sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ government announces $11M grant for training single-room occupancy hotel tenants

VANCOUVER — The sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ government says it's providing $11 million in grant funding to a non-profit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside aimed at training and empowering tenants of single-room occupancy hotels.
20230518190516-6466b24aa9d1752e76a4e892jpeg
Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Thursday, July 28, 2022. The sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ government says it's providing $11 million in grant funding to a Downtown Eastside non-profit aimed at training and empowering tenants of single-room occupancy hotels.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — The sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ government says it's providing $11 million in grant funding to a non-profit in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside aimed at training and empowering tenants of single-room occupancy hotels.

The provincial housing ministry says in a news release the money is going to the Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society for three years of life-skills training programs the society offers to tenants of privately owned single-room occupancy buildings. 

The ministry says programs offered by the society include fire safety and overdose prevention training, with funding projected to reach more than 2,700 tenants in more than 50 privately run buildings. 

The ministry says the one-time funding boost will also support initiatives for tenant-driven cleaning and repair work and organizing committees to prevent evictions.

The society's executive director, Wendy Pedersen, says in the release that the buildings are a last resort for people before they become homeless and improving their habitability will make them safer and strengthen community connections. 

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says the grant funding supports vulnerable people on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, and that people living in the buildings know best how to support their fellow tenants. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 18, 2023. 

The Canadian Press