Judi, Deborah, Linda, Marilyn, Ken and Virginia caught the #20 Downtown bus to Robson and walked from Richards to Howe Street to meet Lorna, then caught the #4 UBC to Jericho Beach Park to continue our walk as far as Spanish Banks.
The weather was pleasant with a cool breeze. We passed the lake where ducks and geese were enjoying the calm water. We passed the bee condo tower I wrote about last week. We followed the paved walkway along the beach, looking beyond the tanning bodies to small boats crusing the waves and large freighters at anchor waiting to be guided into a harbour berth for unloading. One of our group mentioned that the tide was so far out one day last week that it looked as if a person could walk right across the bay into West Vancouver.
At Locarno Beach, we stopped to enjoy our packed lunches. Linda, Judi, Marilyn and Ken left the walk, so the Deborah, Lorna and I followed the beach path below North West Marine Drive. At the east border of Spanish Banks, Deborah decided she had walked far enough and returned home. Lorna and I followed the edge of Pacific Spirit Regional Park until we found one of the through the forest to Chancellor Boulevard. The path wound gently upward beneath tall trees. The trail split off in several places, but by keeping Spanish Bank Creek to our left, we reached the boulevard within 10 minutes. It was a pleasant diversion from the beach walk.We walked east along Chancellor Blvd until we reached West 4th Avenue and soon caught the bus back into town.
The #20 bus I caught headed into major traffic congestion along Hastings Street between Cambie and Main Street. As the bus edged slowly along, we could see five other buses ahead of us stalled on this side of the Main Street intersection.
A transit supervisor came by and rerouted us north along Abbott to Pender, east across Main to Gore, then back to Main Street. As we crossed Main we could see a blockade of a hundred or so people just standing in the Main & Hastings intersection and we could hear someone using a loudspeaker. Buses, delivery trucks and automobiles were backed up for several blocks on all four sides of the intersection. The blockade was the Downtown Eastside Residents Association's attempt to draw attention to the lack of housing for the homeless, treatment for mental health and addiction issues of the street people. Provincial and Municipal Governments have an agenda to alleviate the social problems in the DTES; however, according to newspaper articles, long-term plans take months and years to implement and short-term plans are only a band-aid treatment. Churches and other charitable organizations are doing all they can to provide shelter and meals. Nurses and doctors provide free health care. Social workers and street counsellors are challenged in their efforts to guide and protect the DTES residents from exploitation by slum landlords and drug dealers. Police officers maintain the peace and do whatever they can to keep trouble to a minimum.
It is unfortunate, in a country so rich in resources and opportunities for people from all walks of life, that those least able to look after themselves are left to fend for themselves in a nightmare world that most of us can't even imagine. We who are fortunate to live good lives must be able to do something to help, other than handouts of change and food. Any ideas?
Contributor Virginia
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