Letter: It takes a Village

Eddy Elmer

Westender, 15 September 2005

Dear Editor:

Today is the day that I officially proclaim my disdain for the Davie Village and all the people that self aggrandisingly refer to themselves as being part of a "caring, tight-knit community." On Saturday night, as I was sitting at the Starbucks on Davie and Thurlow and studying for some exams, I couldn't help but look at the bus stop across the street and notice that a young man was sitting on the bench with his head slumped over. At first I thought nothing of it; maybe he was drunk, or just taking a snooze. But something didn't look and feel right.

Then I realised I knew this person. As someone who spends much time reading and studying at the Starbucks on this corner, I've become very familiar with the area and its inhabitants. It struck me that the young man slumped over was a street kid who regularly walks the area, accompanied by his little white dog. In all the months I've seen him, he has rarely appeared inebriated or strung out on drugs in any flagrant way. He is generally very active, always up and about, walking the dog and soliciting passers-by for money. I've almost never seen him sleep at bus stops. So this particular evening, I knew something wasn't right. I grew increasingly concerned when his dog started running into the middle of the street and flirting with traffic; I realised that had his owner been lucid, he'd definitely have taken action to protect his best friend.

When I finally went across the street to check on him, I noticed that he was unresponsive. I had to shake him vigorously to get a response, and when he finally looked at me, I knew he was ill. His head slumped back down and it appeared that he was slipping in and out of consciousness. I smelled no alcohol on his breath and doubted he was overdosing on drugs because, as I said, I've almost never seen him flagrantly intoxicated. Given the situation, I decided it was appropriate to call 911. But this was not before at least 80 people (yes, I counted) walked right by him—clearly realising something was not right—and not doing a thing.

Because I don't own a cell phone, I walked into Denny's and asked a server to call 911. Seeing as how he didn't really care much, I went across the street to the Donair restaurant beside the Book Warehouse. The owner refused to let me use his phone and did not want to call 911. I asked two patrons in the store if I could use their cell phone, but they were more interested in their pizza than in the situation outside. I finally got to a pay phone and summoned an ambulance. I then returned to the bus stop to make sure the young man was still breathing. Again, throngs of people passed by, but most were too drunk or high to realise what was happening. Some knew there was an emergency, but clearly didn't care.

When the ambulance finally came, one of the attendants came out and said that "some asshole called 911 and said a man was down." The attendant told looked at him for no more than three seconds, told him he shouldn't be sitting at the bus stop, and then got back into the ambulance and left. I was uncomfortable leaving this person here because clearly something was wrong with him—I don't think he even understood the paramedic when he was asked if he wanted help. Finally I went home and called 911 again and asked the police if they could check on this guy.

I am disgusted that I was the only person who seemed to care what was happening (probably because I was the only sober person on Davie Street at the time). I'm even more disgusted that local establishments did nothing in what was a potential emergency situation. But I'm most disgusted at all those people who take pride in calling Davie Village a tight-knit community—where everyone feels safe because they know people will look out for them if something bad happens. Clearly this is not the case.

In fact, this is not the first time this has happened. A similar incident occurred a month ago with another young person, at the same bus stop. In this case, the young man that was slumped over at the bus stop wasn't even a street person; even then, few people took any interest. It wasn't until a Starbucks employee and I went to check on the man that we realised an emergency was in progress.

Shame on Davie Street. And shame on all those people who are so self-absorbed that they'd sooner step over a dead body at the intersection of Davie and Thurlow than take some initiative and behave like responsible citizens.

Eddy Elmer,
Vancouver, BC