society haslabelled them.The tattoos, the piercings, the grime and the stink all act as arepellent to those whom they cannot trust (they are continuallyhassled, stalked and interrogated by police from city to city andissued $200 fines for petty violations in an effort to “clean up”the streets—an act meant to appease tourists and suburbanites).These youth have built heavy armour to protect themselves froma society that has abandoned them. Although they are often onlyaround for days at a time, we at RaY are privileged that they havelet their guards down, even for a short time, in our presence. Weknow that we don’t often know the whole story, and sometimeswe wish we had more time to build relationships, but we hopethat even in those brief encounters we can show these youngpeople that we understand.At RaY we applaud the ingenuity and resilience of the travellers.We respect the quiet dignity they possess and their stubbornsolidarity. We have to ask ourselves, however, if this way of lifeis actually a conscious choice towards freedom or a prison theyhave created for themselves. Do we accept this way of life, or dowe actively intervene? When it comes to the travellers, it is a bitof a conundrum. While we want to be respectful of a carefullycrafted culture—one that is built as a way to be left alone—wefeel compelled to present what we feel is a healthier alternative.Because street life is not safe—this much we know. The balancebetween respecting street culture while advocating for thetravellers betterment continues to be a difficult struggle and alearning experience.“All of them unique. All of them similar. They are a tribe of sorts.”1

• Outreach worker Eric Schweig, a recent recipient of anhonourary doctorate from Nipissing University,and a traveller’s dog, relaxing at RaY.RaY and the Winnipeg Humane Society ACOMMUNITYPARTNERSHIPby Alix SoblerSince I started working at The Winnipeg Humane Society, I have seen countless adopters come into the shelter hoping to help an animal andsave a life. What people often don’t anticipate is how much those animals are going to help them. I receive letters all the time from peoplewho say their dogs have helped them lose weight or that their cats have helped them relax. Often people don’t anticipate just how much joyan animal can bring into their home, how much love they will receive and just how much that companionship will mean to them. For somepeople, the bond they share with their animals is the most important one in the world; as strong as the bond of family. Anyone who has seena traveler and their dog knows this is the relationship they share.For years The Winnipeg Humane Society has been working with RaY in order to keep families and pets together. We provide transportation,spay and neuter surgeries, and post surgery housing for travellers’ dogs. The importance of these surgeries cannot be underestimated. Dogsthat have been fixed are less likely to wander and run away. They are also less prone to certain kinds of cancer and of course the health risksbrought on by pregnancy. A sterilized dog is usually less aggressive and more affectionate. Unfixed dogs lead to countless unwanted litters,and placing those puppies is not only difficult at times, but it takes away homes from animals waiting for adoption in shelters. The amountof times travellers’ dogs spend outside and among other dogs makes them even more likely to procreate. Therefore fixing their animals is notonly a benefit to them, but also a benefit to The Winnipeg Humane Society and our community as a whole.There is no question that travellers love their dogs. On the hottest days the dogs drink first. When there is food, they share it. Just their dedicationto bringing their dogs from city to city is proof of how committed they are to their animals. (Often traveling with a pet is not easy, asany pet owner can tell you!) But sometimes it takes some convincing to get these pet owners to spay and neuter their animals. It takes a lotof reassuring that the surgery is simple and safe, that their pet will not suffer needlessly, and that their animal will have the same personalitywhen they are returned. For many of these animals, it will be the first night they have spent away from their owners since they were adopted,so the hesitation is understandable. Luckily for them (and us at The WHS) we have some great allies in the staff at RaY. I have spent a lot oftime talking to staff members about their own pets, many of whom were adopted at The WHS. The staff at RaY understand the importance ofthe spay/neuter surgery and they do not hesitate to assist their clients in making the right decision.We know how important animals are to the travellers who come to RaY, and we are so happy to help keep families together and healthy. Welook forward to continuing and expanding our relationship with RaY and the travellers who pass through Winnipeg.• Alix Sobler is the Communications Officer at The Winnipeg Humane Society. For more information about the Humane Society, please visitwww.winnipeghumanesociety.ca2

