The remarkable fall weather is holding steady as we head into October in Raincity.
Not as often as I should, I take some time to ponder the true meaning of an endeavor like ours and the effect that is has on the people that participate - the vendors.
On Saturday, I was looking over at a vendor and his wares and thought about his life. I have known him for a few years. He used to drink rubbing alcohol at the benches that we call the "drinker's lounge" at Pigeon Park on Sundays.
Frequently, he would get too blotted for his own good and start to cause trouble. More than a few times he has been thrown out of Pigeon Park by our security team. I won't tell you his name, because that would not be fair.
The point of the story is that this person entered rehab several months ago. I didn't know it at the time ... I just noticed that he was not around the park drinking like usual.
When I saw him again for the first time in months, he was clean shaven, dressed reasonably, and sober. He asked me if he could get a replacement vendor card because he had lost his.
This Saturday was the first day I had noticed that he was using his new card and vending at one of our markets.
This life progression is important, and also what I believe the market means for him.
I looked on to his table and noticed that he had about 10 pairs of shoes, and maybe 5 or six pairs of pants.
These are easy to obtain in our neighbourhood, more easy if you are in recovery.
What is hard to obtain in our neighbourhood are options.
Financial gurus study this kind of thing as it pertains to investments and derivatives, but this is a fundamental human need.
The emergencies of daily life, especially in the Downtown Eastside can simply not be met by a top down approach to poverty.
Yes, meals are plentiful, but you have to wait in line for them. Yes, shoes and clothing can be obtained at the many non-profit centres, but you can't eat shoes if you missed the food line.
What our market does is give people options through liquidity. If this vendor can sell his abundance of shoes, then the cash that he gains is valuable in that it can deal with an unforeseen emergency.
Sometimes, you need a chocolate bar, sometimes you need shoes, sometimes you need bread more than shoes. Sometimes you get so much bread you can't eat it before it goes bad.
Cash is the solution to this problem. Cash is the risk mitigation strategy that is effective and available to middle class, or rich. Why would we deny this to the poor and desperate.
Markets were formed historically because of the need to create liquidity out of unneeded abundance. When a farmer grew too many potatoes, they could trade them for a chicken or two.
My point is that this is an extremely necessary and natural urge on the part of humans to mitigate risk through flexible social connections. It may, in fact, define us as a species.
Watching this man repair his life is like watching a manifestation of our humanity unfold.
To what little extent our market aids him in this process is worth more than gold.
Financial Report (October 4, 2015)
1) 50/50 Raffle: $0.00 (no raffle this Sunday)
2) Tents/Tables: $278.70
3) Coffee/Pop Sales: $666.95
4) Donations/Other Revenue: $580 (UGM is having another event on Oct 17th)
4) Donations/Other Revenue: $580 (UGM is having another event on Oct 17th)
Total Revenue for the week: $1,525.65
Total spending for the week: $948.70
Petty Cash now = $7,328.69
(The WiFi project is still depleting our petty cash reserves. Apparently now, the project needs to be completed before we can be reimbursed. Glad to be treated like a plumber... A plumber that is not even worthy of receiving a deposit).
(The WiFi project is still depleting our petty cash reserves. Apparently now, the project needs to be completed before we can be reimbursed. Glad to be treated like a plumber... A plumber that is not even worthy of receiving a deposit).
Vendor/Market Summary
We counted 146 Vendors at noon.
About 51 Vendors on the unit block during the market this Sunday.
Value village "donated" a huge pile of used clothing to the unit block on Saturday. It made for a particularly crowded weekend on the Hastings.
About 51 Vendors on the unit block during the market this Sunday.
Value village "donated" a huge pile of used clothing to the unit block on Saturday. It made for a particularly crowded weekend on the Hastings.
Number of tents deployed = 44
Number of tables deployed = 12 x 5 foot tables, 48 x 6 foot tables, 40 x 4 foot tables
100 total tables deployed during our event.
Customers per hour at Pigeon Park on Sunday = 1,275
Customers per hour at 501 Powell Street on Saturday = 30
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