One Good Friday celebration which every year draws in community members along with people from a range of churches and ministries is the Way of the Cross in the Downtown Eastside. It will begin on the steps of First United…
Encompassing the historic neighbourhoods of Gastown, Victory Square, Chinatown, Oppenheimer and Strathcona – as well as the Downtown Eastside (DTES) and the emerging pocket district of Railtown – the Hastings area is by far the most richly layered and contested…
Raised in foster care, a child of alcoholic parents and residential school survivors, 47 year old Loretta John is no stranger to pain. But after overcoming alcoholism, addiction, homelessness and poverty, and after enduring decades of back-breaking labour work, Loretta…
Princess Street will close between Hastings and Cordova June 17 to make room for Union Gospel Mission’s fourth annual Summer Connect. People who are homeless, at-risk or struggling will be able to connect with 40 service providers on the street…
A.D.: The Bible Continues premieres on CTV this Sunday (April 5) and – as with any movie featuring any kind of biblical theme – the best guide anywhere is our own (Surrey-dwelling) Peter Chattaway. He had a feature interview with…
A group of local citizens has invited Pope Francis to visit Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside; now it’s just a matter of waiting to see whether he will come. The interfaith group which sent the pope a letter includes Roman Catholic, United,…
Union Gospel Mission (UGM) is 75 years old. Much celebrating was under way this week to mark the anniversary of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) landmark at 601 East Hastings Street – and two other nearby locations. (The Mission has operations…
After arriving in Vancouver from Hong Kong in 1976, Marion landed her first job with The Chinese Community Library Services Association in Strathcona, the city’s oldest residential neighbourhood. Then she worked for 30 years as a social worker in Chinatown…
As I sat in the back row at Tenth Church, three speakers revealed that their mission field for the next 12 to 15 years was Cambodia. Listening, I heard God speak to me: “This is where the village is, where…
The homeless are out in the open at the Oppenheimer Park tent city. Many who were hidden in shelters or sleeping in the bushes have occupied the Downtown Eastside park for more than two months now. The same is true…