'Nowhere to go': Future remains unclear for hundreds living in tents on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

Several city-supplied storage containers along Vancouver's East Hastings Street are now full to the brim. However, many of those living in tents on the sidewalks and road haven’t moved.

Providing storage for people's belongings in one part of the City of Vancouver's plan to clear the encampment on the Downtown Eastside. However, a plan for where the people themselves are supposed to go has not yet come together.

“There’s nowhere to go,” said Darren Daugherty, who lives in a tent near Main Street. “People say that we can sign up for BC Housing, but, if there was housing, how come people aren't getting shifted there?”

Dozens living in tents on the street started filling out BC Housing forms ever since the City started enforcing an order from the Vancouver fire chief to remove tents and structures in the area.

“We’ve had 1,016 fires with damage in this area just this year alone,” said Capt. Matthcw Trudeau of Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services on Tuesday.

BC Housing admits space is tight and that it can’t currently accommodate the hundreds of people who were ordered to move.

Kristy Wilson also lives in a tent near Main Street and says she’s applied for housing, but isn’t sure she’d live in a Single Room Occupancy building even if she was accepted.

“I’m worried about it, yeah,” said Wilson. “I’m terrified to be in one of those places. It’s pretty sad that I feel more safe living on Main and Hastings at an intersection than in an SRO downtown.”

With a civic election coming up in October, one opposition party says the city needs a new housing plan.

“What we’ve seen is a lack of leadership from the mayor’s office,” said Mike Klassen, a council candidate with the ABC Party. “The mayor has been talking about the quantity of units, but the fact is that we have to look at the quality of units. I mean, how bad do these units have to be for people to prefer to sleep in a tent on Hastings?”

Despite requests to Mayor Kennedy Stewart’s office and the city, CTV News has yet to receive a response on specifically where they expect the people living in tents to go, and when that move may happen. For now, many say they aren’t going anywhere.

“I guess we’ll see in the future,” said Daugherty.

The City of Vancouver has said it’s working with BC Housing and non-profits for possible solutions, including temporary emergency shelters.