Seven hundred and thirty-one homeless people live in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) according to the City of Vancouver, and approximately 5000 more live on the edge of homelessness in tiny Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotel rooms. Many of these people rely on welfare and basic pension and desperately need new self contained social housing.

This year?s Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) hotel and housing report found that SROs in the DTES are more expensive than ever and that fewer still are available to low-income individuals looking for rooms.

Rory Sutherland, is co-author of the report, No Place to Go: Losing Affordable Housing and Community.