Over the years of being at Grace Point and in the community of North Point Douglas, I have learned so much! I have seen a lot of things that I never thought I would see, and experienced things that would never happen to me living in the suburbs. At various times, I would write down some of these stories, but never knew how to share them. I have now decided that I will tell some of those stories, and post them here.
I hope that together we can learn more about and from the amazing people I get to encounter, I also hope to bridge the divide between “us” and “them.” Regardless of which “us” you identify with, and which side of “them” you look down on.
Many times I will just post the story, and not too much analysis, other times, I will let you in on what I have learned. Hopefully you will feel free to comment what you think, and interact with me.
Below you will find a few stories that I have already posted, and I will continue to regularly do so in this space. If you would like to follow along you can subscribe by email. If you think someone you know would benefit from these stories, I would be honoured if you shared a link on your social media.
I’m interested in learning about the stories you have to share.
One thing about living in Vancouver is that you not only see poverty outside on the streets (in the area called Gastown) but also drug addiction too. There are areas of Gastown that are shabbier than the shabbiest areas of Winnipeg. And Vancouver has what one would say the biggest drug problem in the world. I even went to a memorial service to a former co-worker who died of an overdose two years ago. Over in Gastown, you see long lines of people with drug addictions and mental illness lining up for whatever services.
The crazy thing is the city is making life harder and harder to afford. It almost seems like the city wants to have people thrown out on the streets.