Homeless Hell Hole Below Science World
'Worst' of many 'really rough spots' says city's outreach worker.
No place like home.
As downtown development squeezes a rising number of homeless British Columbians into a dwindling number of urban campsites, Vancouver's homeless are passing their nights in some surprising locations.
Judy Graves has spent the past dozen years touring Vancouver's dark parks, garbage-strewn alleys, and mouldy abandoned buildings. Graves, who co-ordinates the city's pioneering street outreach program, said the roughest place she's found yet is located directly beneath the glistening dome at Telus World of Science.
"This is the worst," Graves said as she led The Tyee on a tour of the murky labyrinth at the eastern edge of False Creek. "This is the place that scares me the most."
It's a place that one must be either mentally ill or drug addicted to endure. Yet the piles of abandoned clothes, drug paraphernalia, and oddly disassembled household appliances strewn just above the tide's reach suggest there is no shortage of such visitors.
And it's a place literally soaked in irony: even as the Olympic Village for the 2010 Winter Games rises next door, the piers beneath what was the signature structure of Expo 86 have become a last refuge for Vancouver's most desperate residents.
The city's police know the place well. Last summer they worked with the Coast Guard to help pluck a homeless man from underneath the shiny tourist attraction. He had been trapped by the rising tide.
A place to feel safe
There are two distinct neighbourhoods beneath the Science World docks. The more hospitable portion abuts the rising Olympic Village to the south, near where the colourful False Creek ferries dock.
Graves stepped through a cleverly concealed opening in the construction fence, and down a well-worn path that leads beneath the pier. Footprints in the morning frost showed that someone had left the area prior to our arrival.
"For most of the people I've found on this side, the basic problem is schizophrenia," Graves said as she picked her way along a narrow, garbage-strewn footpath. "These aren't addicts. These are people who are functional, but who see the world very differently than you and I. They tend to be extremely shy."
At the top of the steep gravel slope beneath the pier, between the large cross beams and just beneath the decking, three earthen nests have been mounded up against the retaining wall. Each nest is about the diameter of a pup tent. Each is lined with soggy blankets and plastic bags filled with personal items. Clothes hang neatly from the overhead crossbeams.
"It's very quiet here," Graves said. Water lapped at her feet; seagulls squabbled high overhead. "It's incredibly isolated. And it's pitch black. No one is going to go in there at night to get them. So they feel safe here."
Crawling with rats
The serene view of Yaletown glimmering across the tidewater belies a less appealing element of urban nature: rats.
Graves tried to relocate the Science World squatters in advance of the former Molson Indy races and other large events, so they would not become trapped.
"I went down in the middle of the night to meet one guy because I couldn't find him at home during the day," Graves recalled. "The whole place was just completely alive with rats. Hundreds and hundreds of rats, crawling and leaping everywhere. They were scurrying across his nest, over his sleeping body, over my feet."
Graves shuddered as she told the story.
"Inside myself, I was beginning to go completely hysterical. So I woke him up and said, 'I can't handle this. It's just too many rats. Would you mind coming upstairs and talking to me on the sidewalk?'"
She climbed back up and settled herself with a cigarette. He pulled on his pants and joined her.
"You know," he told her. "Some people have dogs. Some people have cats. I have rats."
Graves shook herself again, and laughed: "Even as I talk about it, I start creeping right out."
A place to use in private
The other neighbourhood is beneath the pier that extends to the north of Science World.
"This side is used as a shooting gallery," Graves said. "It's a place where people go in to use drugs, to use pornography, to use whatever."
The slope beneath the north pier is steeper. The area above tide line is smaller, much further back from the edge of the pier, and therefore darker. The nests are too small to lie down in comfortably, and too close to the deck above to stand up in at all. And they are surrounded not by blankets and bags, but by a flotsam of crack pipes, broken syringes, piles of soggy porn, abandoned shoes, soiled underwear, and an astonishing assortment of disassembled electronic appliances.
"This place scares me," Graves said. "It's dark and remote. If someone came in behind you, you'd be completely trapped. There's nowhere to go but further in. It would be easy to be raped or assaulted under here, and it's unlikely that anyone up above would even hear you scream."
No one stays here for more than a few days at a time, Graves said.
"The people I've found on the south side have lives. Not the same lives you and I live, but they still have dreams and goals they are fulfilling in whatever small way," she said.
"Here the people have abandoned themselves. You see the result of the lowest part of an addiction, where even the addiction has lost all meaning. They're not protecting themselves. They're not even protecting the materials of their addiction. It's just gone."
Police rescue at high tide
Over the last several years, the city has erected a succession of fences in an attempt to limit access to the area under the north pier. The most recent version is built of heavy metal plate. But addicts simply wade into the creek at low tide, and push their way through openings in the older chain-link fence below.
As recently as last June, the Vancouver Police Department's marine unit was called to rescue a homeless man who became stranded at high tide.
"A fella' who was living in the area went under there at low tide, then the tide came in and trapped him," said Jamie Gibson, a constable in the VPD's marine unit.
