My name is Yvonne McSkimming and I give my consent for my story and photo to be published and used for the Stories of Bowen Project.
My story begins four years ago when I decided I wanted to move to Bowen Island from Vancouver. I had been to Bowen several times for work related projects and felt the island was magical. I can not pinpoint exactly what was magical for me but something about the people, energy, and spirit of the island spoke to me. I had not found any other place in the Lower Mainland that gave me the same feeling or was as inviting. I knew that living on an island would be different from living in the city i.e., taking a ferry to work, can't order out for Thai, more deer than people, but looked at the opportunity as a chance to grow and provide my son a safe place where he could be a kid, make a connection with mother nature and most importantly where we didn’t have to lock our front door all the time. It reminded me of when I was a kid and able to play in the neighborhood and hang out with my friends without my mom having to worry that something disastrous was going to happen to me. I felt this kind of freedom was becoming more difficult to find in an urban setting and perceived Bowen to be a gift to us. There are few places I consider a haven and without a doubt Bowen is one of them. A mystical island where one can be inspired, feel safe, engaged with nature and be apart of a very distinctive community. I feel that my son and I are not simply a house number here but rather members in a really super cool secret club that takes us for who we are and expects nothing more. A club where our contributions have value and where we are treated with tremendous respect, generosity and kindness. As a single mom, I could not ask for more.
If there was one thing I would change about Bowen, it would be having more affordable housing available for the many families and individuals who live here full time but can not afford the cost of owning a home here. There are limited rental opportunities on island and although I understand the politics around providing affordable housing the island is more than losing out by not doing something to seriously address this issue. I believe we could create affordable housing if we really wanted to. There are enough trades people, interest, land and resources available if we could only pool our connections to create something spectacular. What we are missing is the drive and commitment to make it possible. All I ever hear is how building affordable housing is not financially viable and I challenge this. I know both the cities of Vancouver and Toronto just completed projects where they partnered with developers and banks to build multi dwelling units in areas where traditionally this has not been possible. Affordable units were built by resource sharing, eliminating high end fixtures and everyone involved taking a wee cut on their profit margin. The message behind this approach being "people in balance with profit". Now I am not completely loopy to think that "people over profit" was really just about that. I know it was mostly about PR and image building but regardless both these projects were completed and created sustainable affordable housing. You are welcome to convince me this can not be achieved on Bowen.
The people we lose by not making something happen are those most connected to this island; volunteers, the young families, the people who support our local businesses year round and most importantly our seniors who act as our historical underpinnings. To me, the solution is simple and if I personally had the money to start something in motion I would. To that end, I would gladly give of the resources I did have if we could all just believe we could make it happen instead of talking about why we can’t.
My story begins four years ago when I decided I wanted to move to Bowen Island from Vancouver. I had been to Bowen several times for work related projects and felt the island was magical. I can not pinpoint exactly what was magical for me but something about the people, energy, and spirit of the island spoke to me. I had not found any other place in the Lower Mainland that gave me the same feeling or was as inviting. I knew that living on an island would be different from living in the city i.e., taking a ferry to work, can't order out for Thai, more deer than people, but looked at the opportunity as a chance to grow and provide my son a safe place where he could be a kid, make a connection with mother nature and most importantly where we didn’t have to lock our front door all the time. It reminded me of when I was a kid and able to play in the neighborhood and hang out with my friends without my mom having to worry that something disastrous was going to happen to me. I felt this kind of freedom was becoming more difficult to find in an urban setting and perceived Bowen to be a gift to us. There are few places I consider a haven and without a doubt Bowen is one of them. A mystical island where one can be inspired, feel safe, engaged with nature and be apart of a very distinctive community. I feel that my son and I are not simply a house number here but rather members in a really super cool secret club that takes us for who we are and expects nothing more. A club where our contributions have value and where we are treated with tremendous respect, generosity and kindness. As a single mom, I could not ask for more.
If there was one thing I would change about Bowen, it would be having more affordable housing available for the many families and individuals who live here full time but can not afford the cost of owning a home here. There are limited rental opportunities on island and although I understand the politics around providing affordable housing the island is more than losing out by not doing something to seriously address this issue. I believe we could create affordable housing if we really wanted to. There are enough trades people, interest, land and resources available if we could only pool our connections to create something spectacular. What we are missing is the drive and commitment to make it possible. All I ever hear is how building affordable housing is not financially viable and I challenge this. I know both the cities of Vancouver and Toronto just completed projects where they partnered with developers and banks to build multi dwelling units in areas where traditionally this has not been possible. Affordable units were built by resource sharing, eliminating high end fixtures and everyone involved taking a wee cut on their profit margin. The message behind this approach being "people in balance with profit". Now I am not completely loopy to think that "people over profit" was really just about that. I know it was mostly about PR and image building but regardless both these projects were completed and created sustainable affordable housing. You are welcome to convince me this can not be achieved on Bowen.
The people we lose by not making something happen are those most connected to this island; volunteers, the young families, the people who support our local businesses year round and most importantly our seniors who act as our historical underpinnings. To me, the solution is simple and if I personally had the money to start something in motion I would. To that end, I would gladly give of the resources I did have if we could all just believe we could make it happen instead of talking about why we can’t.
