Voices of the Street: Without Prejudice — with Yvonne Mark and Dennis Gates

Content Warning: The stories in this series deal with difficult and sometimes traumatic topics. Please practice self care, stop listening, and seek help if you need to. Scroll down to find links to available supports.

For the third installment of the Voices of the Street podcast, we have a candid and heartful conversation between host Yvonne Mark and Megaphone writer Dennis Gates in response to his piece “Without Prejudice,” published in the 2021 Voices of the Street anthology.

In his piece, Dennis writes about his experiences of anti-Indigenous discrimination and injustice within the court system and the deep-felt impact of incarceration on his life. Yvonne and Dennis reflect on both their experiences with the criminal justice system, finding strength through writing, and the importance of sharing stories like theirs.

This episode was curated and hosted by poet, storyteller and Megaphone vendor, Yvonne Mark, an avid writer and advocate for ending stigma around substance use.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/voices-of-the-street/162-yvonne-mark-dennis-gates.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/162-yvonne-mark-dennis-gates.html

Mental Health Support:
Crisis Centre BC: https://crisiscentre.bc.ca/
Indian Residential School Survivors Society: https://www.irsss.ca/services
KUU-US Crisis Line: https://www.kuu-uscrisisline.com/
WAVAW Rape Crisis Centre: https://www.wavaw.ca/
BC Mental Health and Substance Use Services: http://www.bcmhsus.ca/

More Resources:
Yvonne’s website - I Live to Tell: https://www.ilivetotell.ca/
Pivot Legal Society: https://www.pivotlegal.org/
BC Civil Liberties Association: https://bccla.org/

About the series:
The 2021 Voices of the Street anthology, “INSIDE we are all the same,” jumps from the page in this special podcast series.

Featuring interviews with writers and personal reflections on how their lived experiences merge with the themes of the text, this podcast series illuminates Voices of the Street in a new way.

The Voices of the Street podcast is a six-part series for Below the Radar, curated and hosted by participants of Megaphone’s Speakers Bureau.

Read more: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/voices-of-the-street.html

Bios:
Yvonne Mark (Nisga’a-Gitxsan) was born in Haida Gwaii. Her parents had moved the family there so Yvonne wouldn’t have to go to residential school. She came to Vancouver when she was 16. In addition to her volunteer work at Carnegie Community Centre, Yvonne is a Megaphone vendor and member of Megaphone’s Speakers Bureau, working to end stigma around substance use. She has taken part in Megaphone’s Community Journalism 101 writing workshop, held in partnership with SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, and is an outspoken advocate for the Downtown Eastside.

Dennis Gates (Haida), at 60 years old, has lived in the Downtown Eastside for 25 years. He says he is proud to still be learning new things about himself. As a participant in Megaphone’s recent writing workshops for people with lived experience of incarceration — offered through a partnership with the UBC Transformative Health and Justice Research Cluster — Dennis was able to explore and express himself for the first time since being released from a federal institution in 1996, about what it was like to go to prison.

Cite this episode:
Chicago Style

Mark, Yvonne. “Voices of the Street: Without Prejudice” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, March 1, 2022. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/series/voices-of-the-street/162-yvonne-mark-dennis-gates.html.