Rich Coleman has an epiphany

Some mental health services to return to Riverview hospital, minister says
Rich Coleman says province will finalize a plan in the spring
                                        Mental-health plans for Riverview site
                                                 Coquitlam mayor optimistic over Riverview plans


UPDATE: (Dec 17 )  Known about this for months, finally an "official" press release.
First for B.C. recovery program helps addiction and mental illness

[ The "First for B.C.,..." statement is not true at all. ]

B.C.'s old Riverview Hospital to offer substance-abuse, mental-health programs

 40 beds? Too few, says MLA Robinson

Riverview services welcomed by mayor

[ actually only 14 new beds, the other 26 are just being transferred.  I heard one advocate from the Vancouver area stating that at the minimum 300 NEW beds are needed to deal with these multi-issue patients ]

 Dec. 23:  Man allegedly phoned in threat to kill VPD officer because he wanted mental health help
No charges laid in Sunday incident in crowded shopping area.
[ Sadly this cry for help in this fashion would frequently end badly, with some even more psychotic, paranoid police officer ending the patients misery. Hope the fellow gets his wish and is treated properly.   ]

     ☃     ☮  Happy Holidays  ☮     ☃

Coquitlam mayor optimistic over Riverview plans

Coquitlam mayor optimistic over Riverview plans

Illustrated Ideas for Riverview hospital

Well after a long wait the third round of  ideas and concepts, generated at the RenewingRiverview event has been placed online, for the public to comment on, apparently until mid-January.

Think  Art Therapy for the public.

 Have a look at the pages, and click away. ( Warning, very slow to load )

  Illustrated Ideas – Your turn to rate the features!
       
       There are 47 images to rate. These images came about from ideas put forward
by the participants in the break-out groups.

      There was actually other boards with artworks created prior, and during the event, that were also rated by the public as a whole at the event; they appear to NOT be shared online with the public.
Would have been nice to see those also shared with the public.

One observation is that nearly everything presented as an idea at the event was not new to the site in any way; most of the concepts had been fully integrated into the programs that were presented in the past at Riverview.  The only "new" concept was the idea of creating homes, on the site for the public; something which has always been greatly discouraged.  It is public land, not freehold.

 Other news:

Riverview confronts homelessness    [ Misleading headline ]

      The system for the mentally ill in B.C. is failing our families, advocate says.;
Brian Whitlock, diagnosed as mentally ill, isn’t the first case of a child apparently turning against their parent.
( some of the pro's would know that killers frequently started out killing animals first; so there is nothing new here. )

How does it work? CBT vs anti-depressants    CBT, being Cognitive behavioral therapy

Interesting letter/Column to the local paper:   COLUMN: Everyone deserves access to high-quality health care

Coquitlam mayor optimistic over Riverview plans

Art project

Art project focuses on Riverview Hospital patients
Through the grapevine I heard that there was a lot of material around, and that people were struggling with what to do with the patients effects; do you hide it away? or should it be shared freely?

Another ongoing project Lest WE Forget , documenting the people who served in the  Tri-Cites area, which of course includes Riverview.

[NOTE: I have been very busy, and recently hospitalized, so this project is taking shape slower than I would have liked it to; I have all of the information; it is just a tedious process to set it up as webpages. The Riverview Cemetery project is also slowly moving along;(nearly half-way through ) recently found another potential source of information Orders-in-Council  which sometimes give information about some of the people buried there.]

Long-missing patients

I am sure that there are more than these two patients missing; must be some from many years ago. The annual reports used to average around six to ten missing; some they thought probably just crossed the border, and were never heard from again; since the patients had ties to the U.S.A.

The local RCMP is looking for information about these six missing people, two of which were Riverview hospital patients, ( I actually thought that Linda Stephen, had been found. Damn secret medical community, not giving the public ALL of the tools needed to enable a safe recovery of these patients. This woman should have, and could have been found fairly easily using todays technology.  )

 File No. 2001-30232 Kenneth Sanford would be in his 70s now, after he went missing from Riverview Hospital on Aug. 1, 2001. The 59 year old had previously wandered away from the hospital but was found by staff members watching cars in the area. He wore full dentures and had a glass eye. A search of the hospital grounds by search and rescue teams turned up nothing. He had been homeless in the past and suffered from both mental and medical illnesses.

