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Bluesman Waterloo‘s Shawn Kellerman is honoured with the Mel Brown award/Page 10 aterloo‘s uptown Wcore isn‘t immune to the social ills faced by other urban centres like Kitchener and Camâ€" bridge. Waterioo taking steps to deal with homelessness That‘s why the Waterloo Working Group has hired a partâ€"time outreach worker to bridge the gap between people in need and the servâ€" ices that can help them. "This is something we‘ve been envisioning for a while," said Patrick Gerâ€" mann, chair of the Waterloo Working Group. "We‘ve worked very hard with the people at the Working Group and city hall to have an outâ€" reach worker. "We look at this as Waterâ€" loo stepping up and taking ownership of some of the Jocal social issues." The Waterloo Working Group was struck in 2004 to address issues of vandalism, homelessness and other problems surrounding the core. The group was comâ€" prised of members of the IH.L I,‘I_ESFE Blinds Are Us 356 Sasaga Drive at Manitou Kitchener 519.893.8687 (between Homer Watson and Wabanaki, past CAA) www.blindsareus.ca By BoB VRBANAC Chronicle Staff UpTown Business Improveâ€" ment Area, local businesses, city staffers and police from Division No. 3. One of their first chalâ€" lenges was to deal with an aggressive panhandling problem that cropped up in the core three years ago. While not as pervasive today, there is still a certain hardâ€"core element that can be found in the core. Regulars like Anatole Rybase, the $2 man, and others still asking for a handout. The truth is that people like Rybase aren‘t representative of the real problem of homelessness that has hit Waterloo‘s core just as hard as other comâ€" munities, said Germann. He alluded to a new fedâ€" eral ad campaign explaining how for every homeless perâ€" son you see on the street there are four more in need of shelter. The unseen face of homelessness is getting by living on a friend‘s coach or shuffling between resiâ€" dences. "To get that kind of attenâ€" Continued on page 4 Includes up to 5L of 10W30 & Standard Filter 355 Weber St. N., Waterioo â€"â€" 519.746.1070 $1409953 Laurel Creek is an undiscovered country in the heart of Waterloo/Page 12 See you at the beach Going green Livc music. Shopping. Food. All three and more are available in the city‘s core on Thursday nights, with the music courtesy of a new iniâ€" tiative by the UpTown Busiâ€" Uptown trying to jazz up its image with music on Thursday nights By Jennirer Ormston _ Chronicle Staff _ Mahma Hussien draws a henna tattoo on Vicki Haid, 17, at the Afro Festival in Waterloo Park on Saturday. The sixth annual event was put on by the African Women‘s Alliance of Waterloo Region. i eares Cmution Bs ness Improvement Area, a group charged with promotâ€" ing and beautifying the heart of Waterloo. Thursday Nights Uptown, as this event has been coined, came about because the BIA was looking for a way to encourage uptown businesses to stay open on Tattoo you Conestoga Mall pursues environmentally friendly initiatives/Page 18 Thursday â€" and â€" Friday evenings. â€" A good majority of them close around 5 p.m., said Patti Brooks, the executive director of the BIA. "And we wanted the nightlife in uptown Waterloo to stay active until 8 p.m. "So we thought if we WATERLOOQ PUBLIC LBRARY found a way to bring more people to the streets in uptown that the businesses might consider staying open." That being said, Brooks has found the problem isn‘t getting people to the core. There are lots of people JENNIFER ORMSTON PHOTO Continued on page 7