Day Six: Homeless In My Backyard!

No, I'm not getting out the tent and sleeping bags to camp out in the yard, but I am thinking about how NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) and poverty are related. I've been writing about poverty, specifically in Canada and poverty affecting children. But it seems like the topic would be incomplete if I didn't take a look at the notorious face of poverty- Vancouver's downtown eastside.

We are all aware of the issue of poverty however, too often, it remains hidden (i.e. the "working poor" who live around us) or it is swept into a corner of the city and we hope it won't come creeping out so we have to face it. The downtown eastside has been called "Canada's poorest postal code" and is littered with (pun intended) homelessness, drug-use, alcoholism, the sex-trade, violence and crime- the very things we don't want in our proverbial backyards. Yet anyone who has lived in or visited Metro-Vancouver in the past 5 years has seen these "things" creeping into other areas of the city. Living in New Westminster for 10 years certainly gave me a glimpse into this side of poverty. When my youngest daughter was a baby we would go for long walks in the Columbia Street neighbourhood. This area, adjacent to the skytrain, was a gathering place for transient people. Ironically, pushing a stroller with a cute infant made me more approachable and the "locals" often initiated a conversation with me (or more often than not, the baby). They would then tell me about their children who they hadn't seen in years, a family member that had died and they didn't get to see them, or a story about travelling across the country looking for a job. I was usually at a loss for words, I often could only listen and mumble a "have a nice day." A father. A sister. A brother. A son. People. Not just a an alcoholic or a homeless person. Real people who deserve compassion and not judgement or ignored.

Addictions related poverty issues are complex. But extending compassion to people who find themselves dealing with those situations shouldn't be. When I think of hope for the downtown eastside I think of Union Gospel Mission & First United.

Union Gospel Mission has been on the downtown eastside since 1940! (Sadly, it's been needed for 70 years!) I usually think of the meal programs & emergency shelter but UGM offers a drug and alcohol recovery program, sending kids to camp program, back to school event (which gives kids school supplies), a mobile mission van which takes food, blankets, basic medical supplies out to the alleys, and more. Check the website: ugm.ca An innovative event organized by UGM is the November Eastside Cultural Crawl with artwork created by professionals and UGM clients.

First United Church has been on the site since 1889 and has a strong history of helping the community. They offer meal programs, shelter and strive to be an inclusive community. "A community at the margins- a community without margins". firstunited.ca