Homelessness in Vancouver, British Columbia is a crisis that has worsened dramatically in the past decade. Hundreds of homeless have been forced to take refuge in Oppenheimer Park in the Downtown Eastside — the nation’s poorest postal code — at the juncture of Powell and Cordova streets. Here, people cobble together temporary shelters using tents, tarps and umbrellas. At night, hordes of rats emerge, looking for food. Despite the appalling living conditions, there is a sense of community; people look out for and help one other. This Dickensian spectre is backdropped by the stunning incongruity of glass business towers and multi-million-dollar condominiums rising high into the sky meres blocks away.