Gibson said the VPD's Zodiac was too large to squeeze beneath the fencing and the pier. He called the Coast Guard, which brought a smaller boat.
"He wasn't injured, but he could have got in an even tighter spot if the tide had come up any higher," Gibson said.
"Sadly, we do have quite a few people inhabiting that area," Gibson added, noting that they also live in shoreline bushes and on derelict boats. "Many appear to be people who need some assistance in caring for themselves, but don't seem to be getting the help they need."
Olympics and displacement studied
Some Vancouver parents may find it upsetting that such misery endures within sight of any observant child gazing out the Science World windows or playing in the adjoining park. But experts who study the long-term effects of mega events such as Expo 86 and the 2010 Olympics would not find it surprising.
The Olympic games alone have displaced more than two million people during the past 20 years, according to a 2007 report by the Geneva-based Centre of Housing Rights and Evictions. Very few of those evictions were caused directly by Olympic organizers making way for venue construction. The vast majority were instead the result of speculative development in advance of the Games themselves.
In Sydney, for example, rents rose by 40 per cent during a five-year period leading up to the 2000 Summer Games. And in Atlanta, the report concludes that 30,000 residents were displaced by gentrification, rental speculation and urban renewal. "The criminalisation of homeless was a key feature of the 1996 Atlanta Games," states the report, "9,000 arrest citations were issued."
Graves said that the same sorts of factors appear to be driving the visible rise in street homelessness here in Vancouver. With residential hotels being converted to other uses, shelters turning away more people than they can sleep, and even campsites like the one under Science World being policed more aggressively, Vancouver's most vulnerable residents are finding themselves with literally nowhere to go.
"This is just one of many really rough spots where people are nesting in this city," Graves said. "And we're finding more all the time."
Related Tyee stories:
- Homeless to Housed in One Day
BC's new way of finding people shelter will fail if new housing isn't built. - Vancouver's SROs: 'Zero Vacancy'
Vanishing old hotels were last refuge for most at risk. - BC's Homeless Numbers War
Housing minister slams studies, but won't order his own.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
whirlwind
21-02-2008
Wow, this is the kind of
Wow, this is the kind of reporting that really doesn't get out there enough and I'm thankful that the Tyee is putting it forward.
I live in Montreal and last night after climbing mt. royal to watch the lunar eclipse, I walked down with a friend to the local site of the annual homeless marathon, an all-night broadcast on homelessness simultaneously done outdoors by dozens of community radio stations across Canada. Full programming--everything from disability on the streets to indigenous people's issues to physical and mental health--is available in archive here: http://ckut.ca/homeless.html
It was a really cold night, about -20, and listening and watching homeless people and everyone else doing the broadcasts outside was quite powerful to witness.
southdeltawalker
21-02-2008
"Green shoes will travel?"
I used to do volunteer work in the Downtown Eastside. After my life was threatened several times by people high on meth., i decided to "quit".
People like Judy Graves and others who are working down there on a daily basis really deserve more than praise.
I know the emotional costs of working in the Downtown Eastside.
The horrible conditions that the homeless are enduring now is almost unbeleivable and if it wasn't for activists and dedicated workers it would be easy for the Government to try to minimize the reality.
The buying up of the hotels by the Government is sold to us by the Government as "waving a magic a wand" and presto the homeless are housed.
The facts are that the the hotels rooms purchased do not come close to housing all the homeless
The reality could look like what happened in Atlanta before the Olympics.......
"The criminalisation of homeless was a key feature of the 1996 Atlanta Games," states the report, "9,000 arrest citations were issued."
I doubt if we will see Finance Minister Carole Taylor scrambing around Science World in her green shoes to try to help the homeless.
A lot of the homeless are victims of the Government's restraint policies.
After all in Carole's world - all you need is a big smile, green shoes and a magic wand.
tricia58
21-02-2008
Budget Help?
Will these people with no fixed address get their $100 in June? And if they do would they rather have the $100 one time buyout or would they rather the government kept their bribe and use it to address the issue. And I know there are some that would grab the money and not think of tomorrow. The problem is this government does not seem to think of tomorrow either.
bob the cat
21-02-2008
Refuse
I had planned on sending the gordodollars back or refusing to accept it but tricia58 gives me an idea. Accept it..then pass a $100:00 dollar bill to a homeless body tell `em its from Carole and Art..or maybe the local food bank..or...
DPL
21-02-2008
Yes folks we live in
Yes folks we live in "Beatiful BC Best place on Earth".
We used to live, years ago in the Four sisters Co-Op on Alexander. Folks such as the staff of DAYUS, DERA, and others put their lives on the line as they crawled under tunnels, bridges and Viaducts. When it was especially cold, one Anglican Minister used to haul soup to the folks under the viaduct. It's gotten much worse.
In Beutiful BC, Best place on earth. small children sleep on the streets with thier parents, attend the food bank ands folks try to stay alive.
