Downtown Eastside - DTES Issues

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by SeymourDrake

There was never any real plans to rebuild this death trap. The best thing they can do is sell it off to a condo developer. Use the money to buy one of the older hotels. But get those rooms out of the DTES.

One thing we shouldn't be doing is concentrating all the poverty in the city / region into one area.


I thought I clicked 'submit post' earlier...

[Vin]

Originally Posted by SpongeG

The news I saw yesterday said the hotel will be replaced with social housing, a new build.

Sink more millions into the area while nothing improves. So much for the hike in property taxes.

[jollyburger]

Fire down at E Hastings/Princess

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Fire down at E Hastings/Princess

I think it was 547 E Hastings, a tiny 1920s building (1,250 sf) that was Uncle Henry's Restaurant years ago, and has operated as a commisary kitchen for various food trucks, and more recently a bone broth business. Apparently there was nobody in the building, andthe broths simmer for 24 to 48 hours. There's another vacant single storey building to the west that's been for sale for $1.598. They got the fire under control pretty fast. (There was a bigger fire earlier at Broadway and Fraser).

[madog222]

B.C.’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the provincial government will be opening over 330 housing spaces for people living in tents on the Downtown Eastside (DTES).

“This plan aims to help people get off the street into homes and make the Downtown Eastside a healthier and safer and a more hopeful place for everyone,” said Kahlon.

He explains the DTES currently has 117 people sheltering outside, and 70 of them have expressed a desire for housing.

...

The 330 new homes for DTES residents include “two new temporary supportive housing projects,” as well as a mix of renovated single room occupancy (SRO) units, and supportive homes.

These new spaces should all be open by the end of June according to the announcement..

In the meantime, Kahlon is encouraging people living on the streets to accept housing offers as the city continues working to decamp people in tents along East Hastings.

“The majority of those sheltering outside have already been and continue to be offered spaces indoors,” Kahlon added.

The province says 90 people have already accepted housing offers, and the amount of temporary structures alongside the DTES has gone down from 180 to 74.

While costs for this housing have yet to be revealed to the public, Kahlon says the information will be made available soon.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/03/26/vancouver-downtown-eastside-housing/

[WarrenC12]

So with the BC government math there's homes for everyone and zero reason anybody should be on the street? I'll believe it when I see it.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Fire down at E Hastings/Princess

For those who want to help:

GoFundMe launched for food businesses devastated by Vancouver fire
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/gofundme-food-businesses-vancouver-fire

That is why businesses left and are leaving the area, including Chinatown, in droves. Granville Street is facing similar problems now.

Police to investigate suspicious fire at Vancouver's Chinese Cultural Centre
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/suspicious-fire-chinese-cultural-centre

[Vin]

Soft on crime, disaster looms.

Man fatally stabbed at Starbucks was visiting cafe with partner and daughter
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/starbucks-fatal-stabbing-wife-daughter

[Vin]

Just "urge"?? Make them move into shelters!

BC government urging Downtown Eastside campers to move into available shelters
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/downtown-eastside-crab-park-encampment-shelters-vancouver

The density of these "new" shelters is way too low! Bad location to build these but since that area is already so dumpy, might as well make it worse:

This is the design of Vancouver's new type of temporary modular housing building for the homeless
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-modular-housing-single-storey-homeless

[Sheba]

Vancouver Fire Rescue impeded by encampment inhabitants during SRO fire response

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services’ assistant fire chief Ken Gemmill said it was “a gong show” when firefighters arrived at an SRO suite fire Friday night, on East Hastings Street.

When firefighters arrived, the assistant fire chief said several people living in tents and structures out front refused to move.

Firefighters had to call Vancouver police for assistance and had to be extremely careful not to soak or injure the people while battling the blaze.

“It came in as flames and smoke coming out the top floor of a residential, over stores. It was rolling out the window pretty good when we first got here,” said Batt. Chief Mike Anzulovich.

“We were able to knock it down and enter the suite pretty quickly.”

No one was injured in the fire but around a dozen units were damaged.

One bystander witnessed some of the action from the street.

“I saw fire and debris melting, glass falling from the window and a guy was standing under. Someone grabbed him and threw him out of the way,” Micheal Dunford said.

“He had no clue that there was fire falling on his head. It was pretty crazy.”

Investigators believe the blaze started in or around a mattress, but how it began is under investigation.

[whatnext]

Exactly why Fire Chief Fry ordered them removed months ago (to no avail).