 File No. 2011-9427 Linda Stephen was last seen on the grounds of Riverview Hospital at 9:30 a.m. on April 8, 2011. Details of the 58-year-old’s case were fanned out to other police agencies in the area, but she was nowhere to be found.


 A different idea for Coquitlam's Riverview Hospital grounds
Another maybe well-meaning idea to populate the Riverview Hospital grounds, with a mix of "normal" and mentally ill people; sadly the "normal" people will not buy into it; especially the growing demographic that is prevalent in south-western British Columbia will not want anything to do with the concept. (pers. obs.)

RenewingRiverview

Drawing on input to create a vision for Riverview land in Coquitlam
All portions of the process under the "care" of the RenewingRiverview  folk.

 B.C. communities keen on Victoria and Vancouver’s mental health approach.
ACT teams of police, social workers and health experts have trimmed hospital visits and jail time for the mentally ill

B.C. mayors push province on mental health

The Transit police, justifying their existence, in two newspaper articles

'Obviously, there's mental issues going on': SkyTrain ‘ride along’ tours the dark side of public transit;

1 in 6 transit police files fall under Mental Health Act, while almost 1 in 3 files to be opened in 2014 are projected to involve someone with mental illness

Mental illness, the elephant in our urban room: Top eight frequent offenders on transit all suffer 'mental instability'

Two buildings are being reopened

 Transcribed article from:  Page A6 Friday, September 12, 2014 Tri-City News

More Health help planned for Riverview

Hiring fair on Saturday for a program to help men, women

By Diane Strandberg, The Tri-City News

Riverview Hospital may have closed two years ago but discussion on the future of the 244- acre site is ongoing, with many suggesting it become a refuge for people with mental health and addiction issues.
It apparently is already, with a program about to launch on the Riverview grounds for people recovering from both mental illness and addiction.
The executive director of non-profit Coast Mental Health confirmed this week that three years of funding has been granted by the Provincial Health Services Authority for a program for 40 men and women to run out of the Hillside and Brookside buildings on the site.
Tomorrow (Saturday), a job fair is being held on the Riverview grounds to seek out people for more than 40 positions, including mental health practitioners, cooks, housekeepers and leisure therapists.
Darrell Burnham said the referrals will come from the Burnaby Centre for Mental Health and Addictions, with Coast Mental Health providing up to a year or more of support through a variety of counselling and clinic al programs, including 24-hour nursing care.
Denise Bradshaw, program director with BC Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, said the money comes from a $5-million fund announced by the Ministry of Health this year to deal with people who have both mental health and addiction issues.”The goal is to allow people to have a longer stay in treatment and recovery before moving back to home communities, “she said.
Whatever the goals, members of the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society are welcoming the news as a sign that the former provincial mental health hosp ital is still regarded as a place to support people with mental illness.
“It’s such a place for healing,” said Norma Gillespie, who noted society volunteers will be cleaning up the creek next to the Hillside and Brookside buildings to make the area welcoming for the new residents.
The group has long championed Riverview as a centre for mental health excellence and Gillespie said the establishment of a new program, albeit relatively short-term, is a good sign.
“We are thrilled,” she said.
Burnham said the reuse of the two buildings was considered because they didn’t need much work except for some safety upgrades and paint, and could be open quickly. As for the longer term use of Riverview, Burnham said that would be decided through BC Housing’s ongoing vision and review.
Coast Mental Health also operates a cottage program at Riverview for approximately 41 men and women.
dstrundberg@tricitynews.com

NIALL WILLIAMS PHOTO

The Hillside building is one of two on the Riverview Hospital site that will be used for a new program aimed at helping people with mental health and addiction issues.

--- 30 ---

Here is more information for the job seekers who want to work for Coastal Mental Health on this project.
 There is actually more job fairs this Thursday and Saturday.   Good Luck !

