Decampment aftermath: Tents spread in Vancouver as health concerns grow

After a massive sidewalk-clearing operation on Wednesday, camping tents and makeshift shelters are now popping up outside of Vancouver’s East Hastings Street corridor.

Displaced homeless residents are huddling under tarps, umbrellas, or tents through a deluge of weekend rain in the absence of sufficient shelter or housing options in the Downtown Eastside and beyond, which is raising concerns among advocates and health-care workers.

“We’re quite concerned the cruel and dehumanizing displacement last week really does put residents, unhoused people in the Downtown Eastside, at risk in terms of their health status,” said Mike Old, a spokesperson for B.C.’s Hospital Employees’ Union.

He pointed out the poor weather is already impacting campers’ health, with longer-term strain expected on a health-care system already beset by staffing shortages and increased demand, with long waits for care. 

“They’re at risk of exposure, they’re at risk of sleep deprivation, and because they’re so isolated, they’re also at risk from a toxic drug supply,” said Old. “We think the displacement and isolation they face will put their health status at further risk.”

TENTS SPREADING BEYOND HASTINGS

As the decampment was underway on Wednesday, the general manager for the City of Vancouver acknowledged that campers would likely find their way to other neighbourhoods and that was evident over the weekend. 

A small shantytown is taking shape in Kitsilano’s Vanier Park, with structures covered by tarps and garbage strewn around the wooded area, while lone tents have been spotted in other parks in East Vancouver.

The side streets around Oppenheimer Park, which had a massive, long-term tent city until it was forcefully cleared in 2020, have more than a dozen tents already set up. 

This comes as makeshift shelters and popup camping tents continue to be re-established and cleared by city crews each morning on Hastings itself, despite a major rainfall event underway. 

WHERE IS THE HEALTH AUTHORITY?

On Monday, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users provided journalists with a leaked plan by the City of Vancouver to remove the months-long decampment that’d taken over much of the sidewalk for several blocks of East Hastings Street. 

The document, which the mayor said is legitimate, included notes to “ask (Vancouver Coastal health) to do further outreach in the area” and “hope to have VCH on Standby for mental health supports (in discussions).”

When CTV News asked Vancouver Coastal Health to explain their role in the decampment, a spokesperson said the health authority “is always concerned about the safety and well-being of all individuals in our communities, including those residing in encampments” but wouldn’t provide any information.

“We’re talking about unregulated, poisonous drugs, we’re talking about infectious disease, we’re talking about rain, wounds, we’re talking about all sorts of terrible things and there’s no presence of them at all,” said Downtown Eastside advocate and drug policy analyst, Karen Ward. 

She noted the health authority seemed unprepared for the displacement of people and the fallout, as did most agencies.

“They’re the ones with the resources to step up in a serious way, quickly,” said Ward. “We need them to show some leadership and we need them to do that now.”

CTV News reached out to VCH again on Sunday to see how they are supporting displaced people’s medical needs. They have not yet replied.