Stories from Pandora Avenue

Friday September 5:

Just called 911 for a senior on Pandora Avenue.

I was on the 900-block on my way to Save-on-Foods before it closed when an old man suffered some kind of fainting spell and hit his head on the sidewalk right beside me, then begged witnesses to call an ambulance.

I had a conversation with him while help was on the way. He’s 73 years old, been living on the streets for a while because he can’t even get a mat at an overnight shelter. He used to live at the MyPlace transitional shelter on Yates Street (as did I until four years ago) but somehow couldn’t get housing. He told me that he’s been waiting on BC Housing’s registry for three and a half years. I had to tell the poor thing that clients have to call back every three months lest their names get dropped; can’t blame him for not knowing, I myself just learned today that’s it’s nowadays down from six months. Even then, he doesn’t have a phone so how could he keep in touch even if his turn did come.

At this rate he will die of old age on the sidewalk. The entire system is abandoning our seniors. Just another manmade tragedy, really.

Thank you to the community members who provided first aid while I was on the phone with emergency dispatch, and to the paramedics who showed up to take him to the hospital.

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Saturday September 6:

I was on Pandora Avenue to observe the bylaw sweep this morning.

There was one impound on the 800-block, targeting a wheelchair-bound regular who manifestly couldn’t move his belongings around. He was repeatedly offered relocation to a park where overnight sheltering is allowed, but there’s simply no way he could commute any significant distance, much less with his belongings, or even take down his shelter every morning.

At least the impound was performed within the rules this time. He was allowed to keep his wheelchair and his identification papers. Although I must point out that his shelter was dismantled by one of the cleanup crew, whereas this is bylaw officers’ job.

Under section 8 of the BC Human Rights Code, bylaw officers must provide reasonable accommodation to people with disabilities, up to the point of undue hardship. The duty to accommodate prevails even over bylaw enforcement, since the Code prevails over the Community Charter which grants municipalities the prerogative of enacting and enforcing bylaws. Don’t hesitate to raise the issue with a bylaw officer should you face impossible compliance: the magic words are: “I have a disability which prevents me from complying with the terms of the bylaw and I require accommodation under s. 8 of the Human Rights Code.”

More about your rights and legal recourse under the Human Rights Code.

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Update: Tuesday September 22:

Another day, another sweep on Pandora Avenue.

This morning there were two impounds, only one of which I observed. Bylaw officers were quite aggressive in the way they set the cordon, doing so without giving the couple a chance to pack up even though they had little more than a nearly empty tent to dismantle, the rest was ready to go. Even then, the officers followed the protocol by asking whether there were essential belongings like identification papers among the items being impounded. They even let the man reach into the tent, a first as far as I’m concerned, and gave the woman her jacket back (maybe because I was recording the whole time).

Nevertheless, I find in practice that impounds are almost always unnecessary. Give people fifteen minutes to pack up and move along, and the problem takes care of itself with minimal intervention from bylaw officers.

I’ve also witnessed an officer give a warning slip to some old man with a bike for blocking the sidewalk. I’ve filed a Freedom of Information request a while ago, and found out that while the municipality issues hundreds of warnings a year for related bylaw infractions, it almost never gives an actual ticket. Why would it give a ticket to someone who’s broke and has no fixed address? The fine is obviously uncollectable.

Also, in the past week I’ve noticed a few civilian municipal employees walking along the rest of the crew, presumably in an oversight role. Given the many reports of irregularities finding their way into the mainstream media and the legal system over the past few years, it’s a wonder that didn’t happen sooner.

Things are changing on the ground, and it’s not all bad. Lately I find that some bylaw officers are even trying to mingle and forge a relationship with the street community instead of just being bullies. Even then, a bylaw officer isn’t an outreach worker. Shifting the focus from enforcement to outreach would require actual outreach workers on the team every morning to do what municipal employees in uniforms cannot: help these folks back on their feet. Until then, the municipality will keep disposing of homeless people’s meagre belongings in vain—and doing so with a smile doesn’t make it any less tragic.