Luring My Friend To The Farm

Wow, reading the last few stories you and Trisha have written has been really difficult. It brings back many memories of conversations I have had with some of the women that got lucky and the other women who I never saw again. One in particular comes to mind, her murder will be brought up in the next round of the Pickton trial. I remember she used to call me and tell me she was going to move out to this trailer, (she was developmentally delayed and didn't even really know what city it was in). She would go out there for a few days, she would call me, (as her welfare worker) and try to convince me to pay her rent out there. Thank god that her mental health worker and I had established a 'working relationship' long ago. We made the decision that moving out of her subsidized housing unit in the DTES and out to some guys farm into a trailer was bad news. She tried the same thing every few months and every time we shut her down. She didn't move out there but she kept going out there, and one day she never came back. I feel intense irony right now as I am writing this with the "This week in Orato" column next to me and Princess Diana's face looking at me. The woman I am talking about absolutely adored and worshiped Diana. I remember her inviting me over to see her Diana plate collection, she would purchase every new plate that came out, then she would run out of money and come ask for more. She didn't even realize not to tell me she spent her money on plates to hang on her wall instead of food and bills. Imagine her naivity when it came to Willie. I literally shudder with anger and frustration when I think of it. I remember the frustration when I told the police she was gone. They wanted to know how I knew that. Well, she's on welfare in the DTES, she addicted and works the streets and she has mental health issues....when she doesn't show up on welfare Wednesday, the next day or the next day, I KNOW, something is wrong. When you work in that field in that area long enough and you are actually the kind of person who cares about and like your clients, you know what to expect period. So the next time it happened to another woman I didn't even bother to deal with the police, I just called her mom, she too will be part of the next phase of Pickton's trial. This is truly heartbreaking and all I can do is thank you both for your ongoing coverage.

That is interesting and it leaves me with mixed emotions. In part I'm sure we all want this to be done and over with, even though it will never go away. However there is always the desire to find closure and to bond with people who share the loss. All we can do is continue to hope for justice and closure. Thanks Heather