“To effectively influence and help the others in the world,one must first also demonstrate that we can help our own.”UTTER AID by Andrew Ward1969’s Woodstock music festival in New York showed the world that music, art, andperformance could galvanize an entire nation to action with a common goal—peace. LiveAid in 1985 demonstrated that the world was no longer separated by vast oceans andabstract borders; it had become a Global Village which could be connected by the commonthread of humanitarian crises. More recently, Live Earth proved that the impact of theactivities of this global village is destroying the planet and that we must care for it or facethe consequences.Gutter Aid, in 2008, aims to focus that same energy and compassion to the humanitariancrises occurring in our own backyard and with our own children; to promote awarenessand understanding of youth homelessness and poverty in Canada; to bring the realitiesof street life out of the gutter.From October 14th to October 17th, (The United Nations International Day for theEradication of Poverty), Gutter Aid will address the misconceptions and stereotypesregarding street entrenched and homeless youth, and will answer the perennialquestion: Why don’t they just get a job?Through visual art, musical performance, satirical theatre, and public discourse, Gutter Aidwill draw attention to the barriers that exist within not just the social welfare system, butthe health, justice, and education systems as well. With an emphasis on sewing up theholes in our so-called social safety net and eliminating the apathy and ambivalence towardsthe thousands of Canadians who call the streets home, Gutter Aid will speak to the manyfacets which contribute to the overall dilemma of youth homelessness—Mental Health,Addictions, Gangs, Violence, Crime, Abuse, Neglect, and of course “the system”.33 days of talking:gangs, violence, crime, mental health addictions, abuse, neglect, poverty4 nights of rocking:Billy Joe Green, PipSkid, RacecaR, The Village Rock Ensemble, Vav Jungle, Deon Wysocki, The Experiences,The Lindsey White Band, Saratonin, Nathan, Gumshoe Strut, Yy, D.J. Co-op, The Maroons, Wab Kinew, Eagle and HawkOctober 14-17, 2008 •The Cavern •Gas Station TheatreFor more info, visit www.gutteraid.ca*another “Under The RaYdar” production

“You don’t drown ‘cause you fall in the water.You drown ‘cause you stay there.”• Samara with her father and Mayor Sam KatzSAMBy Sarah MacKinnonAt one point in her life, Samara Prystenski was severely addicted to crystal meth and sleeping under a bridge, yet still showing upfor her classes in school and making it to her shifts at McDonald’s. She kept her stuff in her locker at work and nobody even knewthere was a problem. Then bad got worse. Sam couldn’t handle sticking a needle into her own arm, so her boyfriend did it for her.Shooting up led to a severe infection. Her arm swelled up to twice it’s size, she lost a lot of weight—at 5’7 and 88 pounds, she wasso weak she couldn’t walk. She thought she was going to die. A friend finally carried her to a clinic where the nurse twisted herarm, calling her a junkie and telling her that “this is how you learn”. She screamed, nobody came. That experience is just one of thereasons why Sam wants to be a mental health professional, providing much needed services to people living in the inner city who aresuffering from drug addiction and mental illness.Sam has completely turned her life around: two years clean, two years of University under her belt, two years housed, employed andworking toward her personal and professional goals for the future. She recently received the 2008 Lehotsky Scholarship Award.She’s not a victim, she’s a warrior. She knows she had made bad choices but also that she had other options. So she chose anotherway. Sam wants everyone to realize that street youth aren’t the scourge of society and are not all doomed to fail. Sam says,“Youdon’t drown because you fell in the water, you drown because you stay there. I stole that from someone but I don’t know who.”Sam is achieving her goals. And she doesn’t regret anything—her life experiences have made her who she is today.EMPOWERING YOUTHtalk toWITH THE FACTSRaY’s Prevention Department equips youth preventiontospeakers with skillsmein communication, group facilitation,tRaY’s Prevention Department provides workshops to Manitobaand public speaking. Youth speakers are involvedschools, residential and lock-up facilities, post-secondaryprimarily with the Life on the Streets and Breaking theinstitutions, and other social service agencies. The goal is toIce workshops, but are also available to assist in otherengage youth before (and sometimes after) they are facedmeworkshops. Thesetalkyouth speak from the heart havingwith difficult decisions regarding their home life, their peers,“been there” and “done that”.their emotions, and ultimately their future. Issues facingtoday’s youth are complex and varied and the forum forIn addition to speaking the raw truth to studentsdiscussion isn’t always available in the traditional classroom.throughout Winnipeg, the Speaker’s Bureau maintains alkhard-hitting insightfultoblog responding to the issuesmethatWorkshops include:matter to them and a DIY ‘zine called F*** Off and• Anger ManagementGo Home available at Mondragon Bookstore and• Conflict ResolutionCoffee House and the Wolseley Neighbourhood Cafe.• Suicide Intervention• Life on the Streets• Teens and the Drug Trade• How to Get an STI and What to do InsteadTo book a workshop, contact Sarah MacKinnon• Tough Stuff: Beating Bullyingat 783-5617 or smackinnon@rayinc.ca.• Breaking the Ice: The Crystal Meth DilemmatoCheck out the YouthmeSpeaker’s Bureau blog• I Want that Ass: Self-Esteem and Sexuality for Girlsat http://youthspeaker.blogspot.com/. 4*Youth Speaker’s Bureau

