Guest Editorial: Superintendent Warren Lemcke, Vancouver Police Department, North Command

For many years, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and surrounding area have been home to some of the most poorly run Single Room Occupancy hotels in the City of Vancouver. From a public safety perspective, many of these operations placed extreme demands on police, fire and ambulance with some of them generating hundreds of calls for service a year. Most of these were caused by poor management. But it wasn’t the workload that was the major concern; it was the horrible living conditions the residents were forced to endure. From bed bugs to predatory landlords to crime and disorder down every hallway, the conditions were abysmal.

One of the worst operations was the former Backpackers Inn at 7 West Hastings. This building was a fortress for criminal activity, drug dealing and violence against the occupants. The criminal actions were condoned by management and perpetrated by several of the building occupants. The closure of the building was welcomed by the Vancouver Police Department, but the reopening as the Beacon Hotel is even more welcome. This BC Housing building, run by PHS Community Services Society, a non-profit operator participating in the Partners in Action program, will provide much needed safe, secure and supportive housing in the area.

As with other BC Housing buildings, the key to success is government, the non-profit operators and the police working together under the Partners in Action commitment. Under this partnership, the Vancouver Police Department has provided liaison officers to each of the BC Housing SROs to work directly with staff on issues in the buildings. The VPD has also supplied ECOMM with background information on each of the buildings so that attending police officers are more aware before arrival of the issues they may face. As well, there are Partners In Action decals at each of these government-owned SRO hotels.

The Vancouver Police Department will continue to work with all stakeholders in the area to help reduce and eliminate homelessness and provide safe, secure and supportive housing for those in need. The VPD will work in partnership with the Province and the non-profits to yield an improved quality of life for those living in the SROs.

This summer the Park, Savoy, Beacon, and Orange Hall joined the growing list of government-owned SROs that have undergone renovation work and are now providing safe and secure homes. For some of the tenants, it was an opportunity to move back into a newly renovated unit; for many others, it meant the first real home they have known in a long time. New tenants were selected through the Supportive Housing Registry service.

Read more updates about the government-owned SROs including the tentative construction schedule.