Hundreds of people remain unhoused in Vancouver's Strathcona Park despite City Council's 2 month-old resolution to address their housing needs.

On October 8th, 2020, Vancouver City Council UNANIMOUSLY approved a motion to allocate $30 million dollars “to provide emergency COVID-19 relief for unsheltered Vancouver residents” and “for housing unhoused people as soon as possible”.

Over two months later, nothing has been done to implement this resolution, or to otherwise address the housing needs of unsheltered Vancouver residents.

The camp has been in place in Strathcona Park since June 2020.

Mayor Kennedy Stewart stated, “it’s clear to me that once the summer is behind us, we will be in a dangerous place between the start of wet and cold weather and a vaccine yet to be available.”

Winter is here and no vaccine is available for campers.  We are in the Mayor’s ‘dangerous place’: 

• On December 9th, 2020, a man was found dead inside his RV parked next to Strathcona Park.
• On December 6th, a man was found dead outside a tent in the park. 
• In October, a man was stabbed and suffered a serious injury to his foot.  He was attacked in his tent and was later found bleeding on a street near the park.
• In September, after a serious assault, a man was left in the park for about 12 hours in the day before anyone called for help. As a result of the attack, he had one leg amputated.
• In August, a person was stabbed in the arm when he encountered a man who had previously been banned from the camp.

Chrissy Brett, a camp organizer, says the conditions in the park have been deteriorating in recent weeks.

“We don’t have running water, we don’t have access to bathrooms. We currently lose the only running water we have at about four o’clock in the afternoon. We have four portapotties that don’t have any hand sanitizer in them,” she says. 

“The tents that people are living in are not intended to live in, they’re intended for a week at a lake or a campground to enjoy the outdoors. They’re not meant to live in.”

The specific funding, actions and housing approved via Council's resolution include:

• Secure location(s) and immediately activate temporary Pandemic Shelter(s), working with Vancouver Coastal Health to triage unsheltered people and explicitly facilitate supplanting unmanaged encampments including Strathcona Park.
• Pursue using the City-owned 2400 Motel and the Jericho Hostel for housing unhoused people as soon as possible.
• Allocate up to $30 million to execute these actions and provide wraparound services.
• Develop a neighbourhood transition and engagement plan for transitions into hotels and/or apartments acquired by the City. 
• Lease or purchase as many housing units as possible to offer to unsheltered Vancouver residents…and leverage opportunities for such acquisitions including…approved 2019-2022 Capital Plan, specifically the remaining ~$30 million allocated for acquisitions for affordable housing.

None of these actions have been completed despite guaranteed funding and a democratic mandate for immediate action. Meanwhile, winter is here and people are suffering and dying in the Mayor's 'dangerous place'-- Strathcona Park.

We, the undersigned, demand that the City of Vancouver immediately implement the actions and funding as per the ‘Emergency COVID-19 Relief for Unsheltered Vancouver Residents’ resolution that was unanimously approved by Mayor and Council on October 8th, 2020.