Bottle and Can Depot

Vancouver , B.C., Canada  by Frank Dawson

It was a hot afternoon on the downtown eastside yesterday afternoon and a lot of eastside residence where out enjoying the nice weather. In Peoples Pigeon Park ( at Carrall and Hastings ) they were taking in the sun rays and next door at the APC headquarters the had their VANOC eviction sign displayed in the window.

    I checked out the alley heading west of Carrall and found a lot of garbage strew in the alley. I asked a fellow in the alley why the garbage was out of the garbage bin and he said he had taken it out but said he would be putting it all back. It is quite common for the people in the area to go garbage diving looking for anything of value.

  Proceeding east on Hastings from Carrall on the north side of the street you will find the bottle and can depot. This is the place where many DTES residence bring bottles and cans for money. Another thing also happens here and that is the sale of hot merchandise. It is these people that sell hot stuff that the police target.
 
     Two Vancouver City Police officers on foot appeared on the corner of  Carrall and Hastings and all of a sudden all the illegal merchants took of up Hastings east bound with there goods. It was amazing to see.

     I proceeded up Hastings towards Columbia . Between Columbia and Main on Hastings there is usually a lot of activity. A lot of drugs are sold and used here and it includes both alleys on either side of  Hastings. I went up the north alley from Columbia and came across with some young people on it. I talked to them and they told me they where volunteers doing some renovation work. I believe the building they were working on was the building that houses Insite .Further up the alley was a female that was slumped over in the alley , most likely from the use of drugs . Crack and heroine are commonly used in this particular alley. I have seen very few dealers in this alley. I get up to the end of the alley and see a man laying in the parking lot not moving at all . I ask a near by worker if he was ok and he tells me he just checked and he was breathing. I feel quite relieved.

     You never know what you will see down on the eastside. I have seen things that I really did not want to see but I have also seen some good people.