Alice Heap

by Mary Jankulak

Alice Heap was an early member of CoAction. She passed away this spring.

Alice and Dan Heap (1993)

I met Alice and Don Heap in the 1980s, while I was volunteering at the El Salvador Information Office, in a church basement at Bloor and Bathurst, and at various Latin American solidarity events. In 1991, I was hired as a constituency assistant in Don's office on Euclid St, which Alice managed – thus was I immediately immersed in a workplace environment where priorities were set according to a decidedly social justice perspective, and where the easiest path was not the one automatically chosen.

Bill Clinton had said in his 1992 presidential campaign that in electing him, the nation would also benefit from Hillary's expertise and "get two for the price of one". I think this was absolutely the case where Alice and Don were concerned.
Important issues were thrashed out at the Monday morning office staff meetings, where both presided equally; discussions were sometimes heated, always inspiring, and inevitably everything got sorted out and staff was always confident that steady hands were running a smooth ship. I have since used Don and Alice’s model of inclusion in setting up meetings in various settings, with great success.

In the summer of 1993, we all knew Don would not seek re-election. I was five months pregnant and the mother of a child under two. Alice sat me down and in a very pragmatic but also kind tone said: “What are your next steps?” She suggested that I consider co-op housing. She had been a co-op housing co-ordinator, and she believed housing co-ops were socially significant and family friendly employers. Most importantly, both she and Don espoused housing as a basic human right. I didn't know much about housing co-ops at that time; and it ended up being a path I pursued. She was right on all counts – it has been a perfect fit for me, and in the past 15 years it has been a rewarding career. Alice's example has inspired me to also volunteer on several boards that support and promote social housing. To this day, when I look at baby photos of my daughter Ana Berta from 1992-93, she is often wearing a favourite bright NDP-coloured orange jumpsuit, given to her by Don and Alice. The family always jokes that Ana Berta's own inspiration for social justice was jump-started right from the beginning, while wearing that jumpsuit! At the service, Alice’s granddaughter

Amanda spoke movingly about Alice’s favourite choice of gifts to family and friends: books and olives! I am honoured to be one of the many recipients. She always chose the books so thoughtfully; in my case, Mary Jo Leddy’s At the Border Called Hope with an inscription that I shall always cherish.

reproduced from Gleaner Community Press