Here is the story of a man who said yes (Jim Deva) to my request in 2001 to go door-to-door collecting funds for the Aaron Webster Reward Fund. We eventually collected 12,000 and had the Police Board match the donations. Prior to this, the Vancouver City Police were not allies of the gay community. The work with the Vancouver City Police, Jim Deva and myself was the epicentre for the Community Policing Offices, and the GLBT Liaison Position with the Police. At his memorial service I realized how much the world changed.

His-story

I heard his-story fall on the floor today

I scrambled to put the memories in sequence

Those early days when we didn’t understand the magnitude of our calling

Standing in the fierce wind of resistance

We were not alone

The vision was transforming in front of our eyes

I heard history fall on the floor today and cried with joy

The world changed and we forgot to thank her

Today was one thousand thank-yous

Carl Meadows
September 27, 2014