Downtown Eastside
Encyclopedia
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver
, British Columbia
, Canada
and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code".
According to the city of Vancouver, the Downtown Eastside contains the following neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Gastown
, Oppenheimer Park (formerly Japantown), Thornton Park and Victory Square
, as well as the light industrial area to the North. There are many conflicting definitions of its perimeter but it can generally be viewed as being bordered by Cambie Street to the west, Clark Drive to the east, the waterfront to the north and Venables Street/Prior Avenue to the south, with Hastings Street running down the middle of the neighbourhood.
The area is noted for a high incidence of poverty
, drug use, sex trade
, crime, violence, as well as a history of community activism. Hastings and Cordova Streets were once the core shopping district in the city, many of the retail shops that flourished until the early 1980s are now gone. The area was the victim of significant urban decay
but presently buildings are being renewed and many new businesses are operating in the community. In recent years there have been tensions between developers and some members of the community relating to gentrification
development proposals.
all located there. The headquarters of the BC Electric Railway Company was also in the area, making the DTES the hub of rail transit not only of Vancouver, but the entire region. It was also the main shopping area for the city, which centred around the Woodward's
department store
. The surrounding stretch of Hastings Street
was a major cultural and entertainment district. Prior to the Second World War
, there was a large Japan
ese community in Japantown.
As the city centre shifted to the west, and suburban shoppers took advantage of new local malls, the DTES (or Skid Road as it was more commonly known until the late 20th century), began to decline. With the area already containing numerous cheap hotels and beer parlour
s, and with alcoholism already endemic, hard drug use began to become the norm along the Hastings "strip". With Eaton's
moving its Vancouver flagship store from West Hastings in the 1970s, the decline in shopping traffic led to Woodward's shutting down in 1993. In the late 1980s and 1990s, crack cocaine
was becoming a serious problem in the city. Businesses began leaving the neighbourhood, a trend which was to last for many years. In recent times, however, certain types of local business have been making a comeback. There are pawn shops, tourist-oriented shops, knick-knack boutiques, low-cost household supply stores, restaurants, clothing outlets, a full-scale grocery store, many fresh vegetable retailers and butcher shops, as well as a multitude of convenience stores, some of which are, however, suspected of being fronts for drug dealers. Some storefronts along the DTES stretch of Hastings Street are still empty, with entire buildings often up for sale. New art galleries, convenience stores, fast food outlets, social service organizations and other small businesses continually open here.
In the 1980s, many of the street prostitutes in other parts of Vancouver, such as the nearby West End
, were harassed into leaving those neighbourhoods and moved into the DTES — now known to sex trade workers as the "low track" — and contiguous industrial areas near Vancouver's port. Many believe that this has exacerbated the problem of violence against prostitutes. Dozens of women associated with the DTES low track have gone missing since the early 1980s. Robert William Pickton has been charged with the murders of 26 of these women and convicted on six counts. The BC Missing Women Investigation
is ongoing.
. In the same year, 43% of the population were immigrants, with 23% of those being from China
, 5% from Vietnam
, 2% from Hong Kong
and 14% from all other countries. One percent of residents were on visas or had refugee status. The average household size is 1.3 residents; 82% of the population lived alone. Children and teenagers make up 7% of the population, compared to 25% for Canada overall. The average income for adults living alone is $6,282 per year, and $14,024 after government subsidies. In comparison, the average for Canada is less than $21,000 for adults living alone. 62% of the residents over the age of 15 are not considered participants in the labour force, compared to 33% in Vancouver as a whole.
A large number of service personnel work and/or live in the area. These include cooks and kitchen staff, paramedics, police and firemen, social service and employment agency representatives. Mental health workers, doctors and alternative therapy practitioners, educators, priests, nuns and other members of the clergy also make up a significant portion of the population. The area is home to many artists and social activists.
The Downtown Eastside has a high incidence of HIV
infection.
Vancouver's drug problem has grown steadily worse over the last decade with the most common drugs being heroin, crack cocaine
, cocaine
in powdered form (which is often taken intravenously as well as simply insufflated/snorted), and—increasingly--crystal methamphetamine
.
Vancouver's needle exchange, the first in North America, opened in 1989 and currently distributes about 3 million free needles per year to users.
