Spring is around the corner here in Vancouver and there have been many weather changes since the severe snowfall, January 8th, when temperatures plummeted and a record setting 27 cm of snow blanketed the city.
In the DTES during that record setting snowfall, several of those unhoused were left out in the cold, unable to access shelters or warming centres. Though that extreme weather event has now passed, the community supporting the unhoused still talk about what went wrong and what needs to be done to ensure that the city’s most vulnerable are better protected next time.
CFRO News took a look at what the problems were during this dangerous weather event and talked to people who work with the unhoused to see what the city needs to do to take care of these vulnerable citizens when extreme weather happens again.
(Update: This story was originally published on February 21, 2024. A new audio version was published on March 6, 2024 to correct the name of Vancouver councillor Christine Boyle, which had originally been published as Cynthia.)
