After the unveiling of a 45-foot banner under the Cambie Bridge this morning, a rally was held at noon at Pigeon Park in Vancouver to draw attention to the rampant homelessness of the Downtown Eastside.
A few hundred people marched down Hastings and around the block before taking over an empty lot nearby where they started pitching red tents. The group said they plan to continue putting up red tents on vacant lots downtown to bring as much attention as possible to their cause. Up to 24 people will live in the first tent village around the clock while the 2010 Olympics are in town.
The gathering was peaceful and non-eventful compared to Saturday’s violent Olympic protests on Georgia Street.
The site of the first red tent village, put up by an autonomous Downtown Eastside coalition, is in the shadow of the gentrified and re-opened Woodwards building. The lot, at 58 West Hastings Street, is currently owned by Concord Pacific.
Tags: Olympics Photos, Protest, Vancouver
- Red tents & red banners wrap around LiveCity Downtown
- Fans, Sports, Flags, Pride, Fun – Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is Rockin’
- Stephen Colbert takes Vancouver
- With Glowing Hearts Canada welcomes the world to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics
- Banner hung from Cambie Bridge demands “Homes For All”
- Vancouver Olympics protests turn violent; multiple arrests made
