“I live in the Downtown Eastside at the Pennsylvania Hotel. I’ve been there for about a year. I like living in the neighbourhood. I’ve learned a lot about the really neat people that live here and some of them surprise the hell out of me."

“I came to Vancouver around 1974 when I was 20 years old. I lived here until 1991, then I lived in Victoria for 10 years. I came back here in 2000.

“I didn’t realize the substance abuse problems before I moved here. Some things are shocking down here. There’s a lot of trouble and a lot of poverty. You can’t brush over that, but some of the most troubled people are also the nicest people.

“The last few years I had been doing casual labour through various temp agencies. That was all pretty well full- time, but it just became really slow.

“Selling Megaphone has been helping. I really like it. Most of my life I’ve been an independent business person, my own boss. With this, I can get up at seven in the morning and go sell it if I want, or I can go out at nine o’clock at night and sell it if I want.

“I get to meet really neat people. Sometimes it’s not customers, but other people you meet on the street. Once a guy gave me his lunch because he had some extra sandwiches. He was completely broke, but he had food for me. That was really nice.

“For anybody who is like me, take a look at Megaphone. I recommend they try it out.”

Ron sells Megaphone outside the of Waterfront Station and Harbour Centre on Cordova Street.

Ron sells Megaphone outside the Harbour Centre on Cordova Street.