"“What is the root of poverty for women on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside?”
I was asked this question recently, because I am an outreach worker in this Vancouver neighbourhood. I have some pretty strong feelings about being asked this. It’s similar to how I feel when I am asked these other common questions:
Why do addicts keep using drugs when they know the risk of dying from fentanyl overdose?
Why don’t women leave their abusive partners?
Why don’t people just get a job?
Sometimes I’m glad people ask these questions—it’s an act of acknowledging they don’t have the answers and are seeking them out. However, whether it’s because I’m burning out, or because I am experiencing what everyone goes through when they work in social services, below are my honest feelings when I’m asked these types of questions...."