Since the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Fire and Rescue began removing structures on the Downtown Eastside, 2,000 kg of material has been removed per day.
Leaders including the Vancouver mayor, the Vancouver fire chief, and the BC Housing VP, provided a progress update on the situation revolving around the fire order in the Downtown Eastside on Wednesday morning.
While the fire order was issued back in late July, work to remove tents and structures only began a couple of weeks ago on August 9.
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart suggested that leaders were “very pleased” with the progress while acknowledging there are still many challenges facing the homeless population in the Downtown Eastside with a lot of work left to be done.
Meanwhile, advocates with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and OUR STREETS claim the City is sharing disinformation.
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Stewart was the first speaker at Wednesday’s media briefing, suggesting that the situation has “become more complex” since Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry issued the fire order on July 25. He added that from the start of July they saw a substantial increase in tents. They also saw increasing resistance from residents and intensification of problematic conditions.
He acknowledged that tents and structures were creating impassable areas on the sidewalks, as well as creating unsanitary conditions in the area.
“These folks that are living rough from the streets are our neighbours, they’re our family members, they’re sons and daughters, they’re real people who need our help.”
Stewart added that compassion was the “underlying approach to everything we do.”
He also added that the work is non-stop, every day.
“The bottom line is that we have made good progress in terms of moving people indoors, reducing fire risk, and clearing garbage and refuse from Hastings Street.”
Many of the questions relating to housing for the homeless were answered by Dale McMann, the vice president of operations for BC Housing.
BC Housing and Vancouver Fire concerns
A key concern from advocates for residents in the Downtown Eastside boiled down to a simple question: “Where are we supposed to go?”
š© NOW AT CITY HALL: OUR STREETS Organizers Dave Hamm, Samona Marsh, and Al Fowler will be answering press questions regarding the City’s dehumanizing decampment of Hastings Tent City. pic.twitter.com/6JTfK6HRgE
ā VANDU (@VANDUpeople) August 24, 2022
McMann suggested that some people were being offered housing solutions and that 40 people actually volunteered to move indoors. A small number of Crab Park tent city residents have also been offered solutions. He also addressed the dire conditions at many SROs in the city, admitting that SROs weren’t necessarily the ideal solution.
“I would also point out that there are a number of SROs that are either owned by the province or the city and managed by our nonprofit partners, but there are also a large number of SROs that are privately owned,” said McMann.
Meanwhile, Fry added some stats of her own to complicate matters even further when it comes to SROs.
So far this year, there have been 5,000 calls at SROs that Vancouver fire crews have had to respond to. That includes overdose, fire-related calls, and other calls. That constitutes 10% of Vancouver Fire and Rescue’s total call volume.
“We do meet regularly with SRO operators and owners and we have 181 identified through the fire department in our city right now,” Fry said.
Vancouver Fire and Rescue is also educating residents in relation to fire risks, like teaching them how to use fire extinguishers.
Much of what’s being removed from the streets is combustible and high-risk flammable material, along with structures blocking exits and entryways.
Was the memorandum of understanding violated?
Advocates of Downtown Eastside residents have claimed that the fire order violated the memorandum of understanding signed last year by the City, the province, and the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation.
We put this claim to the Vancouver mayor.
“That memorandum is still in place,” Stewart responded.
“That’s why you see the departments here today on stage addressing this. I do think that is the only way forward here. There is no real other way to deal with it. However, the fire risk has intensified the need to move as quickly as possible.”
He added that he’s extremely proud of how City staff and BC Housing responded.
“It’s never fast enough. But in the end, in my mind, it’s the person who has been traumatized enough to wind up on Hastings Stree that has to be the focus of how we proceed.”
We also asked Stewart how he felt about police involvement in decampment efforts since they began.
According to the City, police are not directly involved with any of the efforts related to the fire order. Stewart later said that he didn’t believe that anyone was better suited for the role than Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer when it comes to managing policing in the Downtown Eastside.
Initiatives City is working on
The City shared several supports they’re currently providing to residents including:
- Homelessness Services Outreach Team
- Counselling and healing and wellness supports for Indigenous peoples
- Food services
- Access to drop-in spaces
- Gender and sex worker safety
- Access to washrooms
- Sanitation crews
After all was set and done at Wednesday’s meeting, despite 2,000 kg of material being removed a day in the Downtown Eastside, despite the City being pleased with its progress, the core issue remains one that nearly every Vancouver resident is already aware of, lack of housing stock.
It’s also clear that despite the work that the City has done, there is still a very active tent city on Hastings Street.