Mary Frances Hill, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, August 09, 2008VANCOUVER - Every night in Oppenheimer Park, Brian Humchitt and his wife Tina lay their heads beneath a large banner that says, "Homelessness is not a crime." They've called the inner city park -- which has become a tent city of sorts -- their only home for the past two months.
Dozens of homeless people and their supporters flock to the Downtown Eastside park, bounded by Jackson, Dunlevy, Powell and Cordova streets, to sleep in tents at night, socialize during the day and take advantage of the soup kitchens, free showers and bathrooms available nearby.
However, violence is common in what some call "Dopenheimer Park." Dealers and addicts jockey for space under the trees, idling away the hours on old mattresses.
The city has contracted security guards to patrol Oppenheimer Park, monitoring the activities there.
Photo: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun
Humchitt, known as the go-to guy of Oppenheimer Park, is a governor of sorts in what has become a semi-organized community.
But he won't be there for long. He and Tina have a Wednesday meeting with city social services, which may have found a unit for the couple.
Some activists in the community welcome people like Humchitt. But the city and the park board are under pressure to solve the security problems that arise when dozens, if not hundreds of people, set up camp in a public area, particularly when many use drugs and alcohol.
Last month, Vancouver police conducted a series of sweeps of the park, arriving every morning at 5 a.m. to force tent-dwellers out and hand out $75 tickets for illegal camping, most of them to people with no fixed address. But police said they stopped their campaign when the city told them the campers had no place else to go.
"We were informed by the city that there were no emergency shelter beds available for them, so we stopped," said Insp. Adam Palmer of the VPD's Division 2.
Palmer said the park has to be monitored due to risks involving the use of propane heaters and candles, and because tent cities offer drug dealers a dense, central target population.
"With the drug dealers come violence, weapons and intimidation, and it turns into an ugly situation quite quickly," he said.
Since the sweeps, the tents have sprung up again. Humchitt said he had counted 35 tents housing one or more people, with about 80 others sleeping in the open air.
The city has contracted security guards to patrol the park every hour, monitoring the appearance of tents and reporting to police.
Pivot Legal Society lawyer Laura Track said her organization and local residents were not pleased with the arrival of the security guards.
"The main concern with that is the negative experiences people have already had with private security. The folks here have a serious level of mistrust," said Track.
Park board commissioner Spencer Herbert said the physical presence of the tents poses a danger and attracts the drug trade. But he said he was not surprised by their numbers or their appearance.
"If (more) shelters don't open soon, there is going to be tent city this fall whether we like it or not," Herbert said. "It's dangerous for the users and the people around it."
Oppenheimer Park does provide access to other facilities for the homeless. A block away on Alexander Street, people in need have access to showers, bathrooms, laundry facilities, two-dollar meals and a lounge with a pool table, until 10 p.m., seven days a week.
mfhill@vancouversun.com
Leave a comment