When people are sheltering in parks we cannot call for rapid government action to supply housing, and then allow well-planned and funded options to fall through during rezoning.

In September 2020, Strathcona residents marched through their neighbourhood in response to Vancouver's largest encampment of unsheltered residents in Strathcona Park.

Some of the protesters demanded increased on-site support services, while some raised concerns about impacts on local schools. However, one shared message rang clear: unsheltered residents live in parks because they don't have access to basic human needs or safe housing.

Two years later, five supportive housing projects are on the way which will provide 300 permanent homes on city-owned sites. These projects will displace no one, are fully funded by senior levels of government and will provide people who might otherwise be forced to reside in encampments with safe, places to live.

While there is widespread consensus that Vancouver badly needs more supportive housing, these homes might be blocked by well-funded and organized opposition.

If these projects are not approved by the city government, it’s not a matter of simply going back to the drawing board (and further delaying access to homes) — the funding behind the projects will be lost. And the people who might have benefited from those homes will be left with their least-undesirable alternative: sheltering in parks.

We cannot allow this to happen.

Vancouver City Council is currently holding a public hearing on nearly half of these homes in a proposed 129-unit supportive housing project at Arbutus and West 8th in Kitsilano. The building will be managed by a non-profit housing operator and provide services that help residents improve their physical and mental health and connect them to employment opportunities.

If these projects are not approved by the city government, it’s not a matter of simply going back to the drawing board (and further delaying access to homes) — the funding behind the projects will be lost. And the people who might have benefited from those homes will be left with their least-undesirable alternative: sheltering in parks.

We cannot allow this to happen.

Vancouver City Council is currently holding a public hearing on nearly half of these homes in a proposed 129-unit supportive housing project at Arbutus and West 8th in Kitsilano. The building will be managed by a non-profit housing operator and provide services that help residents improve their physical and mental health and connect them to employment opportunities.

Unfortunately, there has been significant and organized opposition to the project, led by people who are uncomfortable with the idea of formerly homeless people living in Kitsilano. Some opponents argue that supportive housing should be built far from parks and schools and contained to the Downtown Eastside. Others cite concerns that the project will house too many at-risk individuals in one spot, and be detrimental to these individuals’ health.

We need a city-wide response to homelessness. This requires placing social housing in residential neighbourhoods, which are generally near parks and schools. This is just as true for Kitsilano as it is for the Downtown Eastside. As noted by city staff, “There are no land-use restrictions for low-income or homeless residents in city policies, and homelessness occurs across the city.” Let’s be clear: Relegating the housing of insecure, low-income residents to one area of the city, no matter how you spin it, is segregation.

And as for concerns about residents’ health? Having a safe, clean, affordable, supportive place to live is life-changing and life-saving. Every dollar invested in supportive housing creates $4-$5 in social and/or economic value.

This brings us back to park encampments. When people are sheltering in parks we cannot call for rapid government action to supply housing, and then allow well-planned and funded options to fall through during rezoning.

Until suitable and accessible indoor shelter options are available, sheltering outdoors is not only necessary for many of our neighbours, it is, as recently confirmed by the Supreme Court of B.C., a constitutional right. For reasons of both human dignity — and legal responsibility — decision-makers cannot say “not here” to people sheltering in parks without sufficiently answering “then where?”

Vancouverites increasingly recognize city parks as our shared backyards. But until safe and accessible housing options are available, for some of our neighbours, our parks are also their homes.

If people have access to secure housing, they will not need to live in parks. Instead, they can use these parks for their intended purpose: recreation, socializing, and connecting with nature.

Yes, housing is a provincial responsibility, but rezoning to allow for supportive housing, and compassionate, people-first policies for residents sheltering in parks fall to our City Council and park board.

Serena Jackson and Caitlin Stockwell are OneCity Park Board candidates. Stockwell is a lawyer at First Peoples Law, where she supports the work of Indigenous peoples in advancing their rights and upholding Indigenous laws and governance. Jackson is the co-chair of Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. Jackson works as a case manager for at-risk youth in transitional supported housing at Pacific Community Resource Society.