The opening of North America
's first safe injection site
(known as Insite
) in this neighbourhood has lowered the spread of HIV and has reduced the other harmful consequences of IV drug use considerably, according to an article by the Canadian Press. However, the project is controversial, and as a result, the continued existence and funding of the site is constantly in question. The southwest corner of Main
and Hastings
Streets continues to be a problem as drug sellers and users frequently occupy the corner, establishing an open-air drug market in front of (and in the alleys surrounding) Carnegie Hall. There is a police station half a block north and recent efforts have focused on curbing the open-air sales by increasing police presence at the Main and Hastings intersection, but this has been opposed by some residents, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
(VANDU), an advocacy group involved in lobbying for support of Insite and the rights and freedoms of residents of Vancouver who use drugs.
Used syringes and condoms on neighbourhood sidewalks are becoming less common due to the efforts of United We Can a charity organization that offers local people jobs cleaning up the streets each morning. However, graffiti
remains common on buildings and walls and most DTES alleys are regularly used as makeshift toilets and impromptu injection sites.
Through a Blue Lens
, a documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada
, was shot in DTES. The film follows interactions between police officers and drug addicts and documents the extreme poverty and suffering many addicts endure.
The Globe and Mail
newspaper estimated in a February 2009 article that over 1.4 billion dollars has been spent by federal, provincial and municipal governments since 2001 on health, social and justice efforts aimed at improving the many problems faced by DTES residents.
The Ray-Cam Community Centre provides services and programs for children and families, including English as a Second Language classes, seniors programming, singing and sports opportunities, tutoring and computer stations. Another, the Strathcona Community Centre operated by the Vancouver Parks Board, offers fitness and martial arts classes, special events, a pre-school, after school care, general recreation, arts and crafts programs and free showers. The Carnegie Centre, located at Hastings and Main Streets, serves food, provides live music several times a week and offers free art sketching opportunities since the early 1980s.
The LifeSkills Centre on Cordova Street across from Oppenheimer Park offers activities such as crafts, sports and special community events and lunches. The IATSE, Local 118 puts on annual turkey dinners and clothing give-aways at the park just before Christmas. The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre at 302 Columbia St. at Cordova provides the Relocation Project/Bridge Housing aids women in need of emergency housing. The Evelyne Saller Centre, on Alexander Street, known to locals as The 44 (from a previous address on E. Cordova St.) provides low cost meals, a TV room, pool table, laundry facilities, showers and out-trips. WISH, a drop-in centre for female survival sex workers located at 330 Alexander Street, is open Sunday - Friday evenings, and offers a hot meal, showers, a literacy program, makeup, clothing and hygiene supplies, and a safe space for women to gather.
Churches such as the First United Church, one block east of Hastings and Main, Union Gospel Mission
on Cordova Street, and Street Church, on Hastings St., run by the Foursquare Church, provide assistance to area residents in the forms of advocacy in dealing with welfare offices, getting health issues met, dealing with drug rehabilitation, and providing entertainment through movies and outings. First United Church has given away thousands of donated books, articles of clothing and kitchenware. The Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement on E. Cordova St., have for years provided food and clothing for area residents.
The Salvation Army Church (Cariboo Temple) sends a Soup Truck and Volunteers to hand out hot soup, hot drinks and sandwiches every Tuesday and Sunday night. Their counterparts, Vancouver 614, live in the neighbourhood and invite their neighbours into their homes for expressions of family around meals and prayer. The Salvation Army also has institutions with detox, drug rehabilitation, shelters, drop in centres, second stage housing and community services.
The Health Contact Centre on E. Hastings, in the alley, is a place where addicts and street people can go to access nurse services, information and some forms of occupational activities. Unfortunately this was closed Vancouver Coastal Health in Spring 2010 as it was felt to be a "duplication of services". A large number of the elderly population of the area used this as their primary source of medical and social contact.
The UBC Learning Exchange, sponsored by the University of British Columbia since the year 2000, opened up an outreach program at the north end of Main Street which is used by local residents to improve their education.
Pivot Legal Society
is a non-profit legal advocacy organization located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Pivot's mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. Pivot's work involves addressing child welfare, addiction and health, housing, policing and prostitution.
Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen is a non-profit community organization that regularly provides thousands of meals to the needy and homeless in the area through events held in the local area such as the LifeSkills Centre and the First United Church. The concept is founded on the Sikh
principles of langar (free kitchen) and seva
(selfless service) developed by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
hundreds of years ago.
or DERA as it commonly known to residents, who have battled what are known as slum landlords, who own a number of hotels and rooming houses in the area and have been accused of failing to fix dangerous problems and contributing to the growing problem of area homelessness by evicting tenants illegally.
The many hotels in the area are single room occupancy
, or SROs, and provide housing for people on welfare, often including the physically disabled, those having addictions and those with mental or behavioural problems. Some low-income residents and DTES advocacy groups are concerned about the area's increasing gentrification
.
Many SROs are being closed, and there is concern that they will be replaced with condominiums and other housing, whose prices will be out of reach for the residents of the neighbourhood.
, (only the original 1903-08 portion of the building remains) was at one time a central retail and social epicentre of the neighbourhood, and had sat empty for many years. The City Hall driven process was led by then City Councilor Jim Green and was designed by local architect Gregory Henriquez
. Almost the entire block is now being redeveloped by Westbank Projects to contain the Simon Fraser University School for Contemporary Arts, 200 units of social housing, 536 units of market housing, a drugstore, a foodstore, a daycare, National Film Board, Federal offices, City offices, a bank and 31500 square feet (2,926.4 m²) of Community Space for DTES Non-Profit organizations which includes AIDS Vancouver
and W2 Media Collective.
Vancouver's historic Chinatown (Pender and Keefer Streets run through its center) and Gastown
Historical District (Water Street) are popular tourist areas in the Downtown Eastside. Gastown is home to many high-end restaurants, lofts and boutiques. Some see this creeping eastward gentrification
as a promising development while others are concerned that this will only force many of the poorest from the only housing they can afford. Vancouverites do not traditionally see Gastown
and Chinatown as Downtown Eastside locations although they do fall within its borders according to the City of Vancouver.
A number of art galleries, artist-run centres and studios have located themselves in the area. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden is also situated within the boundaries of the Downtown Eastside. The flatiron Europe Hotel sits at the crux of Water, Powell, Alexander and Carrall Streets.
The Strathcona
neighbourhood lies within the DTES and is a historic working class neighborhood that has avoided many social problems, despite the decline of areas nearby. Some people believe that this sense of community was threatened by the growing number of wealthy land speculators buying up the neighbourhood in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics
.
In 2001 17 mosaics were laid, employing local artists and residents. Tours of these mosaics and the Downtown Eastside are conducted by various groups. The Vancouver Walkers Meetup group has posted some photos of the mosaics.
The area hosts several public parks, including Oppenheimer Park, Portside (Crab Park), and Wendy Poole Park
. Portside Park, or Crab Park as the local residents like to call it, provides a haven for dogs, fowl, and human elements. It is attached to a small beach of sand and pebble that has views over Burrard Inlet. A local group, the Central Waterfront Coalition is trying to build support to retain it for Vancouverites, as it is presently being considered for development.
The Crab Park Festival is an annual, volunteer run, outdoor concert that's been held every July 1 since 1984 at Crab Park at Portside. The festival features Vancouver acts, provides food and beverages for residents of the Downtown Eastside, and creates awareness in keeping Crab Park a greenspace for the people in the neighbourhood.
The Japanese Festival, known as the Powell Street Festival, is held each summer in Oppenheimer Park, and at the Japanese Language school nearby. In 2008, the 32nd annual Powell Street Festival was relocated temporarily to Woodland Park, 700 Woodland Drive (August 2 & 3, 2008). The Jazz Festival also comes to the area in early summer each year, with both renowned and local performers. Gastown is a hotbed of activity and music during this time. Contemporary dancers perform annually at the Dancing on the Edge Festival.
Every Labour Day since 2004, a volunteer-run outdoor concert featuring Vancouver bands has been held in Victory Square
Park. The Victory Square Block Party raises money for charities in the DTES.
City Opera of Vancouver
has produced numerous events in the DTES since 2006. All have been free to the residents and general public, and have included recitals, concerts, and lecture-demonstrations. These have been given at numerous DTES venues, including the Carnegie Centre, the Pantages Theatre
, Jacob's Well, the Evelyne Saller Centre, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
, the Interurban Gallery, Building Opportunities with Business
, 319 Main, the Strathcona Community Centre, both years of the Fearless Festival at Pigeon Park, and both years of the Homeground Festival at Oppenheimer Park. Several have been videotaped for re-broadcast on Fearless Television over the Shaw Cable Network.
