The Cardboard Project Employ to Empower

Series Special Edition: Vancouver Election Ep. #3 Part 2


In light of the upcoming Vancouver election, our program entrepreneurs are meeting with a variety of City Council candidates to learn more and share the running party’s intended efforts to address the ongoing issues in their DTES community. 


The third and final episode in this series, featuring Jean Swanson and Breen Ouellette, City Council candidates with Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) Vancouver. Serena Cripps and Alexa Lizotte lead us through this conversation to bring their diverse backgrounds to the table. In hopes to decolonize our ideas on leadership, we explore Jean and Breen’s perspective on what it means to be a leader as well hear their insights from their extensive experience. Jean offers perspective as a current City Council member and long-term anti-poverty and social justice activist in the Vancouver community (over 40 years!). Breen Ouellette, a Metis person, lawyer, as well as a significant figure labour movement activist and elected union steward, union counsellor, and OH&S committee representative. Join us in this conversation to gain perspective on what true reconciliation means and looks like, how ingrained stigma is in our society, and the importance of being able to advocate for yourself. 


To learn more about COPE Vancouver’s platform, check out this link: https://www.copevancouver.ca/about_cope


To learn more about Jean Swanson and her individual insights, check out this link: https://www.copevancouver.ca/jean_swanson


To learn more about Breen Ouellette and her individual insights, check out this link: 
https://www.electbreen.ca/
https://www.copevancouver.ca/breen_ouellette

If you haven’t already, take the time to check out our previous episodes featuring other City Council candidates and don’t forget to vote in the Vancouver election on Saturday October 15th, 2022. 

Series Special Edition: Vancouver Election Ep. #3 Part 1


In light of the upcoming Vancouver election, our program entrepreneurs are meeting with a variety of City Council candidates to learn more and share the running party’s intended efforts to address the ongoing issues in their DTES community. 


The third episode in this series is split into two parts, featuring Jean Swanson and Breen Ouellette, City Council candidates with Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) Vancouver. Serena Cripps and Alexa Lizotte lead us through this conversation to bring their diverse backgrounds to the table. In hopes to decolonize our ideas on leadership, we explore Jean and Breen’s perspective on what it means to be a leader as well hear their insights from their extensive experience. Jean offers perspective as a current City Council member and long-term anti-poverty and social justice activist in the Vancouver community (over 40 years!). Breen Ouellette, a Metis person, lawyer, as well as a significant figure labour movement activist and elected union steward, union counsellor, and OH&S committee representative. Join us in this conversation to gain perspective on the complexities of housing policies, impact of stigma, and the importance of voting in this upcoming election.  


To learn more about COPE Vancouver’s platform, check out this link: https://www.copevancouver.ca/about_cope


To learn more about Jean Swanson and her individual insights, check out this link: https://www.copevancouver.ca/jean_swanson


To learn more about Breen Ouellette and her individual insights, check out this link: 
https://www.electbreen.ca/
https://www.copevancouver.ca/breen_ouellette

If you haven’t already, take the time to check out our previous episodes featuring other City Council candidates and don’t forget to vote in the Vancouver election on Saturday October 15th, 2022. 

Series Special Edition: Vancouver Election Ep. #2


In light of the upcoming Vancouver election, our program entrepreneurs are meeting with a variety of City Council candidates to learn more and share the running party’s intended efforts to address the ongoing issues in their DTES community. 


The second episode in this series features Matthew Norris, City Council candidate with OneCity Vancouver. Serena Cripps leads us through the conversation using her personal and professional experience as a peer support worker in the DTES community to inspire her questions around OneCity’s housing and harm reduction platform. Matthew brings insight on the impact of choice of housing (and lack of) and why it’s crucial for one’s livelihood, sense of safety and community, and overall mental health and wellness. Equally crucial are perspectives of those with lived experiences to provide the insights on accurate and effective solutions when it comes to harm reduction, and community safety and wellness in the DTES.


To learn more about OneCity Vancouver’s platform, check out this link: https://www.onecityvancouver.ca/platform


To learn more about Matthew Norris and his individual insights, check out this link: https://www.matthewnorris.ca/

Stay tuned for more upcoming episodes featuring other City Council candidates as we lead up to the Vancouver election on Saturday October 15th, 2022. 

Series Special Edition: Vancouver Election Ep. #1


In light of the upcoming Vancouver election, our program entrepreneurs are meeting with a variety of City Council candidates to learn more and share the running party’s intended efforts to address the ongoing issues in their DTES community. 


The first episode in this series features Grace Quan, City Council candidate with TEAM for a Liveable Vancouver. Deirdre Pinnock leads us through the conversation as we hear Quan’s perspective on the importance of a holistic approach which includes the accessibility and access to key resources that support mental health and addiction, with a sense of community and compassion being at the forefront.


To learn more about TEAM for a Liveable Vancouver’s platform, check out this link: https://www.voteteam.ca/positions

To learn more about Grace Quan and her individual insights, check out this link: https://www.voteteam.ca/grace_quan

Stay tuned for more upcoming episodes featuring other City Council candidates as we lead up to the Vancouver election on Saturday October 15th, 2022. 

Hearing other people tell me that I’m good at this job: it’s not something that I hear everywhere.” Paul has joined us for our fourth episode of The Cardboard Project Podcast. We are lucky to have heard Paul’s journey as a life model through his undergraduate studies at the University of Calgary and moving to the Downtown Eastside (DTES). Paul explores his experience of finding creativity in his craft and building his own confidence while posing for artists. Residents of the DTES are often viewed as a homogenous group; Paul’s story reminds us that each person holds their own unique journeys, passions, and creativity that marks them as an individual. 

“It doesn’t matter what age you are - never give up on your dreams.” In our third episode, we are welcomed into a snapshot of Yvonne Mark’s story - a mother, a grandmother, and an inspiring writer in her Downtown Eastside (DTES) community. We are privileged to have had Yvonne share her personal hardships and her healing journey through addiction told through her wholehearted poetry. Now 16 years and 2 months sober, Yvonne is pursuing her long-standing dream of being a writer, and is on her way to self-publishing her poetry.
When it comes to the stigma in the DTES, individual journeys through addiction are often masked with a negative depiction and an overgeneralized perspective. What is often misrepresented are the complexities of the individual experience, the intersectional path that led an individual to be where they are today.
In this episode, we offer the long-overdue compassion to those working through and living with addiction. As like Yvonne’s story, each individual’s story is equally unique, valuable and worthy of compassion.
The following podcast was also recorded and edited by the lovely Eri Kikuchi.