The article you just read was brought to you by a few thousand dedicated readers. Will you join them?

Thanks for coming by The Tyee and reading one of many original articles we’ll post today. Our team works hard to publish in-depth stories on topics that matter on a daily basis. Our motto is: No junk. Just good journalism.

Just as we care about the quality of our reporting, we care about making our stories accessible to all who want to read them and provide a pleasant reading experience. No intrusive ads to distract you. No paywall locking you out of an article you want to read. No clickbait to trick you into reading a sensational article.

There’s a reason why our site is unique and why we don’t have to rely on those tactics — our Tyee Builders program. Tyee Builders are readers who chip in a bit of money each month (or one-time) to our editorial budget. This amazing program allows us to pay our writers fairly, keep our focus on quality over quantity of articles, and provide a pleasant reading experience for those who visit our site.

In the past year, we’ve been able to double our staff team and boost our reporting. We invest all of the revenue we receive into producing more and better journalism. We want to keep growing, but we need your support to do it.

Fewer than 1 in 100 of our average monthly readers are signed up to Tyee Builders. If we reach 1% of our readers signing up to be Tyee Builders, we could continue to grow and do even more.

If you appreciate what The Tyee publishes and want to help us do more, please sign up to be a Tyee Builder today. You pick the amount, and you can cancel any time.

Support our growing independent newsroom and join Tyee Builders today.
Before you click away, we have something to ask you…

Do you value independent journalism that focuses on the issues that matter? Do you think Canada needs more in-depth, fact-based reporting? So do we. If you’d like to be part of the solution, we’d love it if you joined us in working on it.

The Tyee is an independent, paywall-free, reader-funded publication. While many other newsrooms are getting smaller or shutting down altogether, we’re bucking the trend and growing, while still keeping our articles free and open for everyone to read.

The reason why we’re able to grow and do more, and focus on quality reporting, is because our readers support us in doing that. Over 5,000 Tyee readers chip in to fund our newsroom on a monthly basis, and that supports our rockstar team of dedicated journalists.

Join a community of people who are helping to build a better journalism ecosystem. You pick the amount you’d like to contribute on a monthly basis, and you can cancel any time.

Help us make Canadian media better by joining Tyee Builders today.
We value: Our readers.
Our independence. Our region.
The power of real journalism.
Get our free newsletter
Sign Up
News
  |  
Health
  |  
Coronavirus

‘I’m Really Scared’

Scenes from the Downtown Eastside in a time of pandemic.

Jesse Winter 24 Mar 2020 | TheTyee.ca

Jesse Winter is an award-winning photographer and writer currently based in Vancouver, B.C. He is focused primarily on social justice, the environment and government accountability stories. His work has appeared in the Guardian, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, the National Post and numerous other publications. He is most at home on the road armed with his camera, notepad and a few gallons of coffee.
COVIVD-DTES-01.jpg
People line up for a to-go meal service outside Vancouver's Union Gospel Mission. Staff at the mission said scaled back social services because of COVID-19 is driving need they’ve never seen need outside of major holidays. All photos by Jesse Winter.

On Friday, the line for a free dinner at Vancouver’s Union Gospel Mission stretched completely around the block — hundreds of hungry people waiting with tickets in hand. A handful of them wore protective face masks.

“This is completely unprecedented,” said Jeremy Hunka, UGM’s communications director as he walked down the line.

Lines like these usually happen, maybe, once a year at Christmas. He’s never seen the line so long on an otherwise typical Friday evening.

It’s been like this all week, Hunka said.

As Vancouver — and the country — grapples with the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, fears are growing in one of the city’s most vulnerable communities that not enough is being done to protect homeless and marginalized people.

On Thursday the City of Vancouver declared a state of emergency. The city has begun to give help to the Downtown Eastside, adding wash stations to a neighbourhood lacking in public washrooms and educating SRO operators and tenants about sanitation in their buildings. The city has also formed a Downtown Eastside Task Force with Vancouver Coastal Health, BC Housing and community groups. (A map of available services can be viewed here.)

Over the last 10 days, efforts have been made to step up the response. As well as the new hand washing stations — some of which have already been vandalized — more signage and information on COVID-19 prevention is appearing in business windows and public spaces.

But at the same time, some services have been cut back or closed to help promote social distancing. That’s led to increased pressure on providers like Union Gospel Mission to help pick up the slack.

Service providers have stepped up their efforts as well, creating social distancing policies and switching meal delivery from sit-down communal dinners to handing out meals for people to take away.

This is what the response looks like on the ground in the Downtown Eastside.

