Writing workshop participant Neil Benson is front and centre in issue #113 of Megaphone. A prolific and creative writer, Benson is a long-time fixture at the LifeSkills workshops run by Megaphone. Drawing on his experiences as an Aboriginal man and a resident of the Downtown Eastside (DTES), Benson uses poetry to purge the emotional and physical turmoil he has experienced due to cultural genocide, institutional violence, and poverty.

Also in this issue: For active addicts in the City of Abbotsord, institutional violence is front and centre. A six-year-old city bylaw prevents harm reduction services like needle exchanges and methadone clinics from setting up shop, prohibiting residents with addictions from accessing life saving medical treatment. In the latest Megaphone we look at the illegal, underground harm reduction that does exist in the city in the country, as well as the city council's plan to re-examine the law through public engagement.

And: A new art exhibit revisits the era when the BC Electric Railway made the DTES the heart of the city; two feminist writers remind us there's no such thing as an unbiased journalist, especially when covering marginalized peoples; David Suzuki is frank on the problem with fracking; the Vancouver Police investigate assaults on homeless men in the West End; BC Housing hotels are falling apart; and more!

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