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I had just finished reading another one of Sheila's books, Still Raising Hell, and decided that I wanted to share more of Sheila Baxter with everyone involved in Sharing Resources. So I called Sheila up, to ask her if I could interview her for this newsletter. "It's all in my books," she said. And so, back to the books it was! As I was re-reading, I realized that there was no way that I was going to be able to include everything that I want to in this small space that I have. I'll do my best, but my advice to you is to get a hold of Sheila's books and read them yourself! Sheila grew up in a working-class neighbourhood in London, England. Her background - growing up poor, sometimes hungry, running away from home - is important for her anti-poverty activism today, "When I speak from my working-class perspective, I know what I say and I know what I mean. I have an uncanny knack for seeing through bullshit," Sheila writes. Sheila began to get involved in the anti-poverty movement in Montreal in the 1970's. She worked on welfare issues, marched in demonstrations, attended sit ins, and put together a womens' day shelter called Chez Doris. She also learned about community organizing. "My major philosophy is that if you're building a movement - no matter what movement - you have to love each person," Sheila says. Important words for us to keep in mind when planning our projects! After ending up in Vancouver, Sheila continued her anti-poverty work in the community and began to study to become a social worker. Her decision to write books about poor peoples' experiences arose out of her own experiences when her voice, her stories about her community were labeled as untrue by a teacher. Speaking to a friend and fellow activist, Sheila declared "I promise you that I will write about this shit, this classism and poverty. I will write a book." And that was the beginning of Sheila's career as a literary guerilla. At the time, Sheila was volunteering at a Downtown Eastside women's centre. She started to ask the women she worked with "What do you think you need? Why do you think you're poor? What do you think the solutions are?" Soon she had a pile of stories, ideas, voices - the beginnings of would later become her first book, "No Way to Live: Poor Women Speak Out." Three other books - on homelessness, children living in poverty, and her own activism, have followed. They have won prizes and praise from a wide-range of people. Most importantly to Sheila, they have been accepted and praised by her community. Sheila ends her most recent book, Still Raising Hell: Poverty, Activism and other True Stories, with some words that I would also like to leave you with. "This book is an SOS," she says. "Please send help. One person can and does make a difference. Empower yourself and others by fighting back. You may be the special person that will be the catalyst that starts a movement that becomes so strong that no one can break it." Powerful words, from a woman who has been making a hell of a lot of difference in this world her entire life. Okay, so maybe I'm not quite done yet! I have to squeeze this one last thing in - I want to let you know what Sheila thinks of YOU! Talking to Sheila, she told me that she had been feeling depressed about her anti-poverty work. About the lack of change, the ever-growing problems. But, meeting all of the Banff delegates has, I think, re-inspired Sheila. "You were the first ones who really listened and took my book to heart. I have hope for the future in the youth of today because they're not scared to question. Thank-you," she said. Comment on a "You Said It" article or write your own in the Discussion Forum tgmag@tgmag.ca
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