Nothing For Us Without Us
In 2008 I stood on the sidewalk in front of Carnegie Centre surveying the activity around me. The dealers were busy with their customers. A few people passed out on the benches. Cars were braking for erratic pedestrians. It was unlike anything I had experienced before. I was down there as a University student eager to be connected to the community in a meaningful way but with no leads and zero street savvy. So instead I quietly interceded for the neighbourhood. A few people asked me if I was ok, they said something to the effect of, “You are too young to be down here.” Perhaps they thought that I was experimenting with the street drugs and wanted me to get out before it was too late.
Having my “feet on the ground” to pray for the neighborhood felt important but I didn’t know what to say to God. I wasn’t able to see the strong community that already existed there. I didn’t know at the time that Street Church was across the street, training indigenous leaders to bring the gospel to their home communities and serving thousands of hotdogs weekly to anyone who dared to walk up those stairs. I wasn’t aware of the aunties who would push shopping carts full of fresh bannock down East Hastings to feed young people who were so wasted they couldn’t get themselves to a food line. Nor did I know about the arts festival that happened every year. A dear friend was sitting in an outreach service once (it was a new group who had just set up in the neighbourhood) and the pastor declared that they were bringing Jesus to the Downtown Eastside people. She raised her hand and said, “Excuse me, pastor. But Jesus already walks these streets.
I’m not saying this to brush over the obvious pain that exists in this place, but to recognize that the Lord was at work here long before I showed up. To paint a mural for this corner has stirred a lot of personal reflection and gratitude. I don’t take it lightly. It was during the covid lockdown that I realized I could create murals as “visual prayers” for my community. So let this one be a prayer of gratitude for those faithful ones who take care of the people around them. Let it be a prayer for the lonely to find families. May those who are running turn around and see Jesus running after them, trying to catch up so he can bless, embrace and heal. And may it be a reminder for those passing through to see each person as a human with intrinsic worth, made in the image of God.
.jpeg)
Throughout the week, many people walking by encouraged me. Several I have known over the years were excited to share about their recovery journeys. I had a lot of help too. People from my church, Strathcona Vineyard, often pitched in to help or encourage. For example, friends from our weekly Strathcona Wednesday Bible study helped by watching my cart, holding the ladder and pointing out what needed to be fixed. People would drop off food and coffee. One lady who had been part of our church loosely reconnected with us through being invited to participate as she passed by the mural, and it has been a way she has reconnected with her Strathcona Vineyard family, which has been the wonderful gift of what happens when we connect with people and participate in an activity together. On the last day I got stung by a wasp and someone ran to get bandaids for me. She checked on me several times that day, even though she was working.
I titled this mural on East Hastings Street at Main Street (often seen as the ‘skid row’ of the downtown eastside) ‘Nothing For Us Without Us’. It is a mural that celebrates the collective spirit of the Downtown Eastside. It is an homage to the diverse collection of residents, frontline workers, activists and business owners who call this place home. The mural also invites those passing through the Hastings corridor to look beyond the neighbourhood’s façade and recognize a resilient community founded in collective action, generosity and care.
In the mural, hands linked in solidarity arch over a silhouette of the Carnegie Centre, which is located in what is known as the heart of the city. The heart cannot exist without a body, just as a building is made to hold people. Carnegie is a vital social space that provides dignity, support and community among other things. As the cityscape inevitably changes, we must preserve and celebrate what makes this neighbourhood special. The future of our community depends on it. Incidentally, the hands are my pastor Dawn's and another woman in our congregation.
By: Jenny Hawkinson