Vancouver tent city arises where another stood 10 years ago
Vancouver homeless people and advocates erected a tent city Friday on the same vacant city-owned lot another stood 10 years ago.
Activists called the camp at 950 Main Street the "Ten Year Tent City" in response to the homelessness crisis getting worse, not better, since the first tent city.
"This lot is still empty and the homelessness crisis is still going on," Maria Wallstam, a speaker for the Alliance Against Displacement said.
"Homeless people are dying on the street at an unprecedented rate. These tent cities are spaces of survival for people that don't have access to basic housing."
Organizers say they started the tent city during the provincial election to draw the parties' attention to the issue of homelessness, which they say has been ignored.
They say they want those parties to commit to building 10,000 units of social housing each year.
'It's very disheartening'
On Friday morning, organizers and residents were setting up about 10 tents along with a kitchen structure made of lumber and tarps.
Some were painting over graffiti in preparation for a mural and others were painting protest signs.
Robert Bonner, one of the organizers of the first tent city, pointed to a collection of ribbons tied to a chain-link fence that once spelled out "Homes for all."
He said those ribbons were hung during the first tent city and little has changed since.
"It makes me really angry, especially when you have people dying at an alarming rate," he said "And for no reason other than they have nowhere to live … it's very disheartening."
Bonner says the difficulty of accessing services for homeless people makes working difficult: "It's awfully hard to be productive … when you gotta line up at three o'clock in the afternoon for your nightly meal."
Others stressed the conditions of shelters are inadequate, including one homeless woman who says she is pregnant and can't find a shelter that will allow visits from the baby's father.
Officials say they will monitor
Organizers say they plan to stay where they are until they see progress on the issue of homelessness.
They say they have volunteers trained in CPR and in the use of the anti-overdose drug narcan to keep residents safe.
They also say they plan on reducing fire risks by spacing out tents and discouraging the use of propane and open flames in tents.
Officials from both Vancouver Fire and Rescue and the Vancouver Police Department were present Friday morning. Fire officials say they will monitor the situation.
The City of Vancouver acknowledged affordable housing is a "criticial challenge" in the region in a statement but added residents of the tent city are breaking the law and have been told to leave with their belongings.
"Past protest encampments have raised serious fire concerns, as well as health and safety risks, which required considerable effort by city, fire and police resources in order to protect the safety of those within and outside of the camps," a spokesperson wrote.
The city had not forcibly removed the tenters as of Friday afternoon.
With files from Dillon Hodgin