The Women’s Memorial March
is held annually in the district on Valentine's Day
, to call attention to missing and murdered women. As of 2009, an estimated 39 women were missing from the Downtown Eastside. The event was initiated by First Nations
women in 1992, when the body of Cheryl Anne Joe was found dismembered at the corner of Powell and Salsbury streets. The march has become an annual event to protest the high numbers of women missing and murdered in the community.
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code".
According to the city of Vancouver, the Downtown Eastside contains the following neighbourhoods: Chinatown, Gastown
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
, Oppenheimer Park (formerly Japantown), Thornton Park and Victory Square
Victory Square, Vancouver
Victory Square is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest...
, as well as the light industrial area to the North. There are many conflicting definitions of its perimeter but it can generally be viewed as being bordered by Cambie Street to the west, Clark Drive to the east, the waterfront to the north and Venables Street/Prior Avenue to the south, with Hastings Street running down the middle of the neighbourhood.
The area is noted for a high incidence of poverty
Poverty in Canada
Poverty in Canada remains prevalent with some segments of society. The measurement of poverty has been a challenge as there is no official government measure. There is an ongoing debate in Canada about whether a relative measure of poverty, or absolute measure of poverty, is more valid...
, drug use, sex trade
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
, crime, violence, as well as a history of community activism. Hastings and Cordova Streets were once the core shopping district in the city, many of the retail shops that flourished until the early 1980s are now gone. The area was the victim of significant urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
but presently buildings are being renewed and many new businesses are operating in the community. In recent years there have been tensions between developers and some members of the community relating to gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
development proposals.
History
This area was the centre of the city at the turn of the 20th century, with the city hall, the courthouse, and the Carnegie LibraryCarnegie Community Centre
Carnegie Community Centre is located at 401 Main Street at the corner of Hastings Street, in the old Carnegie Public Library building in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia....
all located there. The headquarters of the BC Electric Railway Company was also in the area, making the DTES the hub of rail transit not only of Vancouver, but the entire region. It was also the main shopping area for the city, which centred around the Woodward's
Woodward's
Woodward's was the name of a department store chain which operated in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada for one hundred years, before its sale to the Hudson's Bay Company .-History:...
department store
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
. The surrounding stretch of Hastings Street
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
was a major cultural and entertainment district. Prior to the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, there was a large Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese community in Japantown.
As the city centre shifted to the west, and suburban shoppers took advantage of new local malls, the DTES (or Skid Road as it was more commonly known until the late 20th century), began to decline. With the area already containing numerous cheap hotels and beer parlour
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
s, and with alcoholism already endemic, hard drug use began to become the norm along the Hastings "strip". With Eaton's
Eaton's
The T. Eaton Co. Limited was once Canada's largest department store retailer. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an Irish immigrant. Eaton's grew to become a retail and social institution in Canada, with stores across the country, buying offices across the globe, and a catalogue...
moving its Vancouver flagship store from West Hastings in the 1970s, the decline in shopping traffic led to Woodward's shutting down in 1993. In the late 1980s and 1990s, crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
was becoming a serious problem in the city. Businesses began leaving the neighbourhood, a trend which was to last for many years. In recent times, however, certain types of local business have been making a comeback. There are pawn shops, tourist-oriented shops, knick-knack boutiques, low-cost household supply stores, restaurants, clothing outlets, a full-scale grocery store, many fresh vegetable retailers and butcher shops, as well as a multitude of convenience stores, some of which are, however, suspected of being fronts for drug dealers. Some storefronts along the DTES stretch of Hastings Street are still empty, with entire buildings often up for sale. New art galleries, convenience stores, fast food outlets, social service organizations and other small businesses continually open here.
In the 1980s, many of the street prostitutes in other parts of Vancouver, such as the nearby West End
West End, Vancouver
The West End of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown financial and central business districts....
, were harassed into leaving those neighbourhoods and moved into the DTES — now known to sex trade workers as the "low track" — and contiguous industrial areas near Vancouver's port. Many believe that this has exacerbated the problem of violence against prostitutes. Dozens of women associated with the DTES low track have gone missing since the early 1980s. Robert William Pickton has been charged with the murders of 26 of these women and convicted on six counts. The BC Missing Women Investigation
BC Missing Women Investigation
The BC Missing Women Investigation is an ongoing criminal investigation into the disappearance of at least 60 women from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside from the early 1980s through 2002...
is ongoing.
