Teresa Ng has been a Megaphone vendor for around eight years and usually sells the magazine from her pitch near East Hastings and Nanaimo Streets in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. She has kept herself busy during the pandemic but has been distressed by the racial abuse she has suffered as a result of her ethnicity. She is looking forward to returning to her work as a vendor. Dennis Chernyk has been a vendor for nearly two years and his pitch is near West Hastings and Granville Streets. In addition to his work with the street paper, Dennis enjoys writing, drawing, gardening, cooking, and spending time with his black short-haired cat Co-co. But, as Dennis tells us, not everyone is as enamoured with cats as he is.

Sue is a 50-year-old Tla’amin woman whose delicate frame belies her personal strength and great stature within her community. She has endured numerous personal losses and has responded to these tragedies with resilience and growth while, within her community, she is known for helping others finds strength by supporting those around her.

The Bear Whisperer is a vendor who sells Megaphone, the Hope in Shadows calendar and Voices of the Street literary anthology in downtown Vancouver. This is a story of his travelling days, hard work and journey to British Columbia – the province where he found the opportunities that changed his life.

For winning photographer Buffie Irvine, the Hope in Shadows project became more than a photo contest. She has been a Megaphone vendor for eight years and her father for 14. When customers realise the family connection, they start talking to her and it makes her feel close to her community. The Hope in Shadows photography project made her feel close to something else; something that she loved. Her Dad.

Megaphone celebrates the festive season by profiling a few of their hard-working vendors, who pass along a message to their valued customers.

A mom of two kids and two cats, Julie “Jewel” Chapman would take everyone under her wing for protection if she could. Her altruistic activism fuels her work within the Downtown Eastside community of Vancouver, where she is a support worker for sex workers and those struggling with addiction. Despite some people’s negative attitude towards the DTES, Jewel feels that her neighbourhood is a wonderful community full of hope.

When we hear from vendors, it is usually to learn more about their experiences with homelessness and how working as a street paper seller has helped them. But vendors do all sorts of outstanding, inspiring things that we might not know about. Gerald “Spike” Peachey aims to use all of his experiences from the streets to help build a city where everyone can live their best lives by running for councillor in Vancouver’s civic election later this month. He sets out the reasons why the people in his district should vote for him.

“I’m your sister and I walk with you,” says Suzanne Kilroy, as she discusses the importance of National Aboriginal Day, which is today. Here, she talks about the significance of the celebration, and the feelings of kinship with others and pride in her heritage that the day inspires in her.

In a piece written for the fall edition of Megaphone’s Community Journalism 101 workshop, Peter Thompson discusses his love of food. In particular, he writes about bannock – his personal favourite – and shares an anecdote about how, during his childhood, he learned how to smoke fish.

This month, Canadian street paper Megaphone, which is based in Vancouver, British Columbia, but has stretched its patch to include Victoria, turned 10 years old. In this retrospective piece, individuals involved with the street paper, from founding members, to editors, to vendors, look back on the magazine’s decade long life so far.

Vancouver vendor Priscillia Tait took the winning cover photo of the 2018 Hope in Shadows calendar. Here, she talks about the setting she chose for the photograph, as well as her family, growing up in an Indigenous community and her experience of homelessness.

In honour of #VendorWeek 2018, Megaphone vendor James Witwicki and L’Itinéraire vendor Yvon Massicotte had a ‘face-to-face’ interview to swap experiences of how both wound up selling street papers.

Today, North American street papers will join in with the #VendorWeek celebrations by hosting selling events, some for the first time. This #VendorWeek tradition is a chance for those unfamiliar with the street paper movement to understand better what street paper vendors do.

Vendors from Vancouver, Canada street paper Megaphone share with us their thoughts on the past year, as well as what it’s like working as a street paper vendor around Christmas time.

Megaphone vendor Mark Irvine says at 65 his new life goal is ‘learning how to live’, after a troubled past involving problems with drugs and alcohol, and time in prison.

Norah Winnifred Parlett was a spy in WWII, and a the main breadwinner for her five kids. Her son, Megaphone vendor Bob, talks about their complicated history and the love they share.

As Megaphone boss Sean Condon says goodbye to the street paper network, he tells us what he’s learned from 10 years at the Vancouver magazine. A behind-the-scenes must-read for street paper fans. 

“After seven years of being homeless, I can see firsthand why everything is a mess – which inspired me to write this article.” Megaphone vendor Ron McGrath invites us all to solve homelessness together.