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Category Archives: Front Line Views
Why I do this job
Because I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie. Because two-day weekends suck. Because every now and then someone tells me I made a difference. Because I hate bullies. Because I hate cheaters. Because I hate liars. Because there’s a pensioner … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
32 Comments
Homeless in Vancouver
Today was one of those days when I just couldn’t pull myself out of bed. I managed a glorious 10 hours of shut-eye — about double my normal. When I finally forced myself out from under the covers, I peeked … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
5 Comments
Insite-full mess
I’m usually a pretty even-keeled guy. Few things really get me amped up, and working in the Downtown Eastside for the past few years, not much really surprises me anymore. But I’ll admit I nearly lost my mind a few … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views, Seen and Heard
32 Comments
Lost in Transition
The paper cup had barely touched my lips when the warble sounded on the police radio, warning of a serious crime in progress. I’d been craving this Tim Horton’s Double-Double for hours. But for now it would have to wait. … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views, Psychiatrists in Blue
63 Comments
The Wheels of Justice
0745 hrs – Alarm clock jolts me from a four-hour sleep. I feel hungover, but I haven’t been drinking. I stumble to the coffee maker and trip over the cat. Why do they always schedule court for the morning after … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
14 Comments
Life in the margins
On the damp concrete sidewalk just beyond the steps of the First United Church, a native man is splayed over a soggy piece of cardboard next to a bus stop. The glass walls of the bus shelter are long gone, … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
24 Comments
Hoping to find Matthew Huszar
It’s now been more than a week since anyone has seen or heard from Matthew Huszar. Posters like this one have been stapled to just about every telephone pole and lamp post on the Downtown Eastside by an army of … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views, Seen and Heard
19 Comments
A (very) thin blue line
I could hear my heart thumping in my inner ear, like it was about to explode. My palms were slick with sweat. Perspiration had dripped from my forehead into my eyes, making me partially blind. It was almost as bad … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
16 Comments
Curtain closing on crumbling DTES landmark
A gaggle of protesters, including a few from Occupy Vancouver, paid a visit to the Downtown Eastside last night. They’re unhappy with the number of condos being built along Hastings Street, and wanted to tell the world that no market … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views, History Lesson
7 Comments
And the beat goes on…
Earlier this week I had the pleasure of taking a young Langara College photo-journalism student on a ride-a-long to help him complete an assignment about the Downtown Eastside. We’d barely finished introducing ourselves when we were dispatched to our first … Continue reading
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Posted in Front Line Views
21 Comments
