Aaron White has spent much of his adult life living and working in the Downtown Eastside. And now he has drawn on his experiences for his brand new book, Recovering: From Brokenness and Addiction to Blessedness and Community (Brazos Press). He…
Barry Jung has been going out of his way to spend time with his neighbours for several years now (see Staking faith in the Cambie Corridor). Over the past couple of years he has been sharing his insights at several…
Last week the Vancouver Foundation released a much-anticipated update to its landmark 2012 Connections and Engagement report on loneliness and community life in Metro Vancouver. This update, like the original report, provides hard evidence for trends most of us know…
Forming any sort of abiding face to face community is becoming rarer in our culture. Robert Putnam’s classic study Bowling Alone charts the accelerating demise of participation in community groups and associations from the years 1960 – 2000.[1] There are multiple factors…
Across the nation, Canadians are commemorating Mental Health Week, May 2 – 8. Here Marja Bergen describes the traumatic experience of being stigmatized, and encourages fellow Christians to welcome those – and they are in every church – who experience…
Sharing a peninsula with Stanley Park and the West End in the north-central part of the city, Downtown is bounded by Burrard Inlet to the north, False Creek to the south, the West End (along Burrard and Georgia) and Stanley…