Around Town: Eviction Map, Heritage Awards, SFU Football & Catholic schools

First United Church has a long history of standing up for its neighbours in the Downtown Eastside.

And they are undergoing a major redevelopment project to ensure their presence will remain strong on the corner of Hastings and Gore.

But they are keeping busy while awaiting the project’s completion. Last week they released a unique BC Eviction Mapping project. which has significance both in their immediate community and throughout the province.

Global News profiled the initiative May 12:

A new report on evictions in British Columbia, billed as the first of its kind, has painted yet another bleak picture of the province’s rental market.

Vancouver’s First United Church surveyed 443 people who had recently been evicted for everything from cause to “Landlord use,” a legal provision for cases where the landlord claims they or a close family member intends to move in.

Among the most sobering findings were how many evictees were left homeless.

Among all respondents, 27 per cent said they hadn’t found a new home. Among people of colour it was 31 per cent, while 34 per cent of people with disabilities said they couldn’t find a new home and 45 per cent of Indigenous people said they hadn’t found a new place to live. . . .

Sarah Marsden, director of systems change and legal with First United, said Saleh’s experience is yet another case of tenants being poorly served by the system.

“The cost is just so high when people get evicted. We see family separation, we see tremendous financial impacts, health impacts,” she said.

“Given how high the stakes are for tenants right now I think the strongest feeling for me is if we know it doesn’t need to be this way then why is it this way?”

Marsden said about six in 10 people the study surveyed reported being evicted under the landlord use provision.

While in many cases that eviction may be legitimate, she said many other property owners use the rule to game the system and evict tenants to try and get higher rent for the property.

Go here for the full story, and check out the interactive map and eviction survey. (CBC Radio’s On the Coast host Gloria Macarenko also interviewed Marsden.)

:The Vancouver Sun posted a story May 12, which concluded with this:

First United’s interim executive director, Amanda Burrows, said she believes the B.C. eviction mapping project “has the potential to change our systems for the better, and long-term.”

“This project has the potential to provide undeniable evidence that our housing systems in B.C. are broken.” Burrows said. “We need to change our collective circumstances for the future.”

A CBC News story pointed to another report released May 14: “Renters in British Columbia face the highest eviction rates in Canada, but it’s through no fault of their own, according to a new report from researchers at the University of British Columbia.”

Heritage Awards

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, on Burrard Street at Nelson Street.

Every other year the City of Vancouver holds the Heritage Awards “to celebrate the living heritage of Vancouver’s communities and successes in heritage conservation.”

This year one of the city’s most well known churches won a Heritage Conservation award “for the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse or continued maintenance of buildings, structures, cultural landscapes or other natural features, including seismic or sustainability upgrades.”

The jury stated that the award to St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church (located downtown at the corner of Nelson and Burrard) “recognizes the sensitive conservation and seismic upgrade of this iconic neo-Gothic church.” Acknowledged for their work on the building were RJC Engineers, Ryder Architecture, Donald Luxton & Associates and Heatherbrae Builders.

The interior of St. Andrew’s-Wesley Church.

A January 5, 2022 article in Canadian Architect considered the restoration project:

Originally built in 1927, St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church boasts a Gothic revival style using locally sourced materials such as Nelson Island granite and Haddington Island stone by brothers and architects Twizell & Twizell.

The historic stone-clad concrete structure has suffered years of natural deterioration and has resulted in leaking roofs, requiring intermittent repairs. The decline of the plastered church interior initiated a broader investigation of opportunities for preservation. . . .

St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church officially reopened its doors after two years of renovation on November 14th. Executive Director of Operations at St. Andrew’s-Wesley, Diane Mitchell, credits the team led by Ryder and RJC with “navigating the complexity of the project and delivering a beautiful result that the church can be immensely proud of.”

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church Renewal project is the recipient of a 2021 North American Copper in Architecture Award and 2021 BC Heritage Award in Conservation.

Go here for the full article.

There was also a bittersweet Heritage Award, from a Christian point of view.

The Hollywood Theatre in Kitsilano won a Heritage Conservation Award. Redemption Church worked hard to purchase and renovate the theatre, but faced opposition from some neighbours and, apparently, from the city. I wrote about the church’s decision to walk away from its plans in 2015.

SFU Football

Many people are unhappy with SFU’s recent decision to end its football program, but one contingent of the local Christian community is finding it particularly troubling. 

The B.C. Catholic posted an article about the situation; here is a portion:

The April 4 announcement by Simon Fraser University to discontinue its football program effective immediately has Catholic school students, parents and coaches upset that the decision will limit playing opportunities that past students have had.

Since 2019 dozens of athletes from Notre Dame, Vancouver College and St. Thomas More high schools have played at SFU and more than a dozen are playing now. Another five were committed for the coming season.

Holy Cross Secondary teacher Conrad Deugau told The B.C. Catholic that as a former SFU player he was deeply hurt by the cancellation and highlighted the impact the change would have on Catholic high school students.

“When you close a program like this, it reduces options for guys who want to play at a higher level,” said Deugau, who is also vice president of the B.C. Secondary Schools Football Association. “Especially if they want to stay local, now they are only left with UBC. The students are disappointed; for sure, SFU was looked at as a great option.” . . .

SFU’s football history includes a long list of players who went on to play professional football after coming from local Catholic high schools, including Winnipeg Blue Bomber Walter Passaglia, and former BC Lions Lui Passaglia, Angus Reid and Glen Jackson, who taught at Holy Cross.

Go here for the full article.

Jobs & Events

Go here for more than 200 job listings in the Metro Vancouver / Fraser Valley area and here to find several pages of local events.