BC NDP candidates have announced a plan that would give unhoused residents a place to congregate during the day.
Candidates Amanda Burrows (Vancouver-Strathcona) and Terry Yung (Vancouver-Yaletown) have announced funding for the Ashtrey Recovery Resource Centre, which recently opened.
The Ashtrey centre opened up this summer and is named in honour of late advocate Trey Helton, who worked for the Overdose Prevention Society (OPS) for years. He passed away just over a year ago.
Burrows has been a longtime advocate for homeless people in Vancouver and was very vocal against the Crab Park incident back in 2024, which saw Vancouver park rangers clash with advocates.
“I work in the Downtown Eastside, and I see every day how important it is for people to have safe, welcoming places where they can meet their basic needs with dignity,” Burrows said.
While the Ashtrey Centre allows people a place to be during the day, the BC NDP candidates have also announced funding for an additional centre in the Downtown Eastside, which would offer people who are experiencing homelessness in the downtown core a place to hang out.
Burrows added that the space would include access to food, bathrooms, and showers.
When open, the new centre would operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The centre would also connect unhoused folks to on-site recovery and sobriety services.
The release from the BC NDP adds that unhoused people are able to stay in a shelter at night but have nowhere to go during the day, “contributing ot the very visible challenges we see on the streets downtown.”
Yung states that he walked the beat in the DTES as a VPD officer, saying that public safety requires more than just policing.
“To reduce street homelessness, we need to create spaces where people can congregate safely during the day,” Yung said.
Tom Stamatakis, who is the president of the Canadian Police Association, offered his support for the announcement.
“Any initiative that gives people experiencing serious addiction or mental health challenges better access to shelter, support, and treatment deserves consideration,” he said.
Sarah Blyth, executive director of the OPS, said, “We help people get off the street, provide food, clothing, and basic hygiene and amenities, and when people are feeling better and ready to make a change, we support participants on a path to treatment and recovery.”
Public safety and homelessness are two major issues voters will be looking at in both the civic election (with final voting day on Oct. 17) and the provincial election (with final voting day on Oct. 24).