In an effort to clean up the poverty ridden area set to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, officials have announced plans to place homeless people into housing next summer.
"As many as 300 homeless people, largely from the Downtown Eastside, are to be moved off the streets and into housing next summer as part of a project by the Mental Health Commission of Canada that will have the side effect of helping clear the poverty stricken area before the 2010 Winter Olympics."
"The Globe and Mail has learned that the three-year project is part of a five-city effort first announced in this year's federal budget. There has never been any explicit link to the Olympics, which are expected to bring global attention to the Vancouver region that includes Canada's poorest postal code."
"Some have suggested about 1,547 in Vancouver, while another has suggested there are 2,000 residents in the Downtown Eastside who are not being properly cared for by the system."
"The project is aimed at studying best practices for providing shelter and mental health and addiction treatment. Participants will receive rental subsidies and other help with housing."
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research