After years of selling Megaphone in downtown Vancouver at Robson and Howe, Peter Thompson has recently moved his spot to 4th and Vine in Kitsilano in front of Whole Foods Market.

"What I’d like to tell my customers is this: thank you for stopping by and for your support. Thank you for the smiles, waves, and hellos, and for the good conversation."

Sang sells Megaphone in Victoria outside the BC Liquor Store at Menzies and Toronto in James Bay.

"I had a lot of talent and skills. But my skills didn’t line up with economic realities."

“If people were told regularly that they have skills and could have work and do the work properly, there would be more people off the street.”

"We need to make room for those who have had the most experience [with homelessness and poverty] to be included on the advisory council, to be included on the board of directors, and to be able to build their own community."

"It’s important to know that there are outlets. There are ways out. And the biggest thing is having stable housing. Housing is the number-one priority we should be focusing on.”

“I was homeless in the ‘90s. Back in the ‘80s, there was nobody sleeping in doorways.

As 2014 draws to a close, I think about the good things and the people who touched my heart this year.

Since arriving on the West Coast in 2002, Garvin Snider has left no stone unturned in the Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood he’s called home for over a decade. The time he’s spent living here has changed him, he says. “I’m not the same person I was when I left [Ottawa...