Coastal Health braces for Vancouver police to move in on DTES street camps

Vancouver Coastal Health is warning that police action against people living in tents along East Hastings Street will disrupt health services in the coming days or weeks, according to a safety bulletin sent to its staff in the Downtown Eastside.

The notification on Monday evening came hours after a leaked City of Vancouver document outlined plans to clear all street residents and makeshift structures off of East Hastings Street from Dunlevy to Carrall.

Stage 2 of that plan called for a VPD-led clearing of so-called “high risk” encampments that are largely concentrated in the 0-to-400 block of Hastings Street — the blocks highlighted for service disruptions in Coastal Health’s safety bulletin.

Language used in the bulletin to staff suggested that Coastal Health did not expect to not be informed about the exact timing and location of police actions.

“We are anticipating services along Hastings (potentially anywhere from Abbott to Gore) needing to move into some exceptional operations for essential services at points over the next week or two,” the bulletin read. “This may include a formal email/signal notification or it may happen informally and quickly.”