We need to tell our own stories.
If we don’t tell our stories,
people with power
will tell our stories for us,
And we won’t like what they say.

When we tell our stories,
we reach out to each other
and build community.
We share our pain.
We share our hope.
We share our laughter,
and our determination.

When we tell our stories
we draw our own maps,
and we question
the maps of the powerful.

Each of us has something to tell,
something to teach.
We speak the language of the heart-
here-in the Downtown Eastside-
The soul of Vancouver.