BeatRoute Magazine BC Edition September 2018

WORD VANCOUVER
NOT JUST FOR THE LITERATE
DAYNA MAHANNAH
Word puts an emphasis on creating a sense of community in literary circles of all kinds.
Novel readers and comic-book skimmers, zine
collectors and poetry lovers, writers of all kinds:
Word Vancouver is the place to rub shoulders
with anyone interested in the written word. Held
from September 26-30 around Vancouver, Western
Canada’s largest literary festival will coax 25,000
people to its curation of events, workshops, readings,
and industry panels – entirely free of charge.
Now in its 24th year, Word is still a burgeoning
festival. Bonnie Nish, who first experienced Word in
2001 and has since been involved as a reader, host,
CHRYSALIS SOCIETY
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF RECOVERY AND CARE
MAGGIE MCPHEE
Photo by Monica Miller
volunteer, and collaborator, stepped in as Interim
Festival Manager on July 12. It’s been a bustling
summer for Nish, coordinating the program after
an unexpected resignation from the newly hired
executive director at the end of June. Not to be
derailed by time constraints, the festival has grown
to be ever more inclusive.
“We have community groups bringing in readers
so they can get exposure to the public as well,” Nish
says.
In the four days leading up to the festival, satellite
events will pop up around the city. Workshops on
self-publishing, performing your work (with literary
vet Hal Wake), writing as therapy, and journal
writing all build up to the main event on Sunday —
an explosion of Vancouver’s diverse, creative, and
word-obsessed. Poet laureates George McWhirter,
Brad Cran, and Evelyn Lau grace the opening stage.
Dozens of vendors and exhibitors will showcase
everything book-related and offer their skills in the
literary field, accompanied by a slew of pros covering
topics ranging from graphic novel writing to the
magazine industry to nuanced topics, like complex
women in YA fiction (Eileen Cook). “One panel I’m
excited for is about engaging in digital media and
how it affects your writing,” Nish adds.
She emphasizes that the sense of community
Word creates is important for people involved in the
literary world in any capacity. “As a writer, it can be
very isolating. To be able to go out and talk to other
people who are doing the same thing, it makes you
feel less alone. Other people are doing this. And it’s
possible to do it. I think the greatest thing is that we
all realize that what we say matters. And it can affect
people.”
Word Vancouver runs from September 26-30 at
various locations.
CITY
In 2017, 80 per cent of Vancouver
street drugs tested positive for
fentanyl, resulting in a record 1,420
deaths by overdose in the city. The
Canadian government responded by
investing in front-line harm-reduction
initiatives, but has done little to
address the systemic issues that cause
addiction and leave women especially
vulnerable.
Chrysalis Society, BC’s only
gender-specific, long-term residential
addiction and mental health care
facility for women, tries to meet this
complex crisis with a proportionately
holistic and integrated solution.
This September, they celebrate
30 years of serving more than 3,000
women. BeatRoute spoke with
executive director Shannon Skilton
about the broader socio-political
problems – systemic oppression,
sexism, gendered violence, an
irresponsible medical system – and
Chrysalis’s role in combating these
problems to assist the 80 or so women
who secure a spot in one of their three
homes every year.
“There are real barriers within our
system of healthcare for persons with
addiction issues,” Skilton explains.
“The majority of women who access
[our] services have had challenges
with prescription drug use because
doctors readily prescribe women
benzodiazepines.” At walk-in clinics,
patients can only address a single
issue, and doctors prioritize quick
fixes over the big picture, prescribing
medication to symptoms that are
actually side effects from other
medication. “We’ve had women come
in on 16 different medications. Our
house doctor works to stabilize the
woman, so she no longer feels like she’s
in a chemical straitjacket.”
Sexism prevails at every point in a
woman’s route to recovery, whether
it’s the smaller number of recovery
beds allotted to her, or the gendered
violence she is statistically more likely
to have experienced in her lifetime.
This year, 96 per cent of the women
who entered Chrysalis reported
histories of violence.
“There are very few resources
for women that are feminist based,
meaning the lens is anti-oppressive,”
Skilton says. “We see things
intersectionally – it’s not one thing
that has created any one situation for
a woman. Addiction doesn’t happen in
a vacuum and neither does recovery.
That holistic, broad lens is really
important.”
Chrysalis works with each woman
to build up an individualized recovery
plan, respecting her autonomy in her
healing. The women are supported
to “identify what is and is not healthy
and then determine whether they
want to continue to live with some
of that,” Skilton says. “We do not tell
them one way or the other.” But the
house is a safe space for the women to
rediscover their independence.
Chrysalis’s programs provide
women opportunity to create and
sustain community with each other,
while they are in residence and
afterwards. Half the staff are alumni
of the programs, and anyone who has
ever resided in Chrysalis’s homes for
any length of time is respected as an
alumnus, regardless of her process or
outcomes. Rather than vilify, Chrysalis
normalizes and supports relapse, for
harm reduction purposes.
“We do not penalize women for
choosing to leave when they choose to
leave,” Skilton says. “We are just seed
planters.”
If Chrysalis are seed planters, they
are planting in infertile soil, and each
flower that blooms is a miracle.
The Chrysalis Society celebrates its
30th anniversary on September 16 at
Heritage Hall.
Chrysalis provides a strong support network for women in need.
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