Let's not forget we all have family members, or friends of our families who end up in those hell holes because for assorted reasons they simply cannot cope. Drugs are a big issue but there are others as well. Addicted folks steal or sell themselves for something to eat or to calm down the pain from their addictions. The government is 400 million over budget on their new convention center.BC Has another surplus. Have a few of them do some investigating unter those piers and see who they arn't helping. What a bloody mess. Sombody made a lot of money flipping those old hotels. Have they been upgraded yet and full of clients? I hardly think so. Victoria is bragging today that they have a grand total of 25 people in safe housing with thier new street committee.
Should take quite awhile to clean up over here as well. Government simply looks the other way or comes up with band aid methods
southdeltawalker
22-02-2008
The 100 bucks we're getting
I am donating my $100 to "United We Can"
http://www.unitedwecan.ca/uwc_site/uwc_services/bottle_depot
This is were the "binners" go to cash in their bottles and cans on the Downtown Eastside.
"United We Can" has an innovative program now of providing the "binners" with carts especialy designed for "binning".
The "binners" have been environmental heros for years-salvaging what others throw away.
Ironically a lot of them will not get the $100 as they do not have permanent addresses.
As for the name "Campbell Town" for the hell hole by Science World....perfect-this is Campbell's real legacy.
DPL
22-02-2008
Has anyone sat down and
Has anyone sat down and figured what it costs for our benevolant government to cut those checks, find folks to give them to? Years ago it cost 35 dollars for the governemtn to handle just ONE . SO now a bit of the extra money they took from us is coming back. Taxes included. What kucky folks we have with Gordo in charge
southdeltawalker
23-02-2008
bob the cat
Thanks for the Ode-recommended for best comment!
I don't know about anyone else but since reading this column i have been "haunted" by it...can't stop thinking about the "hell hole".
Also here in South Delta the by-law will be changed to allow for migrant housing for migrant labour.
This migrant labour is mostly Mexican who come here on a Gov't program.
They are here on a temporary basis and live in crowded trailers or other temp housing.
They work in the fields and greenhouses. They receive just above min. wage.
Their employer is also their landlord.
Mexico has been devastated by NAFTA so for many they do not have any other choice but to become Migrant labour.
I never thought there would be such a place as the "hell hole" in Vancouver or I would live in a community that had migrant labour.
What kind of place do we live in now?
riderji
24-02-2008
Vancouver
I recently returned to Canada after living many years abroad in order to start a business here. While Vancouver is a very attractive location in terms of natural beauty, costs, and availability of well trained IT graduates, I must confess a certain reluctance to stay here given the deteriorating social structure. I live and work in downtown Vancouver and not a week goes by when I am not confronted by some sort of violence, witness some sort of yobbish behavior or suffer the indignity of being verbally assaulted by some street person or someone clearly suffering from mental or drug related problems. Civilization requires a collective conscience and in Vancouver it operates with a very thin veneer. Much should be done to detach the political party's of the left from there old union, socialist roots so that a real effective opposition can be mounted against Mayor Sullivan who I agree has become an agent of intolerance. I wonder to what extent the local economy is being fuel by illegal activity whether it be drug related or gun related. While I was in Asia last December both the BBC and CNN carried the conclusion of the Picton trial and both networks described Vancouver's East end as the most dismal and desperately poor neighbourhood in north America. Time is running out for Vancouver. The city is not set up to wear a hard economic landing. The time has come to build and intelligent broad political consensus to deal with and start to heal the very serious social problems of this increasingly dangerous and troubled city.
RickW
24-02-2008
Civilization requires a collective conscience
...the antithesis of the "home, home on the range" yobs, who insist that every man be an island...........
bob the cat
24-02-2008
riderj
Excellent post riderji...Vancouver sure ain`t the town I grew up in and sure ain`t the place I want to leave for my kids.
ME2
25-02-2008
Take a better look at it, riderj
riderj wrote:
"Much should be done to detach the political party's of the left from there old union, socialist roots so that a real effective opposition can be mounted"
You forget, rj, that the benefits and freedoms we presently enjoy originated through agitation by Socialist-inclined people from the Thirties to the present day. There is no political system other than Socialism that can guarantee the continuance and expansion of the benefits and freedoms we now have - and are now gradually losing.
The present-day decline of Socialist thought is well-evidenced in what Vancouver has now become, which you've correctly identified as the failure of a "collective conscience".
The gains referred to above were also won in large part by unionists, who were then committed to Socialist thought. That began to change at least forty years ago, when unions began to adopt Right Wing policies, and have now become just another special-interest group.
It's long past time the NDP banished the now anachronistic unions from its boardroom, while still supporting the necessity of our having unions.
Then, perhaps, the NDP could start remembering just what Socialism is REALLY about, and take some pride in it.
riderji
25-02-2008
Take a better look at it, riderj
Toronto, Montreal, London, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Perth, Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne. None of these places have downtown core that looks anything like Vancouver. All of them, politically have moved on. The NDP has faild to learn from New Labour in the UK, from the SDP in Germany, from the New Labour Party in Australia and New Zealand. Their attitude is petty, backward looking and largely infantile.