chiding then hiding the homeless

$500,000 to be spent to shelter homeless during Games

The Vancouver Province

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

By Clare Ogilvie

Organizers of the 2010 Winter Games say they'll spend $500,000 to get homeless people off the street during the two-week event.

Mary Fraser, a spokeswoman for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympics, said it has made a commitment that there will be "nobody on the streets at Games time."

Advocates for the homeless in the Downtown Eastside are outraged.

"They want to cleanse the streets of poor people and house them in shelters," said David Cunningham, an organizer with the Anti Poverty Committee.

The only way to tackle homelessness, he said, is to build more homes for the poor and displaced.

Kim Kerr, executive-director of the Downtown Eastside Residents Association, said: "By the time of the Games we are going to have an awful lot of people on the street and we are certainly not going to sit by while Vanoc sweeps them under the carpet by allowing them to stay in a shelter for a few extra days so they are not seen by the international media.

"We are not interested in more shelters. We are interested in housing and if Vanoc thinks they are going to increase the shelter beds so they can hide the homeless during the Games . . . well, that is disgusting."

Kerr said he plans to meet Vanoc officials in early December to discuss homelessness.

Fraser said the plan is to funnel the $500,000 to existing organizations that help the homeless.

"The intention is to work with agencies and organizations that already have existing shelter programs in the inner city," she said.

"[That way] Vanoc can best ensure the delivery of that commitment, which is to ensure that nobody is on the street during Games time. It is one of three major commitments [Vanoc] has made to sustainability on this issue.

"The . . . commitments are a legacy of low-income housing, which is the 250 units in the Athletes Village, the second one is affordable housing and the third is nobody on the streets at Games time."

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Citizens appalled by street disorder

Mayor Sullivan gets an e-mailful on drug users, panhandlers, binners

The Province

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

By John Bermingham, With a File From Frank Luba, The Province

Vancouver citizens are appalled by the swelling number of drug users, panhandlers and binners on their streets -- and they want something done about it.

Some 2,500 people gave Mayor Sam Sullivan an e-mail earful, saying they feel under siege because of growing public disorder.

In Sullivan's website survey, started last September and released yesterday, 84 per cent felt the public blight has increased over the past five years. Four out of every five people said Vancouver is losing its reputation as the world's most livable city. And two-thirds want immediate action.

The top three concerns were panhandling, open drug use and sleeping in public places. People complained about:

- Being hassled by aggressive beggars;
- Seeing open drug use;
- Stepping over people sleeping in doorways or in public parks;
- Dodging garbage and litter;
- Smelling urine or feces in public places.

People said they don't feel safe, and are concerned about the lack of pride in the city, but they also want a caring solution.

"People are very passionate about this issue," Sullivan told The Province. "They're frustrated. They believe we've been going in the wrong direction, and they want results.

"Generally, people think things are getting worse, not better."

Sullivan said he wants to put more police on street patrol. And he said he supports a "broken-window" approach to fighting public disorder like littering, jaywalking and nuisance behaviour. The idea is to fix things -- such as broken windows -- when they occur, which in theory, leads to more civic pride and fewer social problems.

Sullivan said he will use the 2010 Olympics to get senior government support for his plan, which he hopes to unveil in the near future.

But some of his political opponents have criticized the survey as being unscientific. Vision Vancouver Coun. Heather Deal hopes the survey won't affect city policy.

"I think it's an interesting exercise in public opinion but it's not scientific," she said last night. "I hope the mayor doesn't use this as a reason to divert resources that could be used for housing and other social services into enforcement of jaywalking, for instance."

Simon Fraser University criminologist Neil Boyd said throwing the book at panhandlers won't solve the problem.

"Some of these are actually big-ticket problems," said Boyd. "The little things cost a lot of money, and are quite complex. The homeless problem began in the '70s, because of [the] deinstitutionalization" of mental hospitals.

Homeless and mentally ill people need supportive housing, not prosecution, he said, adding that the growing gap between the rich and poor is worsening the problem.

"If you think Vancouver's going downhill, you don't get that opinion if you drive in Kerrisdale," said Boyd.

A report on crime in B.C. published last week blames drug use, mental disorder, childhood problems and poverty lifestyles.

"We've ranked ninth out of 10 provinces for the incidence of personal property crime," said Tim McEwan, executive director of the B.C. Progress Board, which monitors B.C. trends.

The report called for a criminal- justice task force to change the criminal justice system.

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Three APC protesters arrested after attempt to stop meeting

The Vancouver Province

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

By Frank Luba

Three protesters were arrested last night after an attempt to stop a city budget discussion at the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library, said a member of the protest group behind it.

Mary Clermont said that Anti-Poverty Committee members David Cunningham, Katie Dyck and Peter Haywood were arrested.

The APC has been behind two "squats" or occupations of vacant buildings in Vancouver. The action last night was staged in support of an occupation of the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre that began Sunday night.

The APC trio were arrested, according to Clermont, after they tried to get medical attention because they had been pepper-sprayed by Vancouver police.

Police spokesman Const. Tim Fanning confirmed there were three arrests, one of which was for allegedly assaulting a police officer. There will also be a warrant requested for another protester who was released at the scene.

"Five minutes before the meeting was supposed to start, the APC started trying to get into the meeting," said Clermont.

"The police tried to prevent us and we pushed the police line," she continued. "That's when they pulled out the pepper spray."

Fanning described it differently.

"They tried to kick in the doors of the meeting room," he said. "During that time, one of the protesters grabbed one of the police officers' duty belts, wouldn't let go, was actually grabbing the officer's gun."

Fanning said the female officer pushed the man back, he wouldn't let go and she pepper-sprayed him.

Cynthia Low, administrative co-ordinator for the embattled women-only drop-in centre, said its doors remained open again last night despite the fact it was supposed to be closing at 5 p.m.

She said 42 women spent Sunday night there and more were expected last night because of the cooler temperatures.

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