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Vancouver News: Tent City Residents Speak Out About City’s Relocation Plan

People who live in a burgeoning housing estate in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have joined neighborhood advocates to speak out against plans to attempt to demolish makeshift homes.

The Tent City has been the focus of the fire department’s order to remove the structures for weeks now, but residents and supporters are questioning where else they can go at a time when the province admits the number of homes is available. is limited.

Sometimes chanting “Whose road is this? Our streets” in a call and response, the team spoke to the media on Tuesday in front of the Balmoral Hotel, a once notorious SRO that is now scheduled for demolition. They stood under a black and gold banner, which read: “Where must we go?”

A speaker named Melody talked about how her tent was taken “many times”, including once while she was still sleeping.

“I am in a shelter and my son is outside. I can’t live like that. I couldn’t stay in a shelter when he was outside, so I stayed outside with him,” she said. “There needs to be more places for people like us. We just want to be a family and have our own place together.”

Kukpi7 Judy Wilson with the BC Indian Chiefs’ Coalition said some homeless people had been moved from multiple locations.

“They’ve been pushed out of Strathcona park, they’ve been pushed out of Oppenheimer park, they’ve been pushed out of a lot of places like this, that’s why they’re here,” she said. “It’s a strategic move the government is making, pushing them out of here, pushing them out of there. We are in our last place. “

Vancouver Fire Police on July 25 issued an order to remove the tents and structures, citing concerns about the fire risk. In a statement to CTV News, Vancouver Fire and Rescue said members are working with the city’s engineering department to “identify key areas of concern, relative to areas of concern. high-risk and areas with higher levels of combustible matter”.

“These high-risk areas include exits and entrances, proper access to buildings, access to fire department connections on buildings, and storage around throats,” the ministry said. fire fight,”. “Progress is slow, but we are continuing to provide safety information and support to COV technical staff.”

City of Con. Jean Swanson attended the press conference on Hastings, and said she is speaking for herself, not on behalf of the city.

“People need a place to go before they are deported. There is nowhere for them to go,” she said. “We need to keep them safe until there’s a place to go.”

CTV News requested an interview with BC’s housing minister, but was told he was not present. Last week, Minister Murray Rankin released a statement and confirmed that there is no room to find new accommodation for everyone at short notice.

“We have 700 new support homes being rolled out over the long term in Vancouver. But right now, we are in the middle of a time where access to new space is limited,” he said. “Outreach groups are providing the limited amount of space we have available.”

BC Housing also released a statement, saying its staff are supporting city-led outreach.

BC Housing said: “Housing space is tight in Vancouver. “We are pursuing new locations for rental or purchase, and expedite the renovation of SRO units as they become vacant so that we can reopen them as soon as possible… our goal is having a number of spaces ready starting this month with more to come through the fall.”

CTV News also requested an interview with the mayor of Vancouver but was informed that he was traveling and was not available and that no other city staff were present.

In an email, the city said that along with its outreach team, it is also financing various services, including “hundreds of daily meals” through the Better Life Foundation, Access to storage, security, a new portable toilet, and a drop-in space will open on August 22.

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