At the corner of Granville Street and West 10th Avenue is a location for high-end stores such as Restoration Hardware and Edward Chapman for Women. People could afford to purchase expensive furniture and clothing. I would say this is a vibrant part of town.
For a year, early morning en route to work, I paid attention to the tenants on the street and captured images with my iPad.
Summer: Homeless feeding the pigeons with bread crumbs. It was warm summer morning. The requirement for the day, umbrella to shield him from the sweltering heat.
Fall is a lovely time of the year. Warm weather.
Winter snow dusting for snow angels.
Spring is bitter. One must erect a fort for a suitable shelter, a shield from the wind and constant rain.
Homelessness is nothing new to me.
In the Philippines, we lived close to the slum area. My mother, as a philanthropist, she hired poor people to do laundry for us. One of them is Gloria.
Gloria lives in the slum. She has goiter probably due to poor nutrition, a single mother and she brings her son to work.
I became close to her son as one of my playmates. Sometimes, I visited them at their house. Having exposure to the people in the slum, imperfect as they are, they help one another. There was so much fun playing running up and down the boardwalk in the ghetto. We are all equal. Being poor then, life was simple.
Meanwhile, in Vancouver, the issue is more complicated. I have seen tent cities. They are unacceptable. The government wants to provide affordable housing, but the community does not want them in their area.
They are humans just like you and me. Their needs may not be the same as ours, but they are just as great as ours.
Photographs and Memories 
Sadly the homeless problem is just getting worse and worse here. It’s a bit complicated here in Vancouver, because we have the best climate here in Canada, it’s actually a pretty common for homeless people from back East, where it’s much colder year round, to come here to live on our streets instead, and I’ve actually been told by several police officers that sometimes the cops actually give homeless people who are caught committing crimes one-way tickets to Vancouver instead of jail sentences. Our municipal government is doing next to nothing to care for these people though, we’re seeing some new construction of shelters for them, but nowhere near enough to house the ever-growing homeless problem. The city councillors should be ashamed.
40 years ago, I hardly see homelessness on the streets. What I’ve seen in the beginning, it was due to addictions and it snowballed to many issues. Take a look at Stanley’s site, he is homeless. He can tell us firsthand his experience. Thank you for sharing.
I didn’t realize that Vancouver had that problem. I have friends in Portland who say that homeless in tents are everywhere. I guess it is true in Seattle too. I New England it is too cold to be outdoors all year. We do have some homeless people, but not as many as on the West Coast.
Homelessness is a big issue here. Tenting is the best way to protect them from the elements. Seattle has the same weather pattern, thus, as bad as Vancouver. I seem under the bridges.
I am sorry to hear that. I guess housing prices are awful there now too.
For a one bedroom and a small den 900 sq ft cost $950k
Yikes! Our two story three bedroom house only cost $147k.
Wow 😳
Striking photos. I think they may all depict a rather nice fellow I’ve known for years, who’s street name is Windows — clearly a homeless man for all seasons. Actually, I’m not sure if he’s living outside at the moment, which is ironic, given that it’s almost too hot to be inside.
Thank you, Stanley. How did he manage to earn the name Windows? If he is staying indoors, I hope he is keeping well.
The origin of his street name is a complete mystery to me. Many of these christenings may take place when people are blind drunk — for all the sense they make.
I can only imagine. What is your street name?
Just “Stanley.” The whole street name thing is largely a holdover from prison culture and I just don’t play that game.
Stanley, it is!
The seasons change. Seems being homeless does not.
True. The homeless are no longer allowed to squat at this corner.