Demographics
The Downtown Eastside, as defined by the City of Vancouver, was home to 16,590 people in 2001. According to the city, 10% of the residents self-identified as Aboriginal in 2001, which comprised approximately 10% of the total Aboriginal population in the city. The Globe and Mail indicated a higher number, having reported that 14% of the residents are of Aboriginal descent, and 9% are status IndiansIndian Act
The Indian Act , R.S., 1951, c. I-5, is a Canadian statute that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves...
. In the same year, 43% of the population were immigrants, with 23% of those being from China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, 5% from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, 2% from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and 14% from all other countries. One percent of residents were on visas or had refugee status. The average household size is 1.3 residents; 82% of the population lived alone. Children and teenagers make up 7% of the population, compared to 25% for Canada overall. The average income for adults living alone is $6,282 per year, and $14,024 after government subsidies. In comparison, the average for Canada is less than $21,000 for adults living alone. 62% of the residents over the age of 15 are not considered participants in the labour force, compared to 33% in Vancouver as a whole.
A large number of service personnel work and/or live in the area. These include cooks and kitchen staff, paramedics, police and firemen, social service and employment agency representatives. Mental health workers, doctors and alternative therapy practitioners, educators, priests, nuns and other members of the clergy also make up a significant portion of the population. The area is home to many artists and social activists.
Problems
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
infection.
Vancouver's drug problem has grown steadily worse over the last decade with the most common drugs being heroin, crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
in powdered form (which is often taken intravenously as well as simply insufflated/snorted), and—increasingly--crystal methamphetamine
Methamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
.
Vancouver's needle exchange, the first in North America, opened in 1989 and currently distributes about 3 million free needles per year to users.
The opening of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's first safe injection site
Safe injection site
Supervised injection sites are legally sanctioned and medically supervised facilities designed to reduce nuisance from public drug use and provide a hygienic and stress-free...
(known as Insite
Insite
Insite is the only legal supervised injection site in North America, located at 139 East Hastings Street, in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The DTES had 4700 chronic drug users in 2000 and has been considered to be the centre of an "injection drug epidemic"...
) in this neighbourhood has lowered the spread of HIV and has reduced the other harmful consequences of IV drug use considerably, according to an article by the Canadian Press. However, the project is controversial, and as a result, the continued existence and funding of the site is constantly in question. The southwest corner of Main
Main Street (Vancouver)
Main Street is a major north-south thoroughfare bisecting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It runs from Waterfront Road by Burrard Inlet in the north, to Kent Avenue alongside the north arm of the Fraser River in the south.-Route:...
and Hastings
Hastings Street (Vancouver)
Hastings Street is one of the most important east-west traffic corridors in the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and used to be a part of the decommissioned Highway 7A...
Streets continues to be a problem as drug sellers and users frequently occupy the corner, establishing an open-air drug market in front of (and in the alleys surrounding) Carnegie Hall. There is a police station half a block north and recent efforts have focused on curbing the open-air sales by increasing police presence at the Main and Hastings intersection, but this has been opposed by some residents, including the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users or VANDU is an advocacy group based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. They are made up almost entirely of active drug users, because they believe that all drug users should have their own rights and freedoms...
(VANDU), an advocacy group involved in lobbying for support of Insite and the rights and freedoms of residents of Vancouver who use drugs.
Used syringes and condoms on neighbourhood sidewalks are becoming less common due to the efforts of United We Can a charity organization that offers local people jobs cleaning up the streets each morning. However, graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
remains common on buildings and walls and most DTES alleys are regularly used as makeshift toilets and impromptu injection sites.
Through a Blue Lens
Through a Blue Lens
Through a Blue Lens is a documentary film produced by the National Film Board of Canada. The film follows interactions between police officers and drug addicts and documents the extreme poverty and suffering many addicts endure.-Production:...
, a documentary produced by the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
, was shot in DTES. The film follows interactions between police officers and drug addicts and documents the extreme poverty and suffering many addicts endure.
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
newspaper estimated in a February 2009 article that over 1.4 billion dollars has been spent by federal, provincial and municipal governments since 2001 on health, social and justice efforts aimed at improving the many problems faced by DTES residents.
