Players and Stakeholders... Postives and negatives

The Vancouver Downtown East Side is often considered by many as the centre for “junkies”. Often it is taken as a homogenous community that has no life other than drugs and substance abuse and people induced by drugs and other addictive substances. Yes, drugs and drug users are rampant in this part of Vancouver City, but they are a manifestation of our society. In a sea of wealth and richness, it is an island for poverty. But, there is the positive side to the Downtown East Side. It leaves and acts as a community. In this blog I will focus on the different stakeholders who interact as they try to bring about change and development in the area.

The issues of the Vancouver Downtown East Side are complex, which makes it extremely difficult to simply scan over the basic information regarding the topic. In order to understand the issues occurring in the Downtown East Side, one must look at the Downtown East Side in a holistic way. One must consider all the issues that are contributing to its lack of development. Above all we need to understand who is involved and impacted by the lack of development. Despite the under-development of the Downtown East Side, there are individuals and groups who are committed to making a difference in the lives of the ordinary people and residence of this geographic area. These individuals include citizens just like us who contribute by assisting as volunteers in homeless shelters, food drives, women centers, drug centers and donating funds. There are also organizations such as the anti-poverty coalitions and the Downtown East Side residents association, which are social activists groups who create strong political campaigns regarding the issues in the Downtown East Side. The United Church also plays a large role in furthering development by providing a safe and welcoming environment which provides plenty of support, food and shelter for members in the community. Although these may seem as small contributions, it is making a difference in a positive direction which takes time, effort and patience.

The Vancouver Police Department is one of the key players in the battle for change in the Downtown East Side. Different people see the role of the police differently: some see it positively, while others see the negative side. As a society, we have been taught to see police as a protective force. They are seen as beneficial towards our society, as they protect good people and property from the “bad guys”. But that is not always the case. When we see the police within the context of the Downtown East Side, there are police officers who hope and work hard for change by doing their job properly and respectfully. They work with the community members and the local organizations with respect and dignity towards a common goal. Their success to bring stability to the areas residents is the community’s achievement. Opposite from this positive attribution rests the officers who are not sympathetic to the issues of the Downtown East Side, they have given up hope on making a difference, and above all are disrespectful to the community members. They use their authority and responsibility with carelessness. Their tactics to achieve improvements revolve around physical abuse, scare tactics, or simply ignoring the issues regarding drug abuse and prostitution. They have accepted as a fate accompli the environment and its inability to achieve change.

            The other big player in the Downtown East Side is the provincial government who, contrary to popular demand, are not so keen on speeding up the process of cleaning up the Downtown East Side. The government’s direct involvement in the area has decreased over the years. Many of the social programs and services ran in the Downtown East Sides are operated by non-governmental organizations. These organizations depend on the government, individual donors and volunteers to run their services for the needy people in the locality. The government is not giving these organizations sufficient funds, and is not playing a large role on the development in the Downtown East Side. For example, the provincial government denied funding for legal representation that would have allowed the participation of organizations from the downtown east side and Indigenous groups and individuals who worked closely with the murdered women who were mostly residents of the Downtown East Side. Although I acknowledge they have given a vast amount of approvals to programming in the area, they have not independently come up with well thought projects that would benefit the Downtown East Side. The government has shut down psychiatric centers, simply releasing the mentally ill onto the streets with no social support. They were not supportive of the insite center that provides a safe environment for addicts, which has been extremely beneficial to the Downtown East Side. They cut funds for women centers and directed the money for less sever issues such as providing police with publicly-funded legal counsel. There was also a vast amount of demolishing of low income houses for the development of high end development projects which displaced most of the underprivileged people into the streets. These are only a few of the issues that the government ceases to see as a major priority.

These groups are just a few who have played a significant role in the development or deterioration of the Downtown East Side, but we must not only look at the individuals who hold power, but at the individuals who are being affected by their strong social empowerment. Specific individuals who live below the poverty line, lack education, involved in the sex trade and drug scene continue to go through a vicious cycle. This harmful cycle is continuous and will remain unchanged if our government doesn’t focus on the fundamental issues that are affecting the Downtown East Side as a priority supporting the community and community organizations. The government ceases to see that their lack of interest in the growing problems in the Downtown East Sides is affecting a vast majority of the population. The removal of health centers that have assisted the mentally ill, addicts, and sex workers, contributed to the continuing deterioration of the development and improvements of the areas in the Downtown East Side.

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