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Reporting, analysis and community stories from Downtown Eastside.
Bah Humbug! Vancouver’s Cultural Void This Holiday Season
As the 2024 Christmas season approaches, the absence of Bah Humbug!—a Downtown Eastside-set adaptation of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol—is more than a missing performance.…
Vancouver Cracks Down on Illegal Street Vending in the Downtown Eastside
The City of Vancouver has announced a decisive response to the proliferation of illegal street vending on East Hastings Street, marking the start of…
Vancouver Landlords Fight Back Against Vacancy Control
Thirteen single-room occupancy landlords in Vancouver have launched a class-action lawsuit against the City of Vancouver, alleging that its vacancy control policy amounts to…
The Rise and Fall of British Columbia’s Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions
British Columbia’s stand-alone Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions, born from bold promises to tackle the province’s crises, has quietly disappeared. In 2017, the…
Harm Reduction Paradox of Downtown Eastside Vancouver
Nestled within Vancouver’s glittering skyline is the Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood teetering between compassion and catastrophe, where harm reduction policies have sparked as much…
British Columbia’s Shift on Drug Policy Fuels Uncertainty
In British Columbia, a province once considered a leader in progressive drug policy, a new pivot away from harm reduction has reignited debates about…
All Bodies Dance Project Premieres Constellations
Prepare to experience an evening of dance unlike any other. The All Bodies Dance Project (ABDP) is set to debut Constellations, a powerful production…
Housing First Struggles to Deliver for Vancouver’s Most Vulnerable
In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the Housing First model once offered hope for a path out of homelessness. Yet, cracks are beginning to show as…
Community-Driven Solutions for Emergency Preparedness in DTES
In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, even minor emergencies can escalate into crises. Residents of the DTES face unique challenges in accessing essential resources, and recent…
Fentanyl Crisis Sparks Battle Over Opioid Treatment in BC
As the opioid crisis deepens across British Columbia, the province has made strides in expanding access to treatments like methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone for those…
Life in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside with Brandon Buckingham
In a brutally honest portrayal of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Brandon Buckingham’s Life on East Hastings goes beyond statistics and media headlines to capture the…
Class Action Seeks Accountability in Deadly Downtown Eastside Fire
In the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, tragedy struck when the Winters Hotel—a 100-year-old, single-room occupancy building—caught fire on April 11, 2022. The blaze…