Community groups and social agencies
The LifeSkills Centre on Cordova Street across from Oppenheimer Park offers activities such as crafts, sports and special community events and lunches. The IATSE, Local 118 puts on annual turkey dinners and clothing give-aways at the park just before Christmas. The Downtown Eastside Women's Centre at 302 Columbia St. at Cordova provides the Relocation Project/Bridge Housing aids women in need of emergency housing. The Evelyne Saller Centre, on Alexander Street, known to locals as The 44 (from a previous address on E. Cordova St.) provides low cost meals, a TV room, pool table, laundry facilities, showers and out-trips. WISH, a drop-in centre for female survival sex workers located at 330 Alexander Street, is open Sunday - Friday evenings, and offers a hot meal, showers, a literacy program, makeup, clothing and hygiene supplies, and a safe space for women to gather.
Churches such as the First United Church, one block east of Hastings and Main, Union Gospel Mission
Union Gospel Mission
The Union Gospel Mission is a charitable organization providing meals and support services to the homeless in the Metro Vancouver area and city of Mission.-History of the Mission:...
on Cordova Street, and Street Church, on Hastings St., run by the Foursquare Church, provide assistance to area residents in the forms of advocacy in dealing with welfare offices, getting health issues met, dealing with drug rehabilitation, and providing entertainment through movies and outings. First United Church has given away thousands of donated books, articles of clothing and kitchenware. The Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement on E. Cordova St., have for years provided food and clothing for area residents.
The Salvation Army Church (Cariboo Temple) sends a Soup Truck and Volunteers to hand out hot soup, hot drinks and sandwiches every Tuesday and Sunday night. Their counterparts, Vancouver 614, live in the neighbourhood and invite their neighbours into their homes for expressions of family around meals and prayer. The Salvation Army also has institutions with detox, drug rehabilitation, shelters, drop in centres, second stage housing and community services.
The Health Contact Centre on E. Hastings, in the alley, is a place where addicts and street people can go to access nurse services, information and some forms of occupational activities. Unfortunately this was closed Vancouver Coastal Health in Spring 2010 as it was felt to be a "duplication of services". A large number of the elderly population of the area used this as their primary source of medical and social contact.
The UBC Learning Exchange, sponsored by the University of British Columbia since the year 2000, opened up an outreach program at the north end of Main Street which is used by local residents to improve their education.
Pivot Legal Society
Pivot Legal Society
Pivot Legal Society is a legal advocacy organization based in Vancouver, British Columbia's Downtown Eastside. Founded in 2000, Pivot's stated aim is to represent and defend the marginalized and disenfranchised.-Media coverage:...
is a non-profit legal advocacy organization located in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Pivot's mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. Pivot's work involves addressing child welfare, addiction and health, housing, policing and prostitution.
Guru Nanak's Free Kitchen is a non-profit community organization that regularly provides thousands of meals to the needy and homeless in the area through events held in the local area such as the LifeSkills Centre and the First United Church. The concept is founded on the Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
principles of langar (free kitchen) and seva
Selfless Service
Selfless service is a commonly used term to denote a service which is performed without any expectation of result or award for the person performing it.-Religious significance:...
(selfless service) developed by Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji
Guru Nanak Dev
Guru Nanak was the founder of the religion of Sikhism and the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. The Sikhs believe that all subsequent Gurus possessed Guru Nanak’s divinity and religious authority, and were named "Nanak" in the line of succession.-Early life:Guru Nanak was born on 15 April 1469, now...
hundreds of years ago.
Residents' Association
The neighbourhood is home to a non-profit Residents' Association, the Downtown Eastside Residents AssociationDowntown Eastside Residents Association
The Downtown Eastside Residents Association is a non-profit Society in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.The association was founded in 1973 by Bruce Eriksen, Libby Davies, Jean Swanson and other residents of the Downtown Eastside and membership is restricted to those who live within the...
or DERA as it commonly known to residents, who have battled what are known as slum landlords, who own a number of hotels and rooming houses in the area and have been accused of failing to fix dangerous problems and contributing to the growing problem of area homelessness by evicting tenants illegally.
Single Room Occupancy
A single room occupancy is a multiple-tenant building that houses one or two people in individual rooms , or to the single room dwelling itself...
, or SROs, and provide housing for people on welfare, often including the physically disabled, those having addictions and those with mental or behavioural problems. Some low-income residents and DTES advocacy groups are concerned about the area's increasing gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
.
