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Learn, create, connect

At the Carnegie Learning Centre, the door is open for anyone in the Downtown Eastside

June 4, 2026

Colourful artworks by learners and volunteers fill the walls as you enter the Carnegie Learning Centre (CLC) on the third floor of the Carnegie Community Centre, where friendly staff and volunteers help community members navigate daily needs.

For the last 40 years, the CLC has been providing a welcoming space and hands-on experience for learners and volunteers as they serve Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (DTES).   

From filling out government forms, to finding a tutor to complete high school, to connecting with dozens of local resources, the CLC has become a place people return to for support.

Learners can attend programs in creative writing, painting, philosophy and theatre, among others, with opportunities to exhibit work and play to audiences. 

Last year, the CLC presented The Mayor of Oz at the Heart of the City Festival, a play about the fair, balanced, compassionate way Vancouver’s present city council deals with the community (as street sweeps steal unhoused people’s goods…) and the mayor declares that no more supportive housing will be built in the DTES.

Emily Hunter, one of the instructors at the CLC, said the centre doesn’t impose any one program on anyone.

“We try to meet people where they’re at,” she said.

The programs are designed for people who have experienced trauma in education systems — including residential schools — offering not just academic learning, but space to “acknowledge the power imbalances,” said Diane Wood, a fabric artist, workshop leader and English tutor who has been at the CLC for more than 20 years.

“A lot of people have had bad experiences with school,” she said.

The CLC’s weekly Thursday meeting connects people to the wider community at the Carnegie Community Centre — a “living room” for many people who are unhoused or living in single-room occupancy hotels without shared space. It also helps set the centre’s direction through collective decision-making, trains participants to chair the assembly, and introduces learners to advocacy.

Lucy Alderson, former staff at the centre, explained that “collective decisions at the meetings democratize learning and teach civic literacy.” 

Participants often go on to join the Carnegie board, or become board members in other places, she said. 

At the weekly meeting, participants spoke about what keeps them coming back

 Angela said, “There’s always new stuff to learn — there’s never a boring moment.” 

Kevin described it as, “A safe place to come every day,” while Steven called it, “A place of refuge — no other place provides all these services and a bridge to education that means we all benefit.”

For Yvonne, the centre offers a sense of acceptance.

“You can come and say whatever you want,” she said.

Hassan meanwhile, found opportunities there — volunteering as a computer tutor, meeting people and eventually finding a job.

Phoenix Winter arrived at the CLC while experiencing homelessness and was initially shy about writing. She was given a binder, a pen and a set of prompts, and before long, she was leading Carnegie’s Fire Writers’ Writing Group, a role she held for more than a decade. The group went on to publish three chapbooks, and Winter became a founding member of the Downtown Eastside Writers Festival, now in its fifth year.

Winter later served as board president of the Carnegie Community Centre Association for five years. She also became an advisor on Invisible Heroes: Aboriginal Stories from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, a collection of stories of resilience and determination told by local Indigenous residents.

During his time as a volunteer, Leslie Nelson (Nuxalk) — who was previously unable to read — went on to graduate from Native Education College. He now serves as Elder in Residence at the Carnegie Community Centre and is a member of the Carnegie board.

Birthdays, annual celebrations and other milestones are all acknowledged. So if you are looking for compassion and acceptance, visit the third floor of the Carnegie Community Centre at 401 Main St. You will meet people who care.   

Carnegie Learning Centre — personal impact

Gilles Cyrenne, the author of this story, has played roles in the Carnegie Learning Centre for more than a decade.

“My involvement has led me to teaching English grammar for UBC’s Writing 101 Program and connected me to the Carnegie Community Centre Association, where I served as president for five years. The Learning Centre and Carnegie were also instrumental in connecting me with Megaphone, where I am now a member of The Shift peer newsroom,” Cyrenne  says. “These activities have creatively transformed my senior years.”