“Canada is the best country in the world,” they say. Vancouver, too, wears its crown proudly, often ranked as the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd “most liveable city” on the planet. Yet beneath this glittering veneer of accolades lies a harsh and troubling reality that dims the city’s lustrous image: Vancouver is also a city of homelessness.
This fast-growing metro, celebrated for its towering, glassy highrises and bustling downtown, casts long shadows over its most vulnerable residents. Beneath the glow of affluence and architectural marvels are hundreds of people who call the streets their home. Sidewalks, parks, and back alleys serve as makeshift shelters. Store entrances and discarded cardboards become their havens on cold and wet nights. A few fortunate souls manage tents, offering a semblance of protection against the relentless rain and freezing temperatures.
For the homeless, Vancouver’s winters are more than a season—they are a survival test. The biting chill, coupled with incessant rain, turns frailty into fatality. Many of these individuals, over 55 years of age, endure failing health compounded by flu, pneumonia, and untreated chronic ailments. The body suffers, but the mind doesn’t escape unscathed, either. Mental health issues, born of despair, isolation, and neglect, are silent accomplices to this tragedy.
And yet, in the face of this growing crisis, Vancouver’s reputation as a “most liveable city” remains intact. But liveable for whom? Certainly not for those whose lives are confined to street corners and alleys, invisible to a city rushing past them.
Poverty and homelessness cling to Vancouver’s global renown like a dark undercurrent, pulling down the very humanity the city aspires to showcase. As we marvel at Vancouver’s skyline, we must also look down and ask ourselves: How can a city so liveable fail so many?
-Promod Puri
Promod Puri.com 