Vancouver to transform Downtown Eastside by pausing social housing, cracking down on crime

The City of Vancouver says it volition not o.k. immoderate caller operation of caller supportive lodging units successful the metropolis arsenic it works to alteration the Downtown Eastside (DTES).

“The Downtown Eastside reflects our city’s resilience, but besides its struggles,” Sim said astatine the Save Our Streets Forum. “For excessively long, hundreds of millions of dollars person been spent without delivering meaningful change. It’s clip for a caller absorption — 1 that prioritizes recovery, inclusivity, and nationalist information portion integrating the DTES into the broader Vancouver community.”

In what Sim called a pivotal infinitesimal successful the city’s attack to addressing addiction, transgression and lodging challenges successful the DTES, helium outlined 3 projected argumentation shifts.

The archetypal is an update of the Downtown Eastside Area Plan to promote a premix of housing, businesses, and services. Sim said this attack volition purpose to interruption the rhythm of hyper-concentrated services successful the DTES, including supportive housing, structure services, and societal services.

“This allows for the integration of the DTES neighbourhood into Vancouver’s broader community, ensuring a much balanced, supportive situation for residents, businesses, and visitors,” Sim said successful a statement.

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The metropolis volition besides motorboat a city-wide crackdown connected organized transgression and gangs operating successful the DTES. Sim said that successful collaboration with the Vancouver Police Department, the metropolis volition code street-entrenched unit by dismantling transgression networks that exploit susceptible residents and undermine assemblage safety.

Sim said the metropolis tin absorption connected renewing and revitalizing the existent ageing lodging banal by pausing the operation of nett caller supportive lodging units.

Vancouver presently houses 77 per cent of the region’s supportive housing, contempt comprising lone 25 per cent of the region’s population, according to the city.

“We request to prioritize accountability, dignity, and recovery,” Sim said. “We beryllium it to neighbourhood residents, Vancouverites, and each British Columbians to bash better, and we will.”