And so ends the first graveyard shift at the shelter I work at. I can think of no job that makes people cringe so much when I tell it: I work at a Vancouver homeless shelter, weekend graveyard shift in the poorest district in Canada helping people with severe mental illnesses and drug addictions.
My first week was, yes, eventful. 2 people were 'pinked' meaning hospitalized against there will as a harm to themselves. About 2 thousand 'rigs' (needles) were handed out. I witnessed 2 sexual assaults, had my life threatened 4 times, saw someone beaten with a 2x4, was around for roughly 20 incidences of theft, was asked for cigarettes, money, rolling papers, food, blankets, Tylenols approximately one million times and to saw easily 50 different people off the wall on drugs or with mental illness.
From a political standpoint on this one issue alone, and there are many, Canada is a fucking waste of a country. Tonight: 46 people turned away asking for shelter (those are the ones we didn't forget to write down); 3 people sleeping right outside the shelter to feel safe and for a place to crash; one person breaking down crying in front of me; one women carrying a bat for self-defense. Temperature last night? -3 C.
As I will always maintain, again and again, I never saw this level of poverty in Norway. Look at a comparison here. This is because they give a shit both about people in general, children and those with severe mental disabilities. Letting them freeze on the streets or starve is not an option. End, week one.
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