WAY TO GO!RaY was recently approached by a West Broadway landlord who needed help cleaning up and beautifying Howell Court. WaY to go Brian and Anna! Val, (with son), graduated grade 12 at the top ofher class & was valedictorian.Allan works at Winnipeg Harvest every Wednesdaythrough RaY’s odd jobs program.John graduated grade 12 and wasaccepted to the University of Winnipeg.5Gabriel paints over graffiti on RaY’s picnic bench. Lillian, (with son), graduated grade 12 and isAmanda helped West Broadway go green in herattending the University of WInnipeg.summer Green Team position.

Spotlight on Anna WallI have been using RaY’s resource centre since I first arrived on the street at13. When it was called Operation Go Home and located in the village, meand other street kids could go get out of the cold, use the computer, eatsomething and get basic needs. Over the last decade, they have expandedtheir resources to assist street youth in helping themselves get off the street.Such as odd jobs; which is a program they’ve started over the last year or soin the West Broadway community. It has helped a number of youth I knowwhere they actually get job placements where they were temporarily placed.Such as my sister who started dusting shelves for the salon Edward Carriere,she now has worked there for over a year doing inventory and taking care of supplies.Over this summer, RaY gave me the opportunity to work in Spirit Park, ourgarden plot. I loved being able to watch my herbs and vegetables grow weekby week, although local thieves have taken a number of my ripe veggies.RaY has also helped me get a temporary landscaping job for one of the localslum rooming houses, weeding and planting flowers, and making it morepleasant looking to the community.I have also enjoyed doing the many art projects RaY has found me, a muralfor Bulman Communications Group, a live art painting for Sherbrook StreetFestival and now I have enrolled for a college standard art program forGraffiti Gallery which lasts for 48 weeks, and at the end of it, they help mefind a job in the art community. RaY has been a huge help to me and haveencouraged me to better my life in every way. Thank you.ANNA6

Your support of RaY helps us help them get back on their feet. To offer your support,please complete this donation form and send it to the address below.Name:Address:Telephone: ( )Please accept my gift of: $20 $25 $50 $75 $100 OtherResource Assistance for Youth, 195 Young Street, Winnipeg, MB R3C 3S8If you wish to donate using a credit card, please visit our website, www.rayinc.ca and click on “Ways to Give.”This newsletter was made possible byEditors: Kelly Holmes, Jason Neufeld, Nancy ChippendaleWriters: Kelly Holmes, Jason Neufeld, Alix Sobler,Andrew Ward, Sarah MacKinnon, Anna WallPhotos: Nancy Chippendale, Erica Chatelaine,Sarah MacKinnon, Aaron Pierre, Brian GouldDesign: BCG CommunicationsResource Assistance for Youth195 Young St, Wpg, MB R3C 3S8 P: 204.783.5617 F: 204.775.4988Thank you to our funders/supportersManitoba Healthy Living