OUTRAGE MOUNTS OVER NO-BARRIER HOMELESS SHELTERS

Residents Complain About Lack Of Consultation, Drug Activity, Urine

People openly defecating on the street, rat infestations, dogs barking
incessantly and so much urine workers have to hose the alleys down at
night.

Downtown resident Lini Evans describes what's become everyday life in her
neighbourhood since no-barrier emergency homeless shelters opened on
Granville and Howe streets this past winter.

"The city decides to drop two homeless shelters in one block without
consulting with the residents?" Evans said. "And six months later they say
they still haven't had time to consult with us. We're beyond outraged."

Evans and her neighbours are particularly upset now because they recently
discovered that what began as "temporary" emergency shelters will likely
remain open until at least after the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

As the Courier went to press Tuesday morning, Evans emailed to say someone
from the shelter had physically assaulted a resident and police were on
site.

The no-barrier shelter at 1435 Granville St. opened in December in
response to the death of a homeless woman who burned to death at the
intersection of Hornby and Davie streets on a freezing cold night. The
woman, known as Tracey, refused to go to a shelter because at the time
shopping carts weren't allowed. Instead, Tracey turned hers on its side
and tried to keep warm by curling up inside with a lit candle.

In response, newly elected Mayor Gregor Robertson launched the Homeless
Emergency Action Team (HEAT), which involved opening emergency shelters
where homeless people could take their carts and pets, operated by
RainCity Housing. The fifth HEAT shelter opened in February at 1442 Howe
St. In March, the provincial government stepped in to help fund the
shelters until the end of June. Evans said she and her neighbours assumed
their lives would get back to normal after that, but last week they
discovered city council voted unanimously in May to keep the shelters open
until at least next spring. "Again, they did this without public
consultation," Evans said.

In response, resident John Roberts spearheaded the Concerned Citizens for
False Creek North (CCFN), to which Evans belongs.

Evans said the shelters close their doors at 10 a.m. each day and the
occupants are forced onto the street. With no public washrooms available,
she said it's become common to see people defecating in yards and on the
street. She said the open-air drug market is out of control and addicts
have been stashing hypodermic needles in the residences' flowerpots and
planters. Evans notes there's a Montessori school and daycare nearby and
parents are worried the children will be pricked by a needle as they play.

She added the sirens from ambulance and police vehicles responding to
emergencies at the shelter keep residents awake all night.

Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang said because of the unusually severe
winter the city faced, the usual development permits were waved prior to
opening the temporary shelters.

"And then essentially the province took them over in March until the end
of June," Jang said. "And if the province decides to fund them beyond
that, there will be a public consultation. But these residents know that
already."

Jang said the city's heard from other area residents who've had no
problems with the shelters and apparently haven't witnessed the rampant
drug dealing or other problems members of the CCFN have.

"I think they might be ramping it up a little," Jang said. "But before the
decision to keep the shelters open gets the go ahead, these incidents will
be investigated so we can see the extent and scope of the problem."

The CCFN hosts a meeting tomorrow night at 1500 Howe St., from 7 to 9 p.m.
Besides Jang, others scheduled to attend include the city's coordinator
for the tenant assistance program, Judy Graves, the city's planner for
housing policy and social development Dan Garrison, as well as Mark Smith
and Aaron Munro from RainCity Housing.