Many SROs are being closed, and there is concern that they will be replaced with condominiums and other housing, whose prices will be out of reach for the residents of the neighbourhood.
Significant locations
The demolished Woodward's BuildingWoodward's building
The Woodward's building was a historic building in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward's Department Store when that area of Cordova Street was the heart of Vancouver's retail shopping district. ...
, (only the original 1903-08 portion of the building remains) was at one time a central retail and social epicentre of the neighbourhood, and had sat empty for many years. The City Hall driven process was led by then City Councilor Jim Green and was designed by local architect Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez
Gregory Henriquez is a Canadian architect, best known for the design of community-based mixed-use, institutional and social housing projects in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada...
. Almost the entire block is now being redeveloped by Westbank Projects to contain the Simon Fraser University School for Contemporary Arts, 200 units of social housing, 536 units of market housing, a drugstore, a foodstore, a daycare, National Film Board, Federal offices, City offices, a bank and 31500 square feet (2,926.4 m²) of Community Space for DTES Non-Profit organizations which includes AIDS Vancouver
AIDS Vancouver
Founded in 1983, AIDS Vancouver is a non-profit and community-based health organization whose mission is to alleviate collective vulnerability to HIV and AIDS through support, public education and community-based research. The organization exists to both ameliorate the life of persons living with...
and W2 Media Collective.
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
Historical District (Water Street) are popular tourist areas in the Downtown Eastside. Gastown is home to many high-end restaurants, lofts and boutiques. Some see this creeping eastward gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
as a promising development while others are concerned that this will only force many of the poorest from the only housing they can afford. Vancouverites do not traditionally see Gastown
Gastown
Gastown is a national historic site in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the northeast end of Downtown adjacent to the Downtown Eastside. Its historical boundaries were the waterfront , Columbia Street, Hastings Street, and Cambie Street, which were the borders of the 1870 townsite survey, the proper...
and Chinatown as Downtown Eastside locations although they do fall within its borders according to the City of Vancouver.
A number of art galleries, artist-run centres and studios have located themselves in the area. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden is also situated within the boundaries of the Downtown Eastside. The flatiron Europe Hotel sits at the crux of Water, Powell, Alexander and Carrall Streets.
The Strathcona
Strathcona (Vancouver)
Strathcona is Vancouver, British Columbia's oldest residential neighbourhood. It is bordered by Chinatown to the west, Clark Drive to the east, Burrard Inlet on the north, and Canadian National Railway and Great Northern Railway classification yards to the south.-History:Over 8,000 people now live...
neighbourhood lies within the DTES and is a historic working class neighborhood that has avoided many social problems, despite the decline of areas nearby. Some people believe that this sense of community was threatened by the growing number of wealthy land speculators buying up the neighbourhood in advance of the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
.
In 2001 17 mosaics were laid, employing local artists and residents. Tours of these mosaics and the Downtown Eastside are conducted by various groups. The Vancouver Walkers Meetup group has posted some photos of the mosaics.
The area hosts several public parks, including Oppenheimer Park, Portside (Crab Park), and Wendy Poole Park
Wendy Poole Park
Wendy Poole Park is a small triangular plot of parkland near the waterfront in the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, British Columbia. The land is at Alexander Street and the Main Street...
. Portside Park, or Crab Park as the local residents like to call it, provides a haven for dogs, fowl, and human elements. It is attached to a small beach of sand and pebble that has views over Burrard Inlet. A local group, the Central Waterfront Coalition is trying to build support to retain it for Vancouverites, as it is presently being considered for development.
Events held in the Downtown Eastside
A number of events have been happening in DTES in the recent past, beginning with Opera Brevé's series of short opera held at the Four Corners Savings Bank. A grand piano was brought in for each event and full costumes and interactive singers put on shows inside the bank at no cost. In 2003 Vancouver Moving Theatre partnered with the Carnegie Community Centre to put on the Heart of the City Festival, the City of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Revitalization link which attracted thousands of visitors from outside the area. It was the 100th anniversary of the Carnegie Centre. The festival was made an annual event during the years 2005 to 2008.The Crab Park Festival is an annual, volunteer run, outdoor concert that's been held every July 1 since 1984 at Crab Park at Portside. The festival features Vancouver acts, provides food and beverages for residents of the Downtown Eastside, and creates awareness in keeping Crab Park a greenspace for the people in the neighbourhood.
