YES to CHINESE SENIORS GRANT - NO to DERA ADMINISTERING IT

Oldtown News
Vancouver, BC


YES to CHINESE SENIORS GRANT - NO to DERA ADMINISTERING IT

Tomorrow, City Council will hear the reconsideration appeal from DERA, of the Chinese Seniors grant which was discontinued as a result of many factors, the least of which is inexcusable behavior of DERA executive director, Kim Kerr.

I will be speaking at Council tomorrow and of course, will request that DERA not receive this grant.

My speaking out is not a result to get even with Dera for attempting to evict me from my home. Instead, my concern rests with the many grants and funding which goes into the Oldtown area with seemingly intangible results.

Dera is just one of many groups who receive public funds without any public scrutiny or accountability. In fact, there needs to be proper audits of the millions of dollars going into the Oldtown area, yet the area remains a mess.

I'll provide documentation and statistics to Council, which I allege, shows Dera to be mis-using the Chinese Seniors funds.

I hope, that all levels of government begin to seriously look at the extravagance they shower on the DTES. If the public only knew how their hard earned tax dollars goes to the same 1000 or so 'clients' of the many various agencies of the DTES, I suspect they would be mortified.

Its long overdue to open up the books of many DTES service providers. Tomorrow is a good start.

Jamie Lee Hamilton
tricia_foxx@yahoo.com