Final Report Inclusion in Mainstream Spaces, Services and Programs in Vancouver’s Inner City: Comparing the Experiences

"The number one thing is not to give up hope… we must be aware of what’s going on in the community and not to give up.” We acknowledge that this research belongs to community and respectfully recognize that it occurred on the unceded and traditional territories of the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil- Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Coast Salish Nations. [...] Based on the only available statistical data, Census 2006, the people of the DTES have the lowest median income ($13,691 per annum) in the city – for the rest of the city the median income is $47,299 per annum. [...] INDIGENOUS ELDER-RELATED LITERATURE When looking into the research that currently exists relating to Indigenous Elders a few trends emerge, which highlight the lack of research relating to the many aspects of the lives of Elders in Canada. [...] At this event, we presented the initial findings of our research project. We invited all the Indigenous and non-Indigenous seniors who participated in the project to attend, along with all of the senior-serving organizations that we reached out to throughout the project. [...] In speaking to the community, we recognized that there is an overtly identified problem stemming from the lack of drivers and vans able to shuttle seniors to and from programming and community services.