Story by Kevin Hollett

It’s a hot July evening and the stands are packed. Not just with people, but with dogs. Three hundred and twenty-eight to be precise. It’s Dog Day at the Nat, just another in a string of promotions put on by the Vancouver Canadians, promotions that, without fail, fill this small, nostalgic ballpark.

Lyrics by Jerm IX

Drugly, it’s the kick addiction quick fix
Love me, I am suffering from symptoms of something
That I have begun to call the sickness
So come close as the dirty infected jerm spits
It’s like a sunny afternoon dude, a couple of doobs
Ain’t nothin’ to it but you call it abuse
I get loose, you shouldn’t talk it till you walk in my shoes
And get through it, it’s obnoxious that you’re wrong in your
views, and that’s true
See rum was my gateway to drugs, through fun
When the sun comes up there ain’t no place to run but numb

By Sean Condon
Executive Director—Megaphone

I remember a pair of old shoes at Pigeon Park that I did not buy. They were black leather flats for sale at the Downtown Neighbourhood Council Street Fair, a weekly used goods marketplace for Downtown Eastside residents and binners, people who scavenge through garbage bins to find recyclable or reusable items.

I have bought second-hand shoes before, but did not want to buy shoes sold there. I asked myself: what is the difference between a pair of shoes in a vintage store in Gastown and a pair of shoes in Pigeon Park?

By Ron McGrath

This story is not only about Lora, my very best friend, it’s also about people getting processed and becoming lost in the system.

So often it’s all about system protocol: everyone’s got a job to do and a procedure to follow, even though at the end of the day people’s lives may have been changed forever. Why can’t we see that every situation is different and each individual’s needs should be addressed with compassion, not fear, and certainly not by people who are not properly trained?

Story by Daniel Zomparelli
Photo courtesy StoryBox Project

On Saturday, May 8, several community writing groups from across the Lower Mainland joined together to share their stories in a workshop that crossed borders and made connections.

The StoryBox Project, run by UrbanInk, has been a summerlong program that takes workshop participants from communities like the Downtown Eastside, Surrey and others, creating a space for voices that are normally marginalized.

Story by Sarah Berman
Photo by Kevin Hollett

In response to police crackdowns on vending along East Hastings Street, a new weekend market allows the neighbourhood’s hucksters to legally sell their wares. Every Sunday between noon and 5 pm, Downtown Eastside vendors are now able to lay out blankets of reclaimed clothes, electronics, toys and trinkets, without fear of hefty fines.