[van-announce] TENT CITY - VICTORY SQUARE

[megan at resist.ca]

I have attached an article about the Victory Square Tent City from the Vancouver Sun.

The Victory Square tent city went up last night and housed about 40 people on its first night of existence. 
There are at least two dozen people on a waiting list for tents and there is a serious shortage of bedding 
materials such as mats, blankets and sleeping bags.

Please come out and support the tent city by dropping off tents, sleeping bags, blankets, etc. to Victory 
Square. Donations of cash will be used to purchase more tents which will allow more people to be housed.

Stop by the tent city and show your support to those fighting for more housing and against welfare cuts which 
are destroying people's lives.


New tent city springs up overnight
  
Matthew Ramsey  
Vancouver Sun 

Thursday, July 03, 2003
 
Vancouver has a new tent city on its hands. 

About 25 tents mushroomed in Victory Square park Wednesday night. Organized by the Anti-Poverty Committee and 
Housing Action Committee, the protesters are demanding social housing in Vancouver for all who need it and 
that the province abandon changes to the welfare system limiting recipients to collecting cheques for just two 
years out of every five.

Jill Chettiar of the Housing Action Committee said that unlike the Woodwards squat, which saw between 100 and 
150 people camping outside the derelict department store from September to mid-December of last year, the 
Victory Square action is a political demonstration only. Organizers will not feed or clothe those people who 
choose to camp out in protest, nor will they accept cash donations. All that is offered, Chettiar said, is a 
tent and a place to sleep.

Dave Cunningham, who is with the Anti-Poverty Committee, said he expects the park to be full of tents soon.

"The working people of British Columbia have to get their priorities straight," he said. "What's more 
important -- the Olympics or poor people?"

Cunningham believes the protest is far too political for the Vancouver police to break up. "Beating a bunch of 
homeless people won't do any good for their image," he said.

Vancouver police spokesperson Constable Sarah Bloor said because the protest is on city property, police must 
wait for an injunction from the city before they can take any action.

The park falls under Vancouver Parks Board jurisdiction, and board vice-chair Anita Romaniuk said it was too 
early to say what the board's strategy will be in dealing with the camp.

"We haven't had a chance to discuss this yet," she said.

© Copyright 2003 Vancouver Sun