Vancouver's Downtown Eastside: This Ain't Your Typical East Side Story

"Brother, can you spare some change? Any amount is fine".

That was the most common line many Vancouver's Downtown Eastsiders said to me after stopping (or trying to stop) me in the middle of the road. Being someone who is well emerged and adapted to the credit card culture in the credit card era, I can say that for most of the time, you won't even find a dime on me. Therefore I simply told them that I didn't have any change with me. I secretly wished that one day even these guys would carry credit card machines so I could help them out.

 

Downtown Eastside seen from Canada Place

Many say Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is a "scar" for a city that is renowned for its physical beauty.  The neighborhood is indeed one of the poorest in Canada. The vast majority of Downtown Eastsiders live way below the Canadian federal poverty line. As many as 70% of population either lives alone or is above age 55.

This is not even the saddest part.

The neighborhood is home to large numbers of independent thrift stores like the blue one shown in this picture

Newspapers and other types of media across Canada once pronounced that the HIV infection rate in Downtown Eastside can be compared to some "third world countries". Instead of helping the local HIV infected population, the provincial health authority had declared the neighborhood an "emergency zone" several times and warned other Vancouverites to "stay out of the area". The neighborhood is also home to almost half of all Vancouver's Aboriginal population (Indigenous Canadians). Aboriginal women have gone missing in the neighborhood for years. Yet the police offered very little help to improve this situation, which made Aboriginal women one of the most vulnerable groups subject to criminal activities in the city of Vancouver.

A wall full of peeled-off posters

I know the story of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is a very depressing one. If you plan to visit Vancouver as a tourist, right now you are probably thinking about how to avoid this neighborhood at all cost.

The giant red "W" marks the original location of Vancouver's once lavishing Woodward's Department Store. The story of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is just as sad as the downfall of Woodward's

There is no need to avoid. In fact, I don't even think it's possible to avoid. Popular tourist destinations such as Gastown and Chinatown are all located in this neighborhood. Instead, I encourage all of you to explore more than what you simply see, and experience Downtown Eastside in full depth.

The Millennium Gate of Vancouver's Chinatown

The neighborhood is where Vancouver's core Downtown area once was. It's very sad to see that the city's most historical part has ended up becoming a neighborhood like it is today.You will find homeless people  at almost every intersection; some even gather in groups. Many of them suffer from mental health issues and/ or drug addictions. In fact, there is even a public drug injection facility in the neighborhood where you will find people lining up to get into the facility no matter it's rain or shine. 

People lining up in front of Downtown Eastside's drug injection facility on a typical Vancouver rainy day

When you walk on East Hastings Street, you will find some sort of a "homeless men's flea market" along the sidewalks. People put what we snobby suburban middle class people call "garbage" on the ground and tried to sell these things to whoever passes by. There are even sneaky dealers who were busily soliciting deals with those who intended to buy whatever things in the dealer's poaches or backpacks.

A back alley in Downtown Eastside

 When I saw this scene at first, I was totally disgusted by it. How would someone buy those stinky garbage? Are those sneaky guys drug dealers? The most logical thing for me to do at that time would be quickly walking away and hoping I wouldn't get into any sorts of troubles.

But I know mere judgment can be very tricky sometimes. So I decided that I was going to give that scene a second look. It turned out that what we consider "garbage" seemed to be very useful to the homeless people. A man put on an old and torn blanket on to his own shivering body right after he bought it from one of the "market stands" in order to keep himself warm in the cold rain. I am still not sure whether there were actual drug dealers trying to sell drugs to those who have addiction problems at the scene. However some of the "sneaky dealers" were actually selling loose razor blades and cigarettes - apparently most of the homeless people had no money to afford an entire pack of razor blades or cigarettes sold at the supermarkets

The Sam Kee Building, world's narrowest building

Being a neighborhood with a significant number of Vancouver's Aboriginal people, the community spirit of Canadian First Nations is visible in every corner of Downtown Eastside. You can find many wearing hats showing off their Native heritage. It's also fairly easy to spot Aboriginal arts manifested in different forms. The ugly truth, is that the Aboriginal community has received very little to even no benefits from Vancouver's tourism industry, which itself in many ways centers on selling Vancouver area's rich Aboriginal culture. Just a couple blocks away from the "homeless men's flea market" , you can find Aboriginal artworks on sale for thousands of dollars in the touristy Gastown area. Yet many Aboriginal artists living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside struggle to make a decent living and have very little social security. Totem Poles in Vancouver's world famous Stanley Park attract tourists from all across the globe who just want to get a photo-op with "a piece of true Canadian spirit". What the tourists do not know,  is that Totem Poles were mostly found inside Aboriginal villages or settlements where actual Aboriginal people live and work. Unfortunately there are nowhere to find any signs of Aboriginal communities near the Totem Poles. If someone has to find a sizable Aboriginal community in Vancouver, that someone has to venture into a neighborhood where the local authorities have warned everyone to stay as far away as possible. 

Aboriginal art "Phoenix" as assembled on one of Downtown Eastside's sidewalks

I met Don at a Christian charity where he volunteers to provide food to the local homeless population. Don himself is a resident of Downtown Eastside and has been homeless for more than 11 years. Don told me:

"We take care of ourselves, and we take care of each other. This is Downtown Eastside".

Downtown Eastside has many community farms like the one shown in this picture

In one of the back alleys, I saw a man who was just at the charity Don volunteers. Now he had finished his lunch at charity and went back to his trolley. The man stopped the trolley in front of a garbage bin and he quickly moved his upper body into the interior of the bin. Moments later he retreated his slim body out, together with a couple of plastic bottles. That would earn him like a quarter dollar at the recycling center. 

To us a quarter dollar can't get you almost anything. To him collecting bottles for a couple of quarter dollar coins is some real meaningful work he can live on.
 

Downtown Eastside is home to many of Vancouver's historic buildings

The closer you walk towards the edge of the neighborhood, the more you would notice that the neighborhood is undergoing some changes. High density residential buildings stood tall and overlooked other buildings that were under construction could be potentially even taller.  It is clear that revitalization has found its way to Downtown Eastside, due to the neighborhood's proximity to the business district and the easy accessibility made possible by public transit. I couldn't stop wondering: Are there still going to be spaces left for those homeless people?

If you are looking for a community that best demonstrates unity, survival, self-reliance, struggle,  and resilience all in one place, you should look no further than Vancouver's own Downtown Eastside.

"Everything Is Going To Be Alright" Downtown Eastsiders keep telling themselves about their vision of a better future