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Scenes from a decampment

Tent takedowns and no place to go

April 8, 2025

On April 5th 2023, City of Vancouver staff, supported by a heavy Vancouver police presence, began dismantling tents and evicting people from Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside. The move came following eight months of tensions over the growing encampment, which the city said was causing a deterioration of public safety and an increase in fires in the area. About 80 tents and other structures were removed and the people living in them were told to leave. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said any campers wanting housing were being provided with shelter; however, many residents and advocates have disputed this, as local service providers note shelters are full and there is not enough adequate housing for those without homes. The street sweeps are continuing daily.

Here we go again, another tent eviction and displacement. Why the protest? What are the concerns? Why the banners and signs? One reads: “No Displacement/Eviction Kills.”

How does tent eviction kill?

First of all there’s the weather. It may be spring, but it’s still pretty cold at night. And it still rains. I can tell you from personal experience that for the homeless, there is nothing worse than a wet sleeping bag. It’s like trying to sleep in a wet dishcloth.

The threat of exposure is significant, and exposure kills. I’ll give you an example. Two years back my partner and I were heading back to the office coming off our shift as Chinatown stewards with EMBERS Eastside Works, and a local man called us over and asked, “Do you guys work for the city?”

We said, “Yes we do.”

The man continued, “Can you help this person?”

He took us to a young woman, maybe in her 20s. It was raining and she was laying on the sidewalk on Hastings Street in a soaking wet sleeping bag. We looked her over, spoke to her, and confirmed that she wasn’t suffering from an overdose. She had been in that wet sleeping all night.

We told her, “Look, you have to get out of that sleeping bag.”

But she said she couldn’t because she had trouble moving her body.

We unzipped her bag and checked her for injuries. She had no injuries we could see other than she was covered in bed bug bites and some sores. We called paramedics right away and she was taken to hospital. She was absolutely freezing cold. She was severely close to dying of exposure, which might have happened had she not been on a public sidewalk, where people could see her, for she had no tent. So that’s what’s meant when protesters say eviction kills.

The other issue for protesters is the displacement issue. Where do they go now? CRAB Park?

Violent crime is on the rise in the Downtown Eastside. Personal safety is an issue, especially for women.

A recent survey by a Downtown Eastside service provider of 50 women living on the streets revealed all had been sexually assaulted at one point or another. It is true that many of these women had tents and were still not safe, but I would argue that campers are safer on the sidewalks where there is lighting and people — as well as police presence — rather than in parks or other remote locations.

Another issue the protesters have is losing personal property. All of their belongings get thrown out. On decampment day, one man complained that a suitcase with all his I.D. got tossed. Other people who are homeless complain that their merchandise that they sell to earn extra income is also lost to the sweeps.

I spoke to a person with one of the media film crews that were covering the protest about fire concerns and a recent propane tank explosion on Main Street, and he said the city and fire chief want the tents gone. He informed me that last summer, city staff equipped campers with fire extinguishers, but then they stopped providing them.

I decided I’d do some research about what the city is going to do about all these tent city issues. Here’s what I discovered.

Housing still a long way off

According to the City of Vancouver, since the summer of last year, the tents on Hastings Street had been reduced from a peak of 180 in July 2022 to about 74. As of early April, there were 117 people still living in tents, and of that number, 70 had expressed a desire for housing. The city also claims that more than 90 people to date on Hastings Street have accepted housing offers. The city also claims that CRAB Park occupancy had fallen to 20 people.

During an earlier protest on March 24, the city said that campers living in a few tents located on Columbia Street at Hastings who were being evicted were given a place to store their belongings and were offered newly renovated SRO (single room occupancy) housing.

BC Minister of Housing Ravi Kahlon said that by the end of June, 330 new container homes would be available in the 1500 block of East Hastings — set aside specifically for tent city campers as temporary housing until more supportive housing can be built — and 45 new addiction treatment centre beds will open later this year at St. Paul’s Hospital.

That’s encouraging, but June and later this year are still a long way off. 

Why is the city moving campers out now? And are the homeless really being offered shelters and storage?

So far, I only know of one person who was offered SRO housing and that was a young woman who I had spoken to in a previous article I wrote about the sweeps. She had her tent right beside the propane tank that exploded and caused the tent fire on Main Street near Hastings. Her name is Crystal and she agreed to take a look at the housing officials offered her. I don’t know whether or not she is housed at present.

‘We are doing no harm to nobody’

Along comes April 5, the big day that the tent evictions take place. I went down to the heart of the Downtown Eastside to witness the takedown of tents. When I arrived, the first thing I saw was a young man sitting on a skateboard in the middle of the road on Hastings just off Main. He said his name was Mickey and I asked him if he was protesting.

“Yep, I’ve been here six hours and I fully expect to be arrested,” he said.

I noticed later on when I was leaving that he was gone. I don’t know if he was arrested or if the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) just made him move. I admire his fortitude and his dedication for doing what he felt is right.

I continued walking around taking pictures and talking to people when I could. I met a man named Garfield who had a notice around his neck that read, “April 5, 2023: VPD Are Terrorizing the Block.”

I asked him if he had his tent taken down and he said yes, he did. I asked if anyone had offered him housing. He said no.

I walked around some more, checking out the police presence. There were dozens of officers. They seemed respectful and well-behaved, even after I saw an Indigenous man in a face-off with a police officer. The officer did a good job showing restraint and not reacting, and the Indigenous man walked away.

I caught up with the man to talk to him, and we chatted about the dangers of aggravating the situation and how we didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

Lenard Bolley was living in a tent on Hastings Street.

“What kind of people do this to people?” he asked as the takedown progressed.

“We are doing no harm to nobody, just trying to live and looking for housing.”

Bolley had been living on the street for 11 years. He said that often when people go to shelters, it is not as safe as living outdoors. There are fights and possessions get stolen.

“None of us want to be homeless and none of us want to live in a rat infested place either,” he said.

Bolley had a heater and a cot in his tent. His goal is to one day live in a house with his brother.

Overall, the day-long takedown involved hundreds of people — campers, police and city workers — and was relatively peaceful. Two people were arrested. I never heard any yelling or arguing; just activists on microphones and the healing sound of the Aboriginal drum circles. There was lots of media everywhere.

The next day, news reports said many of the campers on Hastings had moved to CRAB Park and were starting to fill that location up.

Maybe that was the idea all along. What now, Minister Kahlon? In any case, this shows that everyone who was moved along did not get housing. It takes a long time to build housing and open treatment beds. In the meantime, the city should do the right thing and look after the displaced campers in CRAB Park. They are going to need proper lighting, running water, washrooms, fire extinguishers, a fire watch team, a police presence and electricity. It will cost a lot, but that’s where they are now.

The bottom line, in my opinion, is: Leave them alone while they wait for housing. The city must not move them again until officials have places to offer. Perhaps when the temporary modular units are ready in June, things will improve. Until then, patience everyone.

Images Courtesy of Mike McNeeley