In a side bar in the above article Diane Strandberg also mentions the Rally at Colony Farm, which has now happened, and you can find out more HERE
And secondly mention is also made of the Third Renewing Riverview open houses

The signs of something happening at Hillside and Brookside did not go unnoticed, I mentioned it before

Third open house

Well the dates have been confirmed: The Renewingriverview folks are hosting another information gathering exercise for Riverview.

     Apparently Stanley King is also facilitating these meetings and  their expertise is primarily focused on building and site planning.  [ Never knew that we were at that stage in the process; I want the satin silk pleated curtains in a burgundy-peach please; and the platinum- plated outdoor taps would be a nice touch ]

The third round of Riverview Open Houses will be interactive. Join us and brainstorm ideas in a collaborative  session and see your ideas come to life with the help of an artist.

☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮

Session 1

Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2014      Time:  4:30pm ­ - 8pm
      4:30pm - Sign Up and Open House
          4:45pm - “A Day in the Life” Brainstorming
              5:30pm - 7:30pm - Artist Sessions – (small group sessions run approximately 20 minutes)
                     7:30pm - 8:00pm - Viewing & Rating

Place: Douglas College, Coquitlam ( Atrium )
Address: 1250 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam

☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮

Session 2

Date: Saturday, September 27, 2014      Time: 10am – 1:30pm
     10:00am - Sign Up and Open House
           10:15am - “A Day in the Life” Brainstorming
                   11:00am - 1:00pm - Artist Sessions – (small group sessions run approximately 20 minutes)
                            1:00pm - 1:30pm - Viewing & Rating

Place: Centennial Activity Centre
Address: 570 Poirier Street, Coquitlam ( Entrance off Winslow Avenue )

☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮

If you cannot attend the Open House in person, we invite you to participate online at Renewingriverview

 Illustrated ideas from the sessions will be available to be viewed and voted on between October 1 and October 10.

Do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you may have.

Chi Chi Cai (B.A., M.Pl.)    ccai@brookpooni.com

Planning Analyst| Brook Pooni Associates Inc.

Suite 410 - 535 Thurlow Street, Vancouver, BC  V6E 3L2

☎ 604 731-9053 ext. 122       Fax:   604 731-9075



To  register, contact:   ☎  604.216.7057
   e-mail:     questions@renewingriverview.com

September news and Treefest

The report from the second RenewingRiverview planning exercise open house is now available; get it HERE ( PDF)

The second open house was named the:  Creating goals open house
Lots of reading there too, read the background information

Well TREEFEST is just about here  Saturday September 13, 11am - 4pm

 after a lot of run-around from the bureaucrats; no you cannot have it there, or there, or there, they relented after pressure was applied, and guess what? the usual site at the HEY building was okayed. The HEY building will NOT be opened though.  And Charles Chan AKA "Charlie Chan" insists that we leave the site in better condition than when we started, which we always did anyway. More information can also be acquired from the City of Coquitlam's webpage about Treefest

       Have a look at the Treefest 2014 poster (in Google doc viewer),
                   or view it as a PDF  or a smaller version PDF


      Apparently the Hillside building is being repainted inside, and the outside shrubbery, and plantings have been removed, ( some of which I myself donated and planted, along with many others ), the Brookside building is also being cleaned up apparently, something to do with the huge overflow of the multiple issue patients at the Willingdon facility.
Not that long ago the folks from Willingdon were using Leeside and Brookside, but the contract run out, and they decamped back to Willingdon. Unknown when the photo op with the bureaucrats will be stating how they are increasing health care beds for people with issues.  But still good news to see the buildings being used for what they were designed for in the near future.  Sadly the taxpayer as usual foots the bill for all of this; the building were being used, then emptied of everything, then later refurnished and used for patient care again; then the cycle repeats itself, classic government waste.

