Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
Reporting & analysis
Housing, policy and community life.
How Long Women Wait for Housing After Leaving Violence in British Columbia
A new report treats the wait between a shelter bed and a home as a cost. In B.C., women describe losing scholarships and living in cars, while the Province counts buildings and one night’s waitlists.
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What affordable shopping on Hastings would take
Filling an empty storefront can bring activity back to Hastings. Residents also need shops they can afford, with the goods and everyday services they have been travelling elsewhere to find.
Vancouver’s Police Audit Promise Needs the Board’s Invitation
A Vancouver council committee approved $5 million for a Downtown Eastside police task force nine months after it began. A promised VPD audit now depends on an invitation that only the Police Board can send.
Canada’s Homelessness Target Would Cost $3.5 Billion More a Year
Ottawa gave itself until 2027-28 to halve chronic homelessness. A friendship centre spent 18 years working toward one East Hastings building. Now a call for a national mission arrives three days before the budget, without a number.
The Debt Behind the Deal
A supplier can offer credit, drugs and a way to earn, then demand repayment under threat. Published Downtown Eastside accounts show what keeps a worker tied to that arrangement. They also show what it can cost to leave.
The Changing Promise of 58 West Hastings
A safe home has changed residents’ lives at Bob & Michael’s Place. Behind that achievement is an unfinished argument over the rents and admission rules that decide who gets the same chance.
Another year to keep the washrooms open
Vancouver’s emergency washroom programs became services people rely on every day. Years later, keeping them open still depends on another grant, another extension, and now, a proposal for shorter hours.
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