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"The best test of a civilised society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable and weakest members."


Mahatma Gandhi


 

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Hope in Shadows - Portraits of our Community

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Close call after Burns Block shut


City staff gave Veronica Crow Eagle (60) directions to the emergency shelter after one hour’s notice. Two nights later she was walking the streets without a bed.

While helping a 60-year-old First Nations' woman move to a new apartment with a team of Pivot staff and volunteers, I had a "moment of truth."

It was a realization that Veronica Crow-Eagle was literally dumped on the street and left to her own devices following the sudden closure of her apartment block by City of Vancouver staff on March 30.

It was now four days after the closure and Pivot rented a van to help people returning to pick up their belongings. A privately-run single room occupancy (SRO) rental building, the Burns Block had closed down after it failed a fire safety inspection and amazingly residents were given one hour to get out of their apartments.

 

Some of the residents ended up on the streets that night. Others disappeared, no doubt to sleep on some friend or family member's sofa. Those who had no where else to go, including Crow Eagle, were directed by City officials to Harbour Light, the Salvation Army shelter for drug and alcohol rehabilitation a few blocks away in the Downtown Eastside.

Crow Eagle, from the Blackfoot First Nation in Alberta, had lived in the Burns Block for eight years. She said that the hotel had gradually run down after the previous owner died about five years ago and the building was sold.

The closure came without warning – her $375 monthly rent cheque was only given to landlord Nick Bahrami the day before and it was cashed the afternoon they were evicted. She is still trying to get her deposit and the rent back from Bahrami who is now trying to sell the building for $2.5 million, up from the $550,000 he paid for it in 2003.

Following the eviction on March 30, Crow Eagle said she had a hard night in the emergency shelter. Scared of people recently released from "penitentiaries," she moved to the Haven Salvation Army emergency hostel in the Downtown Eastside the next night.

Staying in the emergency shelters does not guarantee a bed and on Saturday night Veronica was told she was out of luck – the shelter was full.

Continued...

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Updated Sept 8, 2010

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