vancouver & homeless
 

IS this still a major problem? just read something about it on line at a hotel review site.

Any recommendations for areas to stay in or areas to avoid.

thanks

There is a problem with sheltering the homeless in one (relatively) small section of downtown Vancouver.It is being dealt with more seriously now that it is count-down to the OLympics, but it is a very difficult issue as anyone who has worked with the homeless will tell you!

However, most major hotels are well out of the Mission area and I will let some Van folks be more specific.

Have a great time in this beautiful city!

&quot;<i>The poor you will always have with you</i>&quot;-JC

You bet it's a problem. It's not just poor, it's mentally ill people the government so brilliantly dumped out to fend for themselves. I don't understand why this has become acceptable in Canada.

how about in victoria? is it an issue there also?

Come on Vancouverites: this city is not all about that one strip beyond Gastown...lets not leave this poster (and others reading this thread) with the idea that Vancouver is unsafe with no good hotels!

I, too, have a social conscience and ease it somewhat by working with the Out of the Cold Programme in my home city, Toronto.

That doesn't mean we should leave potential visitors with the idea that Van is plagued!

It depends on where you are coming from. I live in San Francisco, and honestly I haven't even noticed the homeless in Vancouver :) Yeah, there are some, non-aggressive, just let them be!

Victoria has the same problem.

I can't imagine any large city in the world that doesn't have homeless people. That shouldn't stop anyone from travelling.

It won't keep us from coming. just curious where we should find a hotel. or maybe easier to tell us where to avoid staying?

thanks

The homeless people like to stand on intersections where there are a lot of pedestrians, and beg for money by just standing there with an empty hat or cup in their hand. Even the nicest areas downtown have homeless people walking by at least once per day.

... and I guess what I mean to suggest is, this shouldn't prevent you from staying in a particular hotel, as even the nicest hotels in Vancouver aren't exempt from glimpses of Vancouver's poverty.

There is no real area I would avoid staying in for reasons of homelessness, because there are no real hotels in areas (like Carroll and Hastings) where homeless people gather in masses.

I personally like areas in Vancouver in the West End, along Robson Street, and close to False Creek/English Bay. These are my favourite areas because they're vibrant, lively and fun.

Hotels closer to Canada Place are more business like and are surrounded by office towers.

Hotels close to Stanley Park would also be my top pick.

the Sylvia at English Bay is always good value in the West End and near Stanley Park
cheers
Andrewdavid

Still a major problem. I work downtown and am constantly asked for money, some times quite aggressively by mentally ill people. All cities do have their problems, but Vancouver is notably one of the worst in North America. I have been to many cities in North America and have never seen a situation as bad as Vancouver. It is not just in one area of downtown, the mentally ill and the poor walk all over the place looking for empty bottles and/or begging or just plain old wandering about. The city is doing next to nothing about it. Both my husband and I have been assaulted, during daylight hours, in separate incidents involving street people.

Do you think it will get any better closer to the olympics?

Is victoria as bad?

We were in Vancouver last summer and I have to say that my husband and I were both surprised (to say the least) at the homeless population. We're city-dwellers ourselves, and have been to plenty of other big cities, and Vancouver was definitely the worst, in terms of the aggressiveness of the homeless. We didn't know if they were drug addicts, mentally ill, or both, but were definitely uneasy a lot of the time. And not just in Gastown, although reeking of urine (the sidewalks and just general atmosphere) seemed to be unique to that neighborhood.

...However, as far as recommendations, we stayed at the Wedgewood which was just gorgeous.

Joanel, IF you are from Mayberry, then Vancouver will take some getting used to, but IF you are used to any other large city on the continent in any way, Vancouver will be a piece of cake.

NORMAL people walk the streets of Vancouver at all hours of the night, moreso than in any other large city I've ever seen.

There isn't a Vancouver hotel you could land online through reputable channels that I would have any fear of staying at. I live 150 miles from Vancouver and go there 10-25 times a year.

My best advice is to get good rates via Priceline.com for the &quot;downtown&quot; area and take whatever you get at a good rate.

Downtown Vancouver is so relatively compact that convenience is hard to miss.

IF you want me to hint at an area to avoid, the &quot;downtown east side&quot; is it.

&quot;Gastown&quot; isn't far from there... and there just aren't many hotels you'd likely get which are IN the less-desirable area.

If you are looking at an online map, the intersection of &quot;East Hastings&quot; and &quot;Main&quot; street is the epicenter of the bad area... and I wouldn't hesitate to walk right through that intersection at 3:00am.

Don't worry about it on the grand scale.

I live in the actual centre of Vancouver and work downtown five days a week, and I can assure you that although the downtown eastside/gastown areas are probably the absolute worst for homeless/drug addicted/mentally ill people, these people are all over downtown. I have been to New York, various parts of California and many other third world countries and I can honestly say that I am ashamed of my own city in this regard. The downtrodden venture to the &quot;tourist&quot; areas in an attempt to panhandle. For obvious reasons, staying in 'their' areas are not financially rewarding. I felt safer in New York at 11pm than I do in my own city. My husband walks me to the bus stop every morning for just this reason.

I just got back from Van. Great City! The homeless are non-aggressive compared to US Eastern cities. They are concentrated in one area of East Van near Chinatown. I stayed at Buchan Hotel in west end. Great location and a nice simple quiet hotel with very helpful staff. Basic rooms so don't expect luxury but very adequate and close to Denman/Robson restaurants, Stanley Park, Sunset Beach. Will use it again.