      And a distressed person drove into the Centre Lawn building at high speed, and  both the driver and the building live on.  See a short video clip  ( YouTube )

As Riverview is now closed the care previously done at Riverview, is now non-existant or severely lacking, and has fallen onto Vancouver's shoulders.  "Crisis' of dealing with the mentally ill continues unabated for Vancouver police

Missing patient, Pancho Desperatus-Amator DeTanza

Headline reads:  Man goes missing from Coquitlam mental health facility on old Riverview grounds
Coquitlam RCMP page about the fellow

 Pancho Desperatus-Amator-DeTanza was last seen by staff around 9 a.m., Tuesday, July 29

He is described as a 37-year-old Hispanic man with short black hair. He is six feet, two inches tall, has brown eyes and last seen wearing a dark grey plaid shirt and blue jeans.

Police said he suffers from a mental disorder and should not be approached.

According to the Paraguayan newspaper, ABC Color, Desperatus-Amator-deTanza was arrested in 2004 for shooting Canadian diplomat Alvin Fehr in the shoulder.


[ Looks like two little tattoo's under his eyes ]

 UPDATE:  The RCMP is pleased to confirm that the 37-year-old male reported missing from Cypress Lodge has been located, and he is safe and sound.

Coquitlam council's vision for RView

Coquitlam Council released their revised vision for Riverview, after the government asked them (forced them to ? ) .

Coquitlam City news release
  Which also points to the Coquitlam City Riverview page where more detailed reports are available to download

CBC Early edition also interviewed Coquitlam mayor, Richard Stewart jump to the 2:11 mark to listen.


Also Global News covered the press release by the City.
     Coquitlam council unveils plan for Riverview Hospital
         Riverview Land Report

Hopefully this report will form a portion of the ongoing Renewingriverview information gathering team's report to the government.

And the printed media has finally put up some articles about the report generated by the City of Coquitlam:

The Province:  Riverview Hospital site should be developed into a health care campus: report
The Vancover Sun:  Coquitlam proposes resurrection of Riverview Hospital
        Revamped facility should house mental health, addiction and acute care services, report says


The Tri-City News:   Coquitlam endorses Riverview as health centre, hospital site
The Tri-Cities Now:    A new hospital for Riverview grounds?

UPDATE:  article in the Vancouver Sun : 
Pete McMartin: Trying to hit the sweet spot between asylums and the street.
    New version of Riverview psychiatric hospital may be a way to heal old wounds.
[ A better description than most about why the social disaster caused by closing down the hospital, is now so visible in the public, especially in Vancouver's downtown Eastside ]

April almost May

Tri-City News:  Survey says: There should be a wellness role for Riverview Hospital lands


Open houses for the Second round of Riverview consultations — with the theme “creating goals” — will be held Saturday, May 24 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam ( find Dogwood Pavilion using a Goole Earth kml file )
and
Wednesday, May 28 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Kyle Centre in Port Moody. ( find Kyle Centre using a Google Earth kml file )

 Further open houses are slated for September and December. For more information, visit renewingriverview


Letters to the editor:  Just reopen Riverview

Also somewhat related to Riverview, but in Colony Farm:  Keep pipe out of park


UPDATE:  The Renewingriverview folk finally posted the next Second round of dates and information gathering opportunities on their website HERE 

Also the First round of public consultation summary has finally been released, download the PDF of it.

And I transcribed this letter to the editor and place it here since it is pertinent. ( sadly all to frequently not all news, letters, etc makes it into the online electronic side of the news industry.)

The Editor,

Re. “Bailey bridge battle brewing” (The Tri-City News, April 9) and “Hallway medicine?” (April 11).

The old expression “beating your head against a brick wall” came to mind as I contemplated the ongoing dispute between Coquitlam and New Westminster over the Band-Aid Bailey bridge at Braid Street.

It seems the Royal City believes it has some royal prerogative to unilaterally frustrate regional transportation issues despite the fact that it lost out to Victoria when the provincial capital was moved there 150 years ago. Such quaint and parochial delusions of importance, or the converse claim that poor little New Westminster is bullied by its larger neighbours, just don’t cut it.

This delusion persists despite the royal tour by New West city councillors of neighbouring councils pleading the case for their version of a Pattullo Bridge opt ion. (This tour bypassed Coquitlam council, perhaps because New West rightly believed its reception here would be even worse than the negative reactions they received in Port Coquitlam, Burnaby and Surrey.)

