As Vancouver prepares to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup, questions are being raised about what will happen to people living on the streets.
Seattle, which is also hosting, has rolled out an emergency plan to move some encampments and expand shelter and housing space ahead of the tournament.
“It has particular time limits, because in about three months our city is about to welcome a quarter of a million people for the World Cup,” Kate Brunette Kreuzer, the Seattle mayor’s chief of staff, said at a council meeting.
“It is really important that when we are hosting so many visitors to our city, we have places for those folks to go.”
But in Vancouver, details are limited.
Global News spoke to Brian Allard, who is living on a grate outside Vancouver’s premier FIFA venue.
His home is within the two-kilometre beautification zone around BC Place, meaning he is supposed to be moved during the tournament.
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But he said he is not going anywhere.
“I just don’t like being inside with other people,” Allard said.
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Boston Pizza, located at the Stadium SkyTrain station, is hoping to welcome hundreds of thousands of soccer fans during the tournament, but says that Allard’s presence since last September has not been good for business.
Staff have called the city, police and firefighters at least 100 times to check on him, they said.
“To stay on the middle of the road, we just don’t know what’s happening,” Ismet Yetisen, the owner and operator, said. “If something happen to him, we will feel guilty as well.”
One Vancouver councillor told Global News that the city is looking at extending daytime drop-in shelter hours.
“If the province is going to or willing to come forward with additional funding for additional shelter spaces, we are certainly ready to work with them to get those shelter spaces open,” Peter Meiszner, ABC Vancouver councillor, said.
Meiszner added that the city’s plan does not include relocating homeless people.
They gotta find a way to reroute or turn the vent off LOL
Seriously I feel for the dude, but having to call emergency services over 100x is actually a MASSIVE waste of public resources and tax payer dollars…just for one guy! Not to mention it is completely unfair to the local businesses and the working people around him. He needs to move along.
The homeless have hidden talents. Unfortunately, like many with mental health (victims of a broken society and lack of family unity) they are overloaded with street and prescription drugs that clearly don’t help. There have been billions of dollars (taxpayers hard earned dollars) laundered through the downtown eastside organizations (over 260 to be precise). This is all for approximately 2420 homeless – 605 unsheltered and 1815 sheltered. Numbers are approximate of course.
Cancel FIFA and build a center that guides them a little a day to stimulate their minds, give them some purpose to life. Lying on the streets isn’t helping or solving anything. Humanity has taken a dive for the extreme worst. By design. Nothing changes except the pictures on the articles year after year. Same story different year. CHANGE CAN HAPPEN but the govt in power doesn’t allow it. Almost 47 million (approx $20,000 per person) annually is allocated to the downtown east side operational costs. Most of the useful help comes from volunteers and food that is donated by taxpayers. Give that a thought.
The so-called homeless guy has a smile on his face in the picture
Ha. 2010 olympics all over again. They used short buses and shipped them out to maple ridge before and during. My town then ended up with a huge influx of crime and tent encampments that never left since.
Only question I have is why don’t we swipe them up and stick them 350km away in rebab farm.
Bus them to 24 Sussex Drive. I heard it’s vacant.
Leave them be, then we can showcase Vancouver for the s h i t hole its become under NDP governance.
They will just share the wealth with all the small centers in the province. Like they always do. We get new addicts on the bus every day here.
Stop sending them to Prince George. we have our own issues with the homeless.