by the group. The members that I
patrolled with were Ronin, Grimm,
Tank, and PC. The leader, Ronin, is

a member of the original Vancouver
Guardian Angels chapter. He signals
the routes to follow using hand signals
recognized by each of the members.
Grimm had only a little to say about
the Vancouver Guardian Angels.
Wendy: So when did you join the
Guardian Angels?

Ronin: I was a member of the original
chapter. Back then we just kept
moving on the patrols. We would walk
and walk for the entire patrol just
providing a presence.

W: What do you do differently now?
R: I like to stop on the corners,
particularly at Main and Hastings. Not
only do we provide a presence, but
also the crowds tend to disperse.

PC was the most talkative member

of the group. Although the others
described him as quiet he was very
talkative about the Guardian Angels
and the perceptions relating to them.
W: When did you join the Guardian
Angels?

PC: I joined two years ago. I had
heard about them in the 1980s and
thought that what they did was cool.
When I heard that they were looking
for recruits in 2006 I came out.

W: So what was it like being a
recruit?

PC: First there was two to three
months of training. Then I started
going out on patrols with senior
people.
W: What do you think of the
perceptions surrounding the Guardian
Angels in Vancouver? How do they
make you feel?
PC: I know people think that we’re a
bunch of Yankees, but we make sure
people are safe. We take the name of
the guardian angel seriously. When
you think of a guardian angel you
think of a protector. That’s what we
are. We go around neighbourhoods
that we think need to be patrolled.
We used to go on the SkyTrain when
women were being mugged around
the stations. We break up fights; we’re
never aggressive towards people.
Nine out of ten people give us the
thumbs up. The residents of the DTES
appreciate us being here.
W: So why do you come out every
Friday?
PC: It’s my way of giving back. I
give to charities and I donate my time,
but this is my major contribution
to society. I don’t like violence
particularly towards weaker people; it
upsets me. It’s worth it if we even help
one person a night.

From my time out with the
Guardian Angels, PC is quite correct
about their approval rating. Most

of the DTES residents that we
encountered did give them a thumbs
up. Some asked if they were affiliated
with the Vancouver Police Department
(VPD), but were cautiously optimistic.
One DTES resident summed it up
quite nicely.

DTES Resident: So what are you
guys about? Are you cracking down
on dope users or what?

PC: We’re about keeping people safe
and making sure nobody gets hurt.
DTESR: I’m all for that.

Many of the residents came to the
Guardian Angels with a story to tell.
Many just wanted to be heard. The
Guardian Angels offer an ear to listen
and as they joked, Tank gets a lot of
them.

Tank was my original contact
with the Guardian Angels. He is
always enthusiastic and always trying
to help. In my first patrol with the
Guardian Angels he stopped to offer
medical assistance to one DTES
resident and an ambulance came by
minutes later to help.. He also stopped
to listen to one DTES resident who
needed assistance in a back alleyway.
The man had just gotten out of the
hospital and was trying to contact
Vancouver General Hospital (VGH)
for the return of his belongings.

Tank, who is much kinder than the
name implies, helped the man phone

 

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VGH in a vain attempt to locate his
belongings.

Tank filled me in on the training
that the Guardian Angels go through
before starting patrols.

W: Who trains the Guardian Angels?
Tank: My first teacher was Norm
Bettencourt. Mitra and Guru O’Neal
at Triunity Martial Arts in Surrey also
taught us.

W: What did they teach you?

T: Norm taught us about working as
a team. He would teach us certain
moves on how to protect ourselves
against knives or guns and very
aggressive individuals or multiple
attackers... We were taught anti-
terrorist techniques, knife use and
defense. We even learned how to react
to grenade attacks! Mitra is also the
only lady in Canada that is authorized
to teach these techniques.

My experiences with the
Guardian Angels showed me a
different side of the Downtown East
Side. Many of the people there just
want to be protected and left alone to
do as they please. Regardless of who
we talked to, everyone was unanimous
in their support of a patrolling group
that wasn’t the Vancouver Police
Department. When it comes to
the DTES, the residents want the
Guardian Angels.