3 -. Wednesday, June 7, 1989 - Capilano Chronicle Capilano society discusses social concerns ALCOHOLISM, drugs, poverty, inaccessible housing, family breakdown and Joneliness are some of the complex probleins North Vancouver District staff members and citizens must increasingly ad- dress. These problems must be dealt with locally in response to senior governments gradually withdraw- ing their support, district social planner Rupert Downing told the annual general meeting of . the Capilano Community Services Society (CCSS) May 18. " The homeless, the long-terra un- ' employed and welfare recipients make up an underclass : that threatens to become entrencl-ed in North Vancouver, social resea-cher Michael Goldberg told. the same gathering at Delbrook Community Centre. It’s up to such neighborhood ac- tion groups as CCSS to provide the local leadership needed to turn around the social dilemmas devel- oping in North Vancouver, both men said. Resident Marilyn Baker-Ander- son told Goldberg that “‘the dem- ocratic channels we presently have are not working.” “The public are concerned,’’ Baker-Anderson said, ‘“‘but- we don’t feel we have the mechanisms in place to voice our views.””. .__ Goldberg, the senior research associate of the Social Planning and Research Council of B.C., | said that volunteers in non-profit: - organizations ‘‘have to become po-: litical’? by appearing before municipal councils in a ‘‘non-par- . tisan’’ way. “] have been‘ frustrated by the lack of politics in North Van- - couver,’’ said Goldberg, who lived in the. Norgate/Capilano area for 14 years, during which time he did three years of social work at North Shore Neighborhood House. “I have a real fear for democracy in the Western world,” Goldberg said, adding that we ab- rogate our democratic respon- sibilities when we not only don’t vote but.don’t become actively in- volved in campaigns, support peo- ple once they’re in office, and make sure they remain accountable to citizens. Downing said increased housing: - prices and the aging of the popula- tion are creating marked changes in the demographics of North Vancouver. Not only has the district population risen from 58,000 in 1971 to 70,000 in 1986, but seniors now make up eight per cent of the community and their percentage will double in.the next decade. - ‘ “The availability” of affordable housing is clearly a crisis,’?, Down- ing said. ‘‘It’s a major social prob- lem here on the North Shore and is driving people away.”’ North Lonsdale, Downing told the meeting, is declining in popula-- MANY SOCIAL concerns were discussed at the recent general meeting of the Capitano Community, Services Society. Michael Goldberg (left) and district social planner Rupert Downing spoke on the topic of The Chang- ing Nature of Our Neighborhood into the ’90s. Alice Hargreaves, right, is the executive director of the com- munity services society. tion while the eastern part of the district increases and pressure for re-development is growing in older neighborhoods. Builders: take little interest. in putting up low-cost rental accom- modation, instead aiming for the older buyers with money. “The empty-nesters develop- ments in the east end of the district are definitely geared to the higher Society honors ist life member JOAN WHITTOW was “made the first honorary life member of the Capilano Community Services Society (CCSS) at its annual gen- eral. meeting at Delbrook Com- munity Centre on May 18. “We want to recognize Joan as a tireless worker and thoughtful leader who over the years has demonstrated in countless ways the . spirit of neighborliness and the belief in the community upon which our society is built,’’ said CCSS president Patricia Bell in presenting Whittow with an engraved plaque. “Joan Whittow was one of a small group of Capilano residents who first met 20 years ago out of “concern for the young people of Capilano,”’ Bell sait, referring to the youth riot in Edgemont Village which stunned the community on Halloween night in 1968. Whittow served as chairman of the Capilano Highland Communi- ty Council, as it was originally called, from 1974 to 1979. : Bell thanked Whittow for her volunteer work with the society’s first information centre and her work with the early youth pro- grams. Whittow was in fact the in- «» recently made the first life member of the Capilano Community Services Society. MEXICAN FOOD Lunch... Brunch | Dinner... Take Out 3108 Edgemont Bivd., North Vancouver spiration for both, Bell added. “Her involvement with the society has been marked by a quiet strength and a ‘gracious concern for those around her,” Bell said of Whittow. Bell described CCSS as “‘a socie- ty committed to involving citizens in shaping and enriching com- munity life.’” ; Alice Hargreaves, executive director of CCSS, said that ‘‘vol- unteers contribute up to 5,000 hours annually’’ to such programs - and services as the Capilano Youth Project at William Griffin Recre- ation Centre and the Seniors’ Hub at the Delbrook Plaza. «. ; Youth worker Terry Bulych, seniors coodinator Jean Taylor and prime time child:ninding supervisor Salley Lee were also thanked for their contributions. Hargreaves told the meeting that new volunteers are always welcome and can contact the society at its office in the North Building of the Delbrook Community Centre at 600 West Queens Road in North Vancouver or at 988-7115. * 255-1188 end of the market,’’ Downing said. .Wealth and poverty are becom- ing polarized as the effects of the recession are still felt by the 9.5 per cent of district residents who live below the poverty line, Downing added. Goldberg said that the poverty taking root in Lower Lonsdale is making North Vancouver look in- creasingly: like Britain, where a geographical divide has emerged between the poor north and the wealthy south. Family violence -is also on, the increase in North Vancouver District, Downing told the meeting, as people fail to cope with the pressures of success-oriented socie- ty. See Native Page 6