Mr. Ed has been out here since the long-gone days of the Victoria Street Community Association, back in the 1990s when the public and governments not only listened to people living homeless but helped them start drop-in centres and open businesses like the defunct Bent Nail. Mr. Ed remembers all the churches that used to serve a good breakfast, but most of that is gone now too. He’s 63 and the shelter mats just keep getting harder, the rules more restrictive. “I just want a place where I can have visitors whenever I want. Maybe have a dog. Get high without being harassed, and not feel like I’m in prison. I’ve been doing dope since I was 8, so yeah, I get high – so what? Everybody does something to get them through a day.”