Researchers, academics speak out against encampment evictions in Vancouver’s DTES

published on June 13, 2023 by Khushi Patil in The Ubyssey

Following the city of Vancouver’s evictions of homeless encampments in the Downtown Eastside, several UBC and non-UBC academics signed onto an open letter calling on the City of Vancouver to stop the evictions.

Starting in April 2023, police and city staff forcibly removed tents and other makeshift housing encampments from the Downtown Eastside, in the name of public safety. These actions are the result of many months of discussion, including an order from the Vancouver Fire Chief last July to remove structures due to “extreme fire risk.”

The open letter, published in the Mainlander by the Right to Remain research collective, discusses the systemic failures leading to Vancouver’s growing homelessness crisis and argues that decampments do not improve public safety, especially with a lack of viable housing alternatives…