There are other regional problems and initiatives that may find solutions in a rethink outside of the box in which New Westminster likes to reside. One deleterious consequence of its failure to think regionally is the very real threat of constricted access to Royal Columbian Hospital, the only regional piece of infrastructure that New Westminster embraces. But I don’t think that even Port Moody’s push for expansion of Eagle Ridge Hospital’s emergency room offer anything but a stop-gap measure to ensure health, safety and timely services outside of New Westminster.

Perhaps it is time to push for a larger regional hospital presence outside of the Kingdom of New Westminster. It seems to me the Riverview Hospital site may present an alternative to the transportation grid-locked Royal Columbian Hospital. The Riverview site is well-served by transportation corridors, the site is available and money designated for a Royal Columbian expansion could be diverted to the benefit of all.

E.C. Eddy Coquitlam

Marching into April

A letter to the Vancouver Sun:  Keep Riverview for public use;  Showcase tree collection, set up B.C. centre of excellence for health care.

Article in the Sun:    Psychiatric ‘crisis’ leaves mentally ill in jail, documents say.  (overflowing for some time at the Forensic site )

Nice food for thought article in the North Shore Schizophrenia Society,(NSSS) newsletter:   Issue #133 March 2014.    Note:  the website also has a good selection of resource Links.

A night of history and hope
Nurse was killed in a hostage-taking at the old B.C. Penitentiary in 1975. I blogged before about it:
Mary Steinhauser Legacy fundraiser—An Evening of Story, Song & Dance, Sat., March 29, 2014 at 7:30pm, Terry Fox Theatre, Port Coquitlam.

A Confession  at the Georgia Strait:  Riverview Hospital    ( More of a rant really) I find it interesting that rants, attract more ranting in the comments, and that no real names are ever attributed.

Big bucks for Coquitlam byelection
      Where it is noted that Chris Wilson and  Bonita Zarrillo, received some monies for their war chests from, Brook Pooni Associates (consultants for Riverview Hospital’s redevelopment)

I would think that many would find this next link interesting for both providers and users.
HEALTHTALKONLINE is a database of hundreds of interviews with patients afflicted by various conditions, ranging from ethnic experiences in mental health to Alzheimer's to experiences with being a clinical trial subject to cancer. It also includes a section on youth experiences with illness.

Top two ambulance officials in B.C. quit following investigation into personnel issue (update).
Probably part of the reason why, ambulance personnel are frequently found using inadequate facilities.
At Riverview they  were in the Distribution centre / Pharmacy building, (they still appear to use a portion of the building )  but most of the time they utilize  Cottage 122


No mention yet about the Renewingrivierview  redevelopment process with the bizarre forum that they used Placespeak  (still having nightmares over that website, suddenly I and at least one other person that I know, had their names changed to anonymous, noticed a few others too, without our consent; can you say NSA ?  )

All the best, Anonymous    (I will wear it as a badge of honour )

Riverview in the news

Global News:  What should be done with Riverview Hospital? Housing? More mental health services?

CBC Radio February 27, 2014. Podcast  move the slider ahead to the 31:05 minutes mark, where a short interview with  Shayne Ramsay, CEO of B.C. Housing, commences.

Globe & Mail:  Dark history may temper public input on former hospital at Riverview.
[ Dark history? from my researches a patient was much safer at Riverview, than being out in the general public. The level of care given was exemplary, considering the sometimes bizarre circumstances the staff would find themselves in.  ]

I went to the first public event that B.C. Housing has branded as Renewingriverview,with their website.
 You can sign your identity possibly away, and provide online commenting via the above website, which in turn steers you to another website:  Placespeak   which has a convoluted sign up process that also in turn links to Twilio in their phone number confirmation procedures, and communication via telephony.
   Frustrating experience I had with it all, Google, rightly informed me that email redirection was going on, and stopped an email that I sent to renewingriverview, and correctly placing any further attempted communications with these entities into my Spam folder.  By all means please comment though, just be vigilant

