THEVOICE | 2 Community centre finds new home Local family centre to open in new location at Cambie Street and Marine Drive this fall = By CHRISTOPHER THOROSKI he Marpole Oakridge Family Place is getting a new home at the intersection of Cambie Street and SW Marine Drive after lob- bying city council for nine years. The not-for-profit organization runs programs for families and seniors, such as a health and nutrition education program for parents, and weekly com- munity meals and exercise groups for seniors. They are currently located in the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Soci- ety on Selkirk Street in Marpole. They will operate in the two spaces come November. Tracy Beshara, the executive direc- tor of MOFP, said the City of Vancou- ver offered them the space five years Tracy Beshara EXECUTIVE ago. DIRECTOR OF “If we were to MARPOLE OAKRIDGE leave the commu- FAMILY PLACE nity we’ve been in for 39 years then the services would discontinue and that population wouldn’t have anything,” Beshara said. “So we’re attempting to have the financial means, to fundraise etcetera, to be able to afford two spac- es.” MOFP will share their new home with a YMCA daycare program. The three-storey community centre is being built beside the new 350-unit, two-tow- ered Onni Group condo development because of a bylaw that requires devel- opers to contribute to the public. “The staffis so friendly." — SUE KAH, MARPOLE RESIDENT Marpole resident Sue Kah has been using the organization's services for a year. She said the move is well-de- served and she can’t wait for them to settle in. “The thing that I really like about this facility is that the staff is so friendly,” Kah said. “[They] organize lots of nice programs like potlucks, pancake time, and there are just a lot of activities for the kids and parents to come in for.” Chris Evans, the executive vice- president of the Onni Group, said this is the third centre offering childcare that is being incorporated into Onni’s Van- couver developments, with two more on the way. “Tt is a community need and where it fits into our projects we are more than happy to make it happen,” Evans said. SEARCHING FOR HOME MOFP OVER THE YEARS 9 1978 Marpole Oakridge Family Place begins in a private living room 201 3 MOFP moves to Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society after major flood 2017 morpP opens second V location in 3-storey centre at Cambie and Marine Drive built by Onni Group SOURCE: MOFRORG THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2017 | EDITOR LAUREN BOOTHBY ey Check out langaravoice.ca for more on this story 7 “, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer takes questions from Voice reporters following a police board meeting Thursday which included a presentation on the opioid crisis. SEAN HiTREC PHOTO VPD: enforcement cant solve drug crisis Drug activist group, police watchdog call to end war on drugs, focus on harm-reduction = By CLARE HENNIG ancouver police continue to focus their efforts on catch- ing fentanyl dealers and in- tercepting the supply of the deadly narcotic but say enforcement alone will not solve the overdose epi- demic. Staff Set. Bill Spearn of the Van- couver Police Department’s organized crime section said in a presentation to the police board last Thursday that cur- rent drug enforcement operations are leading to arrests and lengthy prison sentences. However, Spearn said, police believe more focus is needed on harm reduction and addiction treatment to keep the opioid overdose crisis from escalating. “This is a complex issue that the VPD can't solve by arresting its way out of it,” Spearn told board members at the Cambie Street police precinct. Caitlin Shane of Pivot Legal Society said the VPD and the City of Vancou- ver should be doing more to help drug users. “The war on drugs needs to stop,” Shane said. “We'd really like to see more funds directed towards harm reduction rather than prohibition.” Tracey Morrison, who works at the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Us- ers, said the problem goes deeper than police policies. Society’s perception of drug users needs to change before the overdose epidemic can be tackled. “They don’t look at us as part of so- ciety,” Morrison said. “[Police] need to treat us as a person and not as a prob- lem.” More than 900 people in B.C. died from drug overdoses last year and fen- tanyl was detected in the majority of deaths, according to a report by the B.C. Coroners Service. Fentanyl is a power- ful synthetic opioid that is up to 100 times more potent than morphine. In December, VPD Police Chief Adam Palmer and others issued a plea for more treatment. Several hundred of- ficers have been trained to use naloxone spray to reverse the effects of an over- dose. They used it for the first time in December to revive an overdose victim. Spearn said the first time he encoun- tered fentanyl in Vancouver was during Between January and October 2016, fentanyl was detected in at least 374 overdose deaths. Spearn said the total number of deaths last year — 922 — continues to increase, as toxicology re- sults are finalized. “Tve been doing drug enforcement for 20 years and I’ve never seen any- thing like this before,” said Spearn of a sudden spike /— — the spike in in drug overdos- “TPolice] need to treat overdose deaths. es on Thanks- The focus on giving Day in usasa person and not harm reduc- 2014 at the In- ”" tion and addic- site supervised asa problem. tion treatment injection site on — TRACEY MORRISON, MEMBER OF VANCOUVER does not mean East Hastings. AREA NETWORK OF DRUG USERS that drug traf- That led the fickers are get- VPD to con- ~ ting off easily. centrate its drug squads’ work on tar- geting those who possess and distrib- ute the narcotic. As a result, the VPD launched several projects, including some with the RCMP. In 2014, the B.C. Coroners Service reported 91 fentanyl-related deaths. Earlier this month, a Vancouver man was sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug trafficking charges related to large quantities of fentanyl. During the hear- ing, the Crown noted the seriousness of the crimes in light of the increase deaths. Fentanyl confiscated by the Vancouver Police Department. yep suaiviT TED PHOTO Atlarge Campers causing alarm Vacant Granville stores attract Street campers: = By CAITLIN O'FLANAGAN ome of the 33 empty storefronts S along the popular Granville strip have attracted “street campers” who are causing problems for business owners and police who work in the area. ‘The businesses are located within a four-block radius in the entertainment district between Davie and Robson streets and includes the former cinema at 855 Granville St. The building takes up almost half a block and has been vacant since 2012. In that time, the storefront, which has a large awning, has become a popular spot for homeless people, buskers and pan- handlers to camp during the day. “These vacant storefronts are a mag- net for street campers and the drug ad- dicted,” said Const. Bryan Nykon, who works out of the Granville policing centre in the 1200-block of Granville Street. Both Nykon and colleague Const. Blake Chersinoff have spoken with Granville Street businesses about their concerns regarding stray dogs, urination and used needles along the street. “These vacant storefronts are a magnet for street campers and the drug-addicted.” — CONST. BRYAN NYKON Charles Gauthier, president and CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Im- provement Association, said he wants to see more independent retailers going in along Granville Street. “If [owners] prefer to keep their building empty, unfortunately it has a detrimental impact to the rest of the street and that’s what we're focusing on right now,” Gauthier said. The Voice spoke to Robin Banks out- side the Old Navy at Robson and Gran- ville. He’s lived “on the streets” since he was 14 and is now in his early 40s. He said he likes Granville because it’s busy but still provides enough space to set up his cart and small drum for busking. The building home to Tom Lee Mu- sic will soon be vacant. Kerry Bonnis of Bonnis Properties bought the prop- erty and said he and his brother plan to build four retail spaces inside the build- ing. Bonnis said homelessness is a major challenge and businesses can’t solve this alone. “There should be a duty upon all par- ties, from landlords to retailers to police — of course to city hall — to mitigate some of the problems," he said. Pedestrians walk beside vacant buildings on the Granville strip between Davie and Robson streets. CAITLIN O'FLANAGAN PHOTO