Andrea Pinochet-Escudero for Park Board

 

Andrea Pinochet-Escudero (she/hers)

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Andrea Pinochet-Escudero: Why I’m running for the Board of Parks and Recreation 

Remarks at VOTE Socialist candidate launch event, July 17, 2022 in front of the Jericho Hostel

Women like me usually don’t run for elected office. It’s a daunting task. But today I’m proud to announce that I’m running for the Board of Parks and Recreation as part of this amazing team. I’m running because I’ve seen how access to recreation can transform lives. 

I have also had a very intimate look into the housing crisis. I was raised by a single mother who came to Canada as a refugee.  

My mother taught me many things. Above all she taught me how to be a fair and strong advocate for those whom the system has forgotten. Today in Vancouver it seems like a growing population is being forgotten and forced to leave the city or become homeless. 

I live my everyday life reminding people that they’re worth it, that they have value, and that they’re deserving of everything Vancouver has to offer. I’ve worked in shelters, drop-in centres in the Downtown Eastside, and I’m currently working in transitional housing in Mt. Pleasant supporting women who have become homeless because they have left abusive relationships.  I know children are growing up in shelters in Vancouver and there is no prospect of housing for them.

These women and children deserve not just safety. They deserve housing. They deserve recreation and leisure. They deserve to enjoy the outdoors, and to give their kids everything a child in West Point Grey would get. 

Vancouver should be for everyone, not just for the rich.   

That’s why we’re here today: Because we believe the poor deserve the right to the city. Because we believe nothing is too good for the working class.  

That includes the right to go to the beach. To sit on a log. To drink champagne - or sparkling juice… Go ahead, call us “champagne socialists.” Everyone deserves champagne too.  

So please raise a glass to toast with me: To a Vancouver For All, to waterfront social housing, to expanded recreation and free programs for youth, children and everyone making less $60,000 a year, to more pools, to more density and more social housing in West Pt. Grey - including density of services and amenities - and to this movement for justice we’re building together.