Download the Comment Form (PDF) that was provided  at the first meeting, which  I guess could be forwarded to the email address provided on the website:      questions@renewingriverview.com

     or mail it to:                Renewing Riverview Communications

                               BC Housing

                               1700 – 4555 Kingsway

                               Burnaby, BC   V5H 4V8

All comments are to be turned in by March 15, to be used for the first round of public commenting

questions@renewingriverview.com

questions@renewingriverview.com

Renewing Riverview Communications
BC Housing
1700 – 4555 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC   V5H 4V8 - See more at: http://renewingriverview.com/questions/#sthash.6JDJmLci.dpuf

       I was chatting with some of the staff, about the building condition assessments, since I was concerned that  a few of the buildings were not part of the assessment process, and was told that the building surveyor, was using a list generated by the Riverview Heritage Values 2012 report created last year.  Something, that I never saw in the report, well after chatting with a member of the public, I found out that actually there has been many reports generated that the general public has not been given access to, and the building condition assessment reports, were generated from one of these private reports.

    My question would be to B.C. Housing; "How is the public supposed to give relevant well-informed input into the public process, when we are not given access to the tools required?"

Buildings NOT assessed were:  Bakery,(1940,1946); Boiler house(1924/1971); Industrial Therapy,(1962); Distribution Centre,(1963); Laundry / Stores (1951); Auditorium / Chapel (1959); and  Valleyview (1959)


Tri-City News:  GREEN SCENE: What's the future of Riverview?  [ A picture of mine was used of the Crease Clinic at dusk in the printed edition of the newspaper, but not in the online version. ]
    The Coquitlam Now:  Big turnout for Riverview open house
        Concerns with R'view open houses     [ glad to see that others are also seeing through this type of micro-managing that is being foisted upon the public in this present round of "public consultation" ]

 

This Land is your land..... Doing our bit to publicize the events, Pete Seeger, would be proud

The fellow on the left is reponsible for B.C. Housing, the other fellow, well he could be his brother.
 

I will add to this post as more news becomes available, and now back to our regular programming, which may include having a look at some of  my images related to Riverview, organized into sets at Flickr.
 
Pennington Hall   —   Centre Lawn —  East Lawn  —   Henry Esson Young building
Cottages   —  North Lawn  —  Industrial Therapy —  Valleyview; Homes for the Aged
Boys Industrial School of Coquitlam   —   Crease Clinic
Fire Hall  —  Nurses Residences     a few more sets to create yet; Riverview is such a vast place.  ☺

Riverview for Sale?

   Received this message, I have added  the correct links. As usual a very short period of time to respond, not unusual considering the short attention span of our commandant.

BC Housing will be distributing to over 16,000 Coquitlam households. [ A PDF of it HERE, a simple message, reproduced almost entirely below ]   I am advised that BC Housing will also be running ads in a number of media publications starting next week including the Tri-Cities NOW, Tri-City News, Metro Vancouver, and 24 Hours. They will also have digital ads on the Vancouver Sun and Province websites.

Their website – www.renewingriverview.com [ Actually  http://renewingriverview.com/     RENEWINGRIVERVIEW  ]  – goes live on Monday, Feb. 17th. After the Riverview site goes live, Corporate Communications will be promoting the open houses via the City website and social media channels.

      Please Join Us at Our First Open House for the Riverview Lands Vision Process.
The Riverview Lands have over 100 years of significance in the province of British Columbia and the region. We would like to hear from you as we explore the possibilities for the future of the lands through a Vision Process.

Two Open Houses have been scheduled to serve as an introduction to BC Housing, the project team and the Vision Process.  We look forward to your feedback.

