The city of Vancouver appears to be home to a new tent cityBut it’s not in the park this time.
Instead, dozens of tents have sprung up in the east. Hastings Street Between Main and Carol Streets.
While tents and temporary vendors have long been a fixture of the road in the area, the tent presence appears to have blossomed as the city scales back its controversial “street sweep”.
As of July 1, Vancouver police have stopped accompanying city activists who patrol the street daily, collecting garbage — and personal belongings, according to some residents — and dumping them in dump trucks.
Cheryl Gunergie O’Sullivan, who lives and works in the Downtown Eastside, told Global News: “Right now (there are tents) on both sides of the sidewalk, but I don’t think it’s because the police stopped sweeping their streets.” Have given.”
She said the area has seen a huge increase in homelessness, and pointed to the choice between low-income residents living on the street or “disgusting,” poorly ventilated single-room occupancy hotels — many of which have been sites. recent fire.
“We just need enough housing. We do not need to live in tents or SROs, we need to maintain and maintain our buildings up to standard whether it is in DTES or elsewhere.
“Just because we’re here doesn’t mean we’re less important.”
In a statement, Vancouver Police said it last served notice that it would stop going with the city’s sweepers, which it said was “an unfair use of police resources and is not a core police service.”
The police questioned BC Housing regarding the tent. Global News has requested comment from BC Housing.
Area boutique owner Troy Cruikshank said the increasing number of tents in the area raises concerns about safety and fires.
“I worry about what else can’t be monitored inside those tents, because it’s an enclosed space,” he said.
“We already have a problem of fire in the city. It’s certainly an additional concern.”
Cruikshank said the number of people sleeping on the streets has increased, as has crime in the area. He said he arrived at his store one recent evening to find several vehicles with broken windows on the block.
“All the people who came to the area that night don’t feel that way about coming here anymore, and that’s a problem,” he said.
“I have customers who have always been coming to me who are suddenly ordering online for their home delivery…they don’t feel safe.”
But community advocates say the problem will not be solved by more street sweeping or policing – and that for many, taking shelter on Hastings Street is a matter of safety in itself.
Vancouver’s 2020 homeless countThe last held before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city documented 2,095 homeless people, nearly a quarter of whom were homeless.
“People talk about how violent they feel when they are regularly displaced and how vulnerable, unstable, trauma and psychological trauma they feel every day from shuffling,” said DTES support workers and Advocate Fiona York said.
“When people live in the same place, it’s a way of trying to find security.”
York said concerns about safety in the area could be addressed by adding resources from fire extinguishers to sanitation.
Sarah Blyth, executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society and longtime advocate, said the situation on Hastings Street hasn’t really changed. It has only become more visible.
“Tents do exist. They go up every night, they come down – that doesn’t mean they’re not there. I think it’s good to have tents in some way so that people are aware that we need more housing , “He said.
18 months after Tent City, the community hosts a celebration in Vancouver’s Strathcona Park
Blyth called the police-backed street cleaning a good thing, saying it reduces conflict and tension in the area.
But she said it needed to be replaced by something else that would anchor the community.
“The solution isn’t just to walk away, it’s … to find a model of helping people that isn’t just taking people’s stuff and throwing it in the trash can that’s creating more hostility.” ,” He said.
“We need to involve the community so that they are helping each other and helping themselves. More dumpers, opportunities for people to collect their own garbage, for people in the community to help each other. To get rid of the garbage, we need a bathroom immediately.”
The City of Vancouver declined to provide anyone to be interviewed on camera, but in a statement, Taryn Scollard, deputy general manager of engineering, suggested that work of that nature was underway.
That said, the city has deployed additional garbage cans in the area, and there were plans for engineering workers to work with community groups and the homeless to clean the sidewalks.
“This work will begin at some point next week, given that we need to provide time for community groups to organize a block stewardship program to assist with this work, and provide them with the tools they need to be successful. is required,” the statement reads.
Scolard said the city was also meeting with a coalition of community groups to “identify short- and long-term solutions that support people experiencing homelessness and keep them and their belongings safe while on the road.” maintain cleanliness and accessibility.
In the meantime, it appears tents will continue to be a regular fixture of the area.
“People have nowhere to go and nowhere to turn,” O’Sullivan said.
“We don’t have a lot of options in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.”
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