A sudden move by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services to clear tents from the Downtown Eastside has community groups, BC Housing scrambling to find new shelter for people
A sudden move by Vancouver Fire Rescue Services to clear 150 tents and other structures from three core blocks of the Downtown Eastside has community groups and BC Housing scrambling to figure out ways of finding new shelter for occupants on short notice.
This is only one of several encampments the municipal government has moved to clear in recent years. Wally Wargolet, executive director of the Gastown Business Improvement Society, said he and others are lobbying for the city to stop handling each encampment as a one-off event and instead create a permanent committee to deal with them. He said what has happened so far is not a workable way to tackle the serious structural issues that lead to homelessness.“It didn’t need to get this bad.
Amanda Burrows, the acting executive director at First United Church, which is located near the encampment, said the urgency should have been expected, given past cycles of surges in homelessness.Ms. Burrows added that the current crisis isVancouver police gave notice in November that, as of July 1, they would no longer be accompanying city crews on “street sweeps,” during which city engineering crews remove what they consider to be garbage.
In its own statement, the City of Vancouver said several departments have been involved in encouraging people to remove tents and structures from along Hastings Street. The statement said the city is working on a plan for clearing the area while maintaining safe and clean streets for everyone who lives, visits and works in the area.
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