For more information, please visit our website    www.renewingriverview.com  [ renewingriverview ]

     or contact:

          ☎  Telephone:  604.439.8577          ✉  E-mail:   questions@renewingriverview.com

Renewingriverview on Twitter :    @RenewRiverview   tweet, tweet

Identical information will be available on both dates.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

4:30pm - 7:30pm (Drop-In)

Burquest Jewish Community Centre

2860 Dewdney Trunk Road, Coquitlam

[  View in Google Earth using a KML File   ]

Saturday, March 1, 2014

10:00am - 2:00pm (Drop-In)

Centennial Pavilion, Centennial Room,620 Poirier Street, Coquitlam

(Beside Dogwood Pavilion, entrance off Winslow Avenue)

[View in Google Earth using a KML file ]

[  From what I have been told, 7 days after this meeting, all public commenting will close  ☹   ]

Virtual Open House

       If you cannot attend the open house in person, we invite you to visit our website: www.renewingriverview.com  [ renewingriverview ] and participate in the online Open House. The Open House material will be displayed on this website starting February 28, 2014 and you will have the opportunity to submit your feedback.


Not much electronic chatter about this open-house.   Social media chimes in on Riverview

Have your say electronically, must sign up to comment at the B.C. Housing Corporations,  facilitators web forum  ( Placespeak.com )

             -30-

Just by chance I found this myhealthmycommunity ( many very similar named sites out there too ) It has been up since June of 2013, but no mention of a cut-off date.
Which is a website put up, by Fraser Health, and Vancouver Coastal Health looking for input, I say give it to them; but be kind.  ☺

        Lets all overload the servers involved, and send a collective message, to save Riverview, for whom it was intended all along, the health of the people of British Columbia, NOT the short term gain of some government accounting department.

          In the newspapers:

And now for something on a happier note, trees and women, article from the Vancouver Sun.
 Shelley Fralic: Surrey arborist sees the forest for the trees
      Carolina Arango hopes to get more women interested in arboriculture

Time to speak on Riverview   and   Open houses on R'view future start soon   [ outlining the first lead article in this post ]
 February 21, 2014 Tri-City News   click through to page a14
             Market Housing will be part of talks on R'view
UPDATE for the above, the Tri-city news, has not put this article online, so I transcribed it, and put it HERE
Finally ! the paper uploade it:  Market housing will be part of talks on R’view   (exact article, sans one picture )

Demolition at Riverview raises concerns.   [ Eminent Destruction of the Transport Garage, or as the Hospital Annual Report, named it, "Central Mechanical Depot" was built starting in March 1954, and added to throughout the years. Picture of the site  for the history books, now.  Hopefully not the start of a destructive frenzy. ]
  A few pictures for posterity

 

 Note the barn, long gone, and the gas pump close to the garage.

Before closure the gas pumps were further away in the top left area in this image

A good possibility that a few of the previous residents of Riverview, went to this care home, which has been told that Fraser Health will not renew their contract with them.Apparently Fraser Health wants them to provide more specialized care, which needs more room, to provide.  Hmm, Now where is a place that has lots of room and provided specialized care? The now gutted Valleyview 300, comes to mind instantly, North Lawn, also gutted and empty.
 Family speaks out over Coquitlam care home closure
                                         Coquitlam seniors care centre to close?
Continuing privatization of the health care system, with patients being used as pawns, in a nasty and cruel game, that will probably lead to the early demise of some patients.

CBC News Vancouver  Nov 15, 2013
Pieces of the land could be sold off to build condominiums   short video news item highlighting Coquitlam.
Missed this from last year, still pertinent though.

BC Housing presentation to RLAC

Not Riverview; asylum in New Jersey before and after photos. Hopefully the buildings at Riverview hospital will never look like that one; but wait a minute we have West Lawn, which was better built actually than the one in New Jersey, and that has been allowed to fall apart through neglect.

Open houses on R'view future start soon.  But after they destroy the transport services buildings, and a panoramic picture of the soon to be destroyed buildings.

        A day or two ago, the Coquitlam City, Riverview Lands Advisory Committee,(RLAC) met at City hall, and were given the presentation below, gleaned from a pdf of what looks like  dreaded powerpoint files; can you say boring ?

