When DTES ‘tent city’ is dismantled, advocates wonder where the unhoused go

The tents crowding the sidewalks along E. Hastings on the Downtown Eastside must be gone by Thursday, Vancouver’s fire chief has warned.

Chief Karen Fry says there’s a high risk of fire and other urgent safety concerns, leading to the call for the “tent city” to be dismantled.

While one advocate understands the reasoning behind the decision, she fears the unhoused in the area won’t have enough living options in the area.

“There’s construction in the alley behind the zero block, there’s construction in the alley behind the 100-block which is where a large population of homeless people are, and have been for years,” explained Sarah Blyth, executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society.

In an ideal world, Blyth says, everyone living on the stretch of E. Hastings would get into housing and out of the natural elements. But she notes a lot of housing in the community that was once available is no longer due to a wide range of reasons.

“So much housing has been lost, with the Balmoral, the Regent and Winters. Even First United is under development and the Salvation Army is under development. So, there is so much housing that is not available to people that was available in the past.”

A former advocate for the unhoused at the City of Vancouver is echoing concerns about a lack of space, though she supports the decision from the city and agrees the safety hazards have become immense.

“We have very little vacancy in this province. I think that there are some rooms that are vacant in the interior properties. There may be a few others in other not-for-profits, but there will not be enough for everybody,” said Judy Graves.

She believes the Vancouver Fire Department is not subject to political pressure.

“I feel confident that this is being done for safety reasons only. And when you see the crowding on the sidewalks and against the buildings, it’s very clear why this has to be done. There’s no easy access to the buildings. And in the case of a fire, it’s quite likely that we would lose people.”

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In a statement released Monday, the City said it will work with community, non-profit and other organizations in the coming days to help remove structures and help people sheltering outdoors find additional support.

Meanwhile, a community meeting to discuss fire and safety concerns held Tuesday afternoon was testy at times, as VFRS answered questions from DTES advocates.

Meenakshi Mannoe, criminalization and policing campaigner at Pivot Legal Society, says the houseless folks living in the area were given no warning.

“We did not learn about the fire order until midway through a meeting yesterday afternoon. So, how is that respectful community relations?” she asked.

Mannoe believes the fire department hasn’t been truthful in who it’s communicated with following the decision to remove the tents which they say pose safety hazards.

“We have a spokesperson who can’t identify a single community organization, but uses the Downtown Eastside community as a shield from criticism,” she explained.

Mannoe said residents are being left with few options, as there are no emergency housing or shelter beds available.

“There’s no emergency weather shelter, even though we’re in a heatwave. There is nothing and so while the fire department wants to say this corridor isn’t about displacing people, where are people supposed to go?”

At the meeting, VFRS explained that ‘combustible’ structures will be dismantled day by day, with the most hazardous objects coming down first. The focus will then turn to moving people’s possessions that obstruct doors and buildings. VFRS insists there will be no displacement.