Vancouver ends East Hastings Street stewardship contract with drug user group

The City of Vancouver has ended a contract with the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) over a block stewardship program on East Hastings Street, saying the group did not focus enough on street cleaning.

A VANDU executive disagrees with that assessment, however, and says the group fulfilled "110 per cent" of its commitments under the "Our Streets" program.

The program started in July this year, before residents of the tent encampment on Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside were evicted in August.

It saw groups like VANDU, along with the Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War and the Overdose Prevention Society, empower peer workers and tent city residents to keep their surroundings clean after the city stopped street sweeps.

But according to the city, VANDU's portion of that contract — worth $50,000 per month — was cancelled a month early. The contract ends in January 2023.

"After an interim assessment of the program, it is evident that VANDU placed emphasis on community development and individual empowerment rather than street cleaning," a city spokesperson said in a statement.

"While this has value … the City requires a focus on cleaning, and as a transition, will engage with other community groups to provide cleaning services."

The spokesperson said the other groups, including the Overdose Prevention Society, would continue the work of Our Streets.

Researchers from Simon Fraser University are conducting an independent evaluation of the program, which is set to be complete early 2023.

After the contract ends, the city would open up an RFP (request for proposal) process, allowing non-profits "with capacity and experience working with communities experiencing marginalization to deliver focused cleaning programs," the spokesperson said.

They added that VANDU had been provided 50 per cent of its funding under the contract, and would be provided a prorated amount during a month-long transition period.

VANDU exec says city is playing politics

Brittany Graham, VANDU executive director, told CBC News that street cleaning was only one of the deliverables listed in the contract.

"In our mind … we've done every one of our deliverables to the nth degree," she said in an interview. 

Graham said much of the deliverables in the contract provided to VANDU focused on empowering tent city residents, bringing people together, and encouraging the stewardship program to grow.

"There is so much empowerment and education and growth that has been happening in the neighborhood," she said. "Things that they wouldn't deem as cleaning but actually have made the neighborhood better."

Graham said the funding allowed VANDU to create kits for harm reduction, including safe inhalation kits and ways to safely dispose of needles.

"There's been a huge decrease of seeing those sorts of paraphernalia on the block," she said. 

"Those are huge wins, but they're not counted as 'cleaning' because it's not specifically removing people's possessions and moving peoples' tents and that's really the big part of it."

Graham said the city was failing Downtown Eastside residents by expecting clean sidewalks despite not providing places for people to live.

She also said the city cited another reason for ending the contract: VANDU's meetings regarding the civic election.

Graham said those meetings were not aimed at swaying the election, but a way to inform residents of their voting rights and options.

"If you're getting a contract from the city, they expect no criticism of the structures and systems and political nature of the city," she said. "Which is a really bad precedent to set."

CBC News has reached out to the city regarding the assertion of VANDU's political involvement, but has not heard back by deadline.