IN OUR OWN VOICES

Join the Downtown Eastside Power of Women Group in an uplifting evening of
storytelling, poetry, reflection, and resistance

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Saturday October 24th at 7 pm
Rhizome Café
317 East Broadway (corner Kingsway)
All welcome! By donation $0-20
On facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=135705868281
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The Power of Women Group is a group at the Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Women's Centre, located in the DTES of Vancouver (the poorest off-reserve
postal code in Canada). We are a group of women from all walks of life who
are either on social assistance, working poor, or homeless; but we are all
living in extreme poverty. Many of us are single mothers or have had our
children apprehended due to poverty; most of us have chronic physical or
mental health issues for example HIV and Hepatitis C; many have drug or
alcohol addictions; and a majority have experienced and survived sexual
violence and mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional abuse. For
indigenous women, we are affected by a legacy of the effects of
residential schools and a history of colonization and racism.

Our aim is to empower ourselves through our experiences and to raise
awareness from our own perspectives about the issues affecting the
neighbourhood. We believe it is crucial for us- as women who daily bear
the brunt of poverty and violence- to share directly with you. We are
victims, but we are survivors; we are oppressed, but we are powerful. We
are frequently researched and advocated on behalf of, but it is rare that
our own voices, our own aspirations, our own struggles, our own
h(er)stories are heard. We hope you will join us and we hope you will hear
us about our struggles with poverty, homelessness, child apprehension,
violence, police, the Olympics, social assistance systems and more.

For information email project at dewc.ca or call 604-681-8480 x 234.