Our Work: 2025 By-Election Candidate Survey (Updated): Question 3

3. If you could bring one new thing to the Council table on the topics of public safety and wellbeing in the Downtown Eastside, what would it be?

Guy DUBÉ (100) - Get the VPD within it’s current budget to create a new department that is about social and health as opposed to enforcement. We need more social workers / officers that help and create a social network with the residents of the area. Housing / Rehabilitation and reconciliation.

Karin LITZCKE (101) - That’s a big question that goes well beyond public spaces! But I think it would be a new thing to examine the shadowy grant-funding ecosystem that actually makes the DTES poverty industry somewhat immune to public governance.

The city, the province, and the federal government all fund diverse services and facilities in the DTES. This is a somewhat unholy alliance that is cumbersome and opaque enough on its own. But the fourth component of the private grant is even more invisible.

if the taxpaying, voting public ever felt that it would be beneficial to decrease rather than increase that funding (which might be rational if funding was felt to be enabling drug use, for example), the flow of private grants could still continue or even increase, frustrating the public’s will, and rendering city council more or less powerless to effect significant change in the DTES.

Jeanifer DECENA (106) - The Downtown Eastside is a community full of resilience, strength, and history, yet it continues to struggle under the weight of addiction, poverty, and systemic neglect. If I could bring one thing to the table, it would be a comprehensive 3-1 model that addresses three critical pillars:

1. A Detox and Recovery Centre – A low-barrier, compassionate space for those seeking to detox and receive medical and psychological support. Recovery should be accessible, dignified, and trauma-informed, not punitive.
2. Supportive Housing with Wraparound Services – Stable housing is the foundation of recovery and well-being. But housing alone isn’t enough—we need integrated mental health support, harm reduction services, and pathways to long-term stability.
3. Meaningful Employment and Skills Training – Recovery and reintegration require purpose. We need job opportunities that fit people’s skills, abilities, and personal journeys. I am particularly passionate about ensuring that women in vulnerable situations receive specialized support—whether that’s training, safe employment, or protective housing that allows them to regain independence.

This is not just about policy; it’s about treating people with dignity and giving them the resources to build a future beyond survival.

Sean ORR (108) - Housing First. This is proven to work and reduce crime and reduce substance use. When people have their needs met and feel a part of community, they are less likely to react with hostility. This community has been ravaged by constant criminalization, a poisoned supply of drugs, inadequate housing, and unending cycles of trauma. And yet it’s still a community. Having stable housing goes a long way to address mental health. I’m reminded of the “rat park” experiment.

Combined with fighting for the province to raise social assistance rates, providing more shelter rate housing (and not less like ABC just voted to do), will mean less homelessness in our streets and our parks.

Having a separate entity that deals with mental health and wellness checks, like Indigenous-led peer-assisted care teams (PACTs) will not only reduce trauma but will also free-up some of the bloated VPD budget to be redirected to the services we need like parks. The VPD have said themselves that they don’t want to be in the business of mental health. We can’t police our way out of the homelessness crisis caused by the rental market.

Colleen HARDWCK (109) & Theodore ABBOTT (110) - Establish a single coordinating body to ensure that the complex needs of people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health issues are effectively addressed with long-term, holistic solutions rather than through emergency services.

List of Questions

• City of Vancouver By-Election Information Webpage