[logan5]

I guess these people have severe brain damage from extensive drug use. I mean why would you not move for firefighters trying to stop a fire? There could have easily been a person in there dying from smoke inhalation.

[Sheba]

Leaked City of Vancouver document proposes 'escalation' to clear DTES encampment

The City of Vancouver has drawn up plans to escalate the removal of structures and decamp people living along East Hastings Street, according to a leaked document seen by Postmedia.

The document proposes a two-stage plan, with engineering workers and the Vancouver police starting with “lower risk sites” along Hastings that are east of Main Street and west of Carrall Street.

The plan also includes the deployment of “roving” teams of city engineering and VPD staff that will enforce decampment and remove structures both inside the Hastings encampment and around the city as needed, once the first two stages are complete.

So-called “Quick Response Teams” would initially operate daily and could operate for “several weeks or longer,” according to the document. Weekly assessments would determine how often the teams are deployed and the mix of city and VPD staff.

In stage one, engineering crews with VPD support would “no longer disengage when tensions rise or protesters/advocates become too disruptive,” according to bullet points listed in the document. “(This) signals an escalation in approach, in advance of larger event.”

The “larger event” is stage two, in which all residents and structures in “high risk zones” — identified as areas with residents who are “combative/aggressive” or structures that have been repeatedly removed — would be targeted for removal.

Residents in the encampment area would be given a “notice of non-compliance” during stage two and given seven days to decamp, according to the document. City homelessness services would reach out to residents and encourage them to “accept shelter offers and/or any housing that may be available.”

Stage two would also be a VPD-led operation with a “significantly larger” engineering and VPD deployment with sections of the block closed to the public. “Goal is to complete in one day but resources for two,” according to the bullet points.

...


A screenshot shows details from stage one of a proposed plan to decamp residents and remove tents and other structures from East Hastings. Photo by City of Vancouver


A screenshot shows details from stage two of a proposed plan to decamp residents and remove tents and other structures from East Hastings. Photo by City of Vancouver

[madog222]

"Leaked"

I assume this will be timed for when shelter/housing space is available.
The two new temporary modular housings announced in December at Main & Terminal and Olympic Village station were supposed to open in March. I haven't seen the OV location recently but Main is still at ground prep with no modules on site.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by logan5

I guess these people have severe brain damage from extensive drug use. I mean why would you not move for firefighters trying to stop a fire? There could have easily been a person in there dying from smoke inhalation.

No kidding, as in most other cases when bad behaviour and criminality are exhibited here. Sadly these individuals are often seen as merely "abused individuals with mental health problems", and that society should give compassion and sacrifice lots to cater to them. People should know that many of these individuals abuse themselves, which should be considered a crime on its own. The government, by letting turn from bad to worse, should also be held responsible for all the problems created as a result.

It has taken way too long for the City to act, and let's see if ABC can overcome this challenge.

[jollyburger]

Tents being cleared out on East Hastings

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/04/05/vancouver-downtown-eastside-east-hastings/

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by jollyburger

Tents being cleared out on East Hastings

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/04/05/vancouver-downtown-eastside-east-hastings/

And temporary housing being installed on Main Street. It has the look of 'pre-owned work camp' at the moment.

[jollyburger]

Kennedy Stewart showing infinite wisdom from retirement

“On October 15, 2022, 85,732 of you voted to elect a new mayor and council who today abandoned our attempts to reconcile with Indigenous people and resume traditional genocidal practices. Welcome to Cruel Vancouver,” he says in a tweet.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/04/05/vancouvers-east-hastings-decampment-reaction/

On Wednesday, Mayor Kennedy Stewart said he was “pleased” with the progress that’s been made in clearing the street, following a safety order issued a month ago by the city’s fire chief.

“Not fast enough for some people, but it is compassion that’s the core of our response here,” Stewart said.

“For the past few months, the city has been doing everything we can to support unhoused neighbours along Hastings Street. And since Chief Fry’s order on July 5th, this extremely challenging situation has become even more complex. Our job is to balance the fire safety risk with the need of providing housing and compassionate care for some of our city’s most vulnerable residents.”

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/08/24/vancouver-hastings-eastside-tent-removal-update/

[scryer]

Just a question for clarity: are these people being relocated at all?

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by scryer

Just a question for clarity: are these people being relocated at all?

From what I've read no. I think it was offered in the past and most refused?