851px version of COVID-DTES-02.jpg
“Is it true they’re sending in the army?” Rachel asked. A lack of outreach in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside is contributing to misinformation about the COVID-19 outbreak spreading faster than the virus itself. While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not ruled out enacting the federal Emergencies Act (formerly called the War Measures Act), the military has not been deployed within Canada to respond to the pandemic.
851px version of COVID-DTES-03.jpg
People gather along Hastings Street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside despite public warnings from the city and provincial government to practice social distancing. Advocates and residents in the neighbourhood worry a COVID-19 outbreak here could rip through the community ‘like wildfire.’
851px version of COVID-DTES-04.jpg
At the overdose prevention tent at Vancouver’s Oppenheimer Park, there are plenty of harm reduction supplies for drug users, but no hand sanitizer or masks for the frontline volunteers who operate the site.
851px version of COVID-DTES-05.jpg
A woman wearing a mask walks through the Oppenheimer Park tent encampment.
851px version of COVID-DTES-06.jpg
A man who declined to give his name wears a hat reading ‘COVID-19 CONCENTRATION CAMP.’ Many residents of the Oppenheimer Park homeless encampment feel that federal, provincial and municipal governments are not doing enough to protect them from the virus.
851px version of COVID-DTES-07.jpg
Nunu, who declined to give her last name, washes her hands at a public sink set up by the City of Vancouver at Oppenheimer Park in response to the COVID-19 epidemic.
851px version of COVID-DTES-08.jpg
A city worker opens one of the public washrooms at Oppenheimer Park. The high demand at the park means the washrooms are frequently overflowing or clogged, making it hard for residents of the park to wash their hands regularly.
851px version of COVID-DTES-09.jpg
A man wearing a protective mask crosses the street outside the Carnegie Community Centre in downtown Vancouver. The centre is one of the few that’s remaining open during the COVID-19 pandemic, but with reduced services and social distancing rules in place.
851px version of COVID-DTES-10.jpg
A staff member takes out the garbage at the Carnegie Community Centre in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The community centre is a high-traffic area with services that many homeless and under-housed people rely on.
851px version of COVID-DTES-11.jpg
Ali Kenny (right) and her friend Daikole Frazier eat a to-go meal they recieved from Union Gospel Mission. Both Frazier and Kenny said they have lost their jobs with a local charity because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
851px version of COVID-DTES-12.jpg
Staff at Union Gospel Mission prepare meals to go for clients. The mission has closed its communal dining areas because of the COVID -19 outbreak.
851px version of COVID-DTES-13.jpg
Staff at Union Gospel Mission prepare meals to go for clients. The mission has closed its communal dining areas because of the COVID -19 outbreak.
851px version of COVID-DTES-14.jpg
Building maintenance worker Terry Lawrence uses disinfectant wipes to clean high-traffic areas at Union Gospel Mission’s main shelter location on Hastings Street in Vancouver, B.C. On March 12, Union Gospel Mission enacted its pandemic plan for COVID 19, which includes additional cleaning measures.
851px version of COVID-DTES-15.jpg
A staff member from Union Gospel Mission squirts hand sanitizer for a homeless client.
851px version of COVID-DTES-16.jpg
‘I’m really scared,’ said a woman at Oppenheimer Park who declined to give her name. She said many of her friends who live at the park worry they could die if an outbreak of COVID-19 hits the Downtown Eastside. ‘We are really strong women here, but we are all scared.’
851px version of COVID-DTES-17.jpg
Emil Cernansky watches as outreach workers from the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society pass through Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Cernansky said he sleeps in his car because local shelters are too crowded and he fears he’ll catch COVID-19.
851px version of COVID-DTES-18.jpg
Outreach workers from the Western Aboriginal Harm Reduction Society hand out hot chocolate to homeless people living at the Oppenheimer Park encampment.
851px version of COVID-DTES-19.jpg
People sit around a table at the Oppenheimer Park homeless encampment. One man, who declined to give his name, said there are not enough ways for people to wash their hands at the park.
851px version of COVID-DTES-20.jpg
Peer workers from the Oppenheimer Park community post informational signs about social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Read more: Health, Coronavirus

Share this article

The Tyee is supported by readers like you

Join us and grow independent media in Canada

Facts matter. Get The Tyee's in-depth journalism delivered to your inbox for free

Tyee Commenting Guidelines

Do not:

  •  Use sexist, classist, racist or homophobic language
  • Libel or defame
  • Bully, threaten, name-call or troll
  • Troll patrol. Instead, downvote, or flag suspect activity
  • Attempt to guess other commenters’ real-life identities

Do:

  • Verify facts, debunk rumours
  • Add context and background
  • Spot typos and logical fallacies
  • Highlight reporting blind spots
  • Ignore trolls and flag violations
  • Treat all with respect and curiosity
  • Stay on topic
  • Connect with each other

The Barometer

Tyee Poll: What Coverage Would You Like to See More of This Year?

Take this week's poll