Living quality of residents of East Hastings living in tents
government's attempt to "support"
As we all know, many people reside within East Hastings Street. Around 400 people B.C. Human Rights Commissioner claims.
Mayor Kennedy Stewart claims the city did it's best in creating a safe housing environment, but needs the support from other levels of government officials.
"Cities on their own can't do this," Mayor Stewart claims. "We're doing our best on the ground... but we need record levels of investment."
Interrogations by the City of Vancouver were postponed for the relocation of citizens residing under tents.
"Housing space is tight in Vancouver," B.C. Housing declared in an email, as it claims it was given too short of a notice to locate room for people removed from their tents.
However, the Federal Government proclaimed that they plan to double the money invested in Canada's Homeless Strategy, which will increase it from $2 billion to $4 billion instead.
Moreover, B.C. Liberal Leader takes issue interrogates with the announcement of increased housing on it's way. Kevin Falcon says the BC NDP discuss about housing units but argues that “they never appear and never materialize.”
Mayor Kennedy Stewart advocating for improved housing
Moreover, the city staff, alongside police assistances, is taking down shelters, dismantling community set ups, and removing belongings, which ultimately closes off portions of the popular Downtown Eastside roadway and increases the difficulty in searching for adequate housing and pursuit of government support.
Unsurprisingly, many tent cities have been thrown away, which aggravates the overall situation as residents are forced to relocate to nearby parks and public areas.
Kevin Falcon, B.C. Liberal Leader, echoes this as he states he's worried about this situation become a repetitive one: “the violence and the chaos on communities throughout this province has never been worse than it is today. And without housing available, those tent encampments will simply move to another park or neighbourhood”.
personal experiences
William James, a homeless man, travelled to surrey to meet his friend. James left his belongings at his tent, but returned to discover that his belongings disappeared.
"I spent the day with him because he doesn't drink and I'm trying to sober up. Then I had to sleep outside the bank last night, all night" James says. Now that all his belongings and only form of shelter is confiscated, James is exposed to difficult circumstances such as bad weather.
Many police officers have threatened to arrest James when expressing how upset he was over losing his belongings.
Police cars lined up along East Hastings
"We're worried that this action and the continued action will have cascading effects on the community," Vince Tao, an organizer with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, claims.
Tao states that "we're trying to replace people's tents and replace their belongings, but we've lost track of a bunch of people, and we're very concerned and worried for them". Since many people displaced by the street sweep have nowhere to go, sheltered spaces become increasingly scarce.
Alongside her umbrella with a small black suitcase containing a few of her belongings, Carley August has been sitting beneath an awning on the sidewalk for almost a year.
"It was intimidating today because of the way the city had treated me," August says. The sole reason August continues to reside in the neighbourhood is because of the convenient access to necessary resources. She describes living on the streets as touch since she is forced to stay up all night for her own safety.
"I like my privacy. Yeah, don't get a lot of that. It's dirty there and there is a lot of fighter in there. Housing is really hard to get into sometimes."
August claims that if the city were to demand her to leave, she would quietly pack her things and leave as she always does.
"I had done nothing wrong, and I will just stay silent and quiet in the corner," August says.
chaos on east Hastings street
Punches and projectiles were thrown in a chaos between large crowds and Vancouver police officers after City of Vancouver removes homeless encampment tents along Hastings Street. Many resisted and fought against the police, as a man was reported throwing computers while he was being taken into custody. Vancouver Fire Rescue information officer, Matthew Trudeau, claimed they didn't expect chaos to occur, therefore crews will be there to support and ensure a smooth process.
Eventually, staff began conversations with the homeless and requested whether or not they would like to pack up and move voluntarily, rather than forcing them initially. In order to secure people's personal belongings, staff began giving out temporary storage.
"We recognize that this work will have an emotional impact on the community and everyone involved," the City of Vancouver said. "City Staff will be seeking to conduct the work with thoughtfulness and acre of the residents and their circumstances."
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