Mayor Gregor Robertson’s plan to end homelessness in Vancouver has some Olympic Village residents saying they’re paying the price.
The problems all center around the Margeurite Ford Apartments, a large social housing complex right next to several high-end condo developments.
Zorica Bosancic first moved in to the Olympic Village area three years ago and thought she was buying into a rapidly improving area.
But she says that all ground to a halt when the Marguerite Ford Apartments opened their doors.
“There are way too many residents with way too many problems,” says Bosancic of the social housing complex.
Neighbours say there’s open drug dealing, drug use, petty crime and intoxicated behaviour at all hours of the day.
Since the complex on West 2nd Avenue opened 16 months ago, the number of police call-outs to the complex is staggering.
The building has generated 729 police calls, not to mention the number of fire and ambulance calls.
The chaotic situation at the social housing building has caught the attention of the provincial Housing Minister.
“We are spending a significant amount of time to solve this problem quite frankly, rebuild the relationship with community, to make sure in the future we learn how this works and don’t do it again,” says Rich Coleman.
The building is the biggest social housing complex in Vancouver and the first one that has a higher percentage of homeless people.
- Video shows Vancouver police officer punching handcuffed Indigenous woman
- School bus among several vehicles found submerged in Fraser River
- Canada wants to build millions of homes. But does B.C. have the workforce to do it?
- ‘I did everything I believe that I could,’ officer tells inquest into deadly B.C. hostage taking
The higher ratio of homeless was pushed by the city in an effort to address its homelessness initiative.
But all the groups involved now say that mix of tenants in those numbers needs to be more carefully managed.
“We were ambitious we wanted to move people in because they were homeless, we did learn some lessons around how quickly we move people in,” says Amelia Ridgway of RainCity Housing.
RainCity says an overnight security guard now patrols the alley, security cameras have been installed, and more programs have been put in place for residents.
Police calls to the building last month have dropped in half, but homeowners living next door say the problems continue.
“It’s not enough to give them key and say there you are housed! You can’t do that to people who have not had a home in a very long time — or ever,” says Bosancic.
Comments