Housing Matters BC

City of Coquitlam – RLAC Presentation
January 14, 2014

•  Update to RLAC since October 9th, 2013

•  BC Housing’s mandate – self sustaining development model

•  Overview of public consultation plan for 2014

•  Incorporate City of Coquitlam thoughts into the engagement plan

PUBLIC CONSULTATION PLAN

Public Consultation Strategy

• Mindful of previous processes and consultation
• Look to engage a broader range of stakeholders
• First Nations

Objectives

• Outreach at a local, regional and provincial scale
•  Ideas and feedback
•  Social, economic and environmental aspects
• Report outcomes of public meetings and open houses
• Establish consensus
• Council Endorsement of Visioning Process

  3 Key Strategies

• Advisory Groups
• Public Open Houses
• Online and Social Media Presence

Stakeholders

• Engage stakeholder groups and agencies through Open House Events and follow-up meetings

ADVISORY GROUPS

Advisory Roles
 Advisory Groups

• Provincial: Government Agencies and Project Partners
• City of Coquitlam: Council, RLAC, and City Staff
• Social / Housing: Tri Cities Housing and Homelessness Task Force
• Economic: Tri Cities Chambers of Commerce
• Other Municipalities: Tri Cities, Maple Ridge, New Westminster, and others to be determined

 Stakeholder Groups & Agencies

• Engagement through Open House events
•  Follow-up meetings as required

OPEN HOUSE #1

  Collection of Ideas

•  Introduction of the Riverview visioning process

•  Overview of BC Housing’s role in the Vision Process

•  Summary of past reports, research and inventories

•  Statement of current commitments being considered by BC Housing & the Province

•  Summary of current maintenance costs, revenues and business models

•  Communicate the comments and feedback received to date

•  Indicate how the region has changed over the past decade

•  Collection of ideas from the general public and stakeholders

•  Outline next steps and public consultation plan for 2014

OPEN HOUSES

 Collection of Ideas

•  Introduction of the Riverview visioning process

•  Overview of BC Housing’s role in the Vision Process

•  Summary of past reports, research and inventories

•  Statement of current commitments being considered by BC Housing & the Province

•  Summary of current maintenance costs, revenues and business models

•  Communicate the comments and feedback received to date

•  Indicate how the region has changed over the past decade

•  Collection of ideas from the general public and stakeholders

•  Outline next steps and public consultation plan for 2014

OPEN HOUSES

Open House #2

•  “Creating Goals”

•  Prioritize and group ideas based on Open House #1

• Confirmation of priorities and goals

Open House #3

•  “Ideas for a Vision”

•  Present preliminary ideas

•  Confirmation of ideas

Open House #4

•  “Envisioning Riverview”

•  Present the Vision for Riverview

•  Confirmation of Vision 

CONSULTATION TIMELINE

December 2013 – January 2014

•  Preliminary meetings

•  Council update

• RLAC update

February – March 2014

•  Open House #1

•  Website and online consultation launch

•  Advisory meetings

•  Council and RLAC update

May - June 2014

•  Open House #2

•  Advisory meetings

•  Council and RLAC update

September 2014

•  Open House #3

•  Advisory meetings

•  Council and RLAC update

December 2014

•  Open House #4

•  Deliver a report to Council on the Vision

They Must Sleep in the Center of the Bed

Would you take a mentally-ill stranger into your home to live with you like family, possibly for the rest of his life? What if your town had been doing it successfully for 700 years?

Gleaned from Metafilter; interesting

Mary Steinhauser Legacy fundraiser

The Mary Steinhauser Legacy fundraiser—An Evening of Story, Song & Dance, Sat., March 29, 2014 at 7:30pm, Terry Fox Theatre, Port Coquitlam, BC, which celebrates the inspired life, work, and legacy of SFU alumna Mary Steinhauser (BA’71), nurse, social worker, and prisoner rights advocate. Mary died tragically in a blaze of gunfire in a 41-hour hostage-taking at the BC Penitentiary, New Westminster in June 1975. Her heroism and compassion in offering herself as principal hostage at this time is the stuff of legend. Proceeds to the Mary Steinhauser Memorial Bursary for SFU Aboriginal Students in Arts & Social Sciences. Tickets at the new  MarySteinhauser  website  Info     margaretfranz01(at)gmail.com
Mary did some of her training at Riverview