The Japanese Festival, known as the Powell Street Festival, is held each summer in Oppenheimer Park, and at the Japanese Language school nearby. In 2008, the 32nd annual Powell Street Festival was relocated temporarily to Woodland Park, 700 Woodland Drive (August 2 & 3, 2008). The Jazz Festival also comes to the area in early summer each year, with both renowned and local performers. Gastown is a hotbed of activity and music during this time. Contemporary dancers perform annually at the Dancing on the Edge Festival.
Every Labour Day since 2004, a volunteer-run outdoor concert featuring Vancouver bands has been held in Victory Square
Victory Square, Vancouver
Victory Square is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest...
Park. The Victory Square Block Party raises money for charities in the DTES.
City Opera of Vancouver
City Opera of Vancouver
City Opera of Vancouver is a professional chamber opera company founded in 2005. It was the lead company in efforts to restore Vancouver's Pantages Theatre, built by Alexander Pantages in 1907. The 650 seat building was considered to be the oldest remaining vaudeville theatre in Canada...
has produced numerous events in the DTES since 2006. All have been free to the residents and general public, and have included recitals, concerts, and lecture-demonstrations. These have been given at numerous DTES venues, including the Carnegie Centre, the Pantages Theatre
Pantages Theatre (Vancouver)
The Pantages Theatre in Vancouver, BC's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood, was built by Alexander Pantages in 1907 and was considered the oldest remaining vaudeville theatre in Canada. It was listed on Heritage Canada's 2009 Top Ten Most Endangered Places List and the Vancouver Heritage Register as a...
, Jacob's Well, the Evelyne Saller Centre, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is the first full-size Chinese or "scholars" garden built outside of China, and is located in Chinatown in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located at 578 Carrall Street and consists of a freely accessible public park and a garden with an...
, the Interurban Gallery, Building Opportunities with Business
Building Opportunities with Business
Building Opportunities with Business Inner-City Society is a non-profit organization that has been active in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, Chinatown, Strathcona, Mt Pleasant, Gastown and Downtown South areas since October 2005...
, 319 Main, the Strathcona Community Centre, both years of the Fearless Festival at Pigeon Park, and both years of the Homeground Festival at Oppenheimer Park. Several have been videotaped for re-broadcast on Fearless Television over the Shaw Cable Network.
The Women’s Memorial March
Women’s Memorial March
The Women’s Memorial March is an annual event held on Valentine's Day that originated Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, to call attention to missing and murdered women in the district...
is held annually in the district on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
, to call attention to missing and murdered women. As of 2009, an estimated 39 women were missing from the Downtown Eastside. The event was initiated by First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
women in 1992, when the body of Cheryl Anne Joe was found dismembered at the corner of Powell and Salsbury streets. The march has become an annual event to protest the high numbers of women missing and murdered in the community.
See also
- City Opera of VancouverCity Opera of VancouverCity Opera of Vancouver is a professional chamber opera company founded in 2005. It was the lead company in efforts to restore Vancouver's Pantages Theatre, built by Alexander Pantages in 1907. The 650 seat building was considered to be the oldest remaining vaudeville theatre in Canada...
- Downtown Eastside Residents AssociationDowntown Eastside Residents AssociationThe Downtown Eastside Residents Association is a non-profit Society in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.The association was founded in 1973 by Bruce Eriksen, Libby Davies, Jean Swanson and other residents of the Downtown Eastside and membership is restricted to those who live within the...
- Victory SquareVictory Square, VancouverVictory Square is a park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The square is bordered by West Hastings Street to the northeast, West Pender Street to the southwest, Cambie Street to the southeast, and Hamilton Street to the northwest...
- Woodward's buildingWoodward's buildingThe Woodward's building was a historic building in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The original portion of the building was constructed in 1903 for the Woodward's Department Store when that area of Cordova Street was the heart of Vancouver's retail shopping district. ...
External links
- Map and definition of the DTES neighbourhood - City of Vancouver
- City of Vancouver's Revitalization Program
- Article on Vancouver's safe injection site
- Another Vancouver's safe injection site article (2004/09/23)
- A photo essay depicting life in the Downtown Eastside, circa early 2008
- A Post-Olympic Video Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- UBC Learning Exchange - Community engagement initiative based in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.