While I was away I met people living exceedingly hard lives. 

One of them was a 55 years old Metis woman with heavy physical pain and mental health illnesses. She had no place to go after the hospital as she had just been evicted after 10 years in an apartment. The hospital was trying to book her a room in a Vancouver downtown hotel filled with people on meth. 

Another friend I made was 36 years old and had been homeless for 3 and a half years on the streets of Vancouver. He had 10 O.D in the meantime. He too had just been evicted. The one good thing for him: sobriety now.