Anticipating overflow.

Today’s Globe and Mail ran an article in its British Columbia section outlining the intentions of the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) to deal with an influx of young people to the games in 2010. Their goals are to provide a reasonable number of temporary ‘hostel’ type accommodation in order to avoid burdening the existing low income housing and shelters in the city. The organizing committee released a call for hostel proposals Friday. An excerpt from the article, VANOC executive describes:

Donna Wilson, VANOC executive vice-president for people and sustainability, said the hostels will exist as an accommodation safety net to ensure that existing low-income housing and shelters for the homeless are not affected by a Games-time influx of visitors without an arranged place to stay.

Ms. Wilson said VANOC wants to avoid what happened in Salt Lake City during the 2002 Olympics when Games planners, unprepared for hundreds of young people who flocked to the city, wound up housing them in an abandoned mattress factory.

VANOC is seeking an operator or group of operators to be responsible for the temporary accommodation. It will be open from November 15 to March 15 and VANOC is hoping it to be run in a not for profit manner- with VANOC tossing in a $250,000 to help with upgrades. The idea is that operators of existing shelters for the homeless will refer those looking for accommodation during the games to one of the temporary Olympic hostels.

I think we can all agree that there will be a large influx of visitors to the city over the games. VANOC has come under criticism by organizations in the DTES for affecting their neighborhood adversely and not living up to commitments made in the 2010 Bid Book. This proposal for temporary hostel units over the games in the hope of not burdening the already stretched shelter situation in the city has not been openly toted as an act of ‘making good’, but it is a step in the right direction.

Interestingly, these units are temporary. After the games end and the visitors leave, these structures will just become another abandoned building somewhere in the city- although likely in the DTES.

For a games that prides itself on being sustainable, this sure does not look as though it will be with absolutely no mention of what will be done with this accommodation following the games. This is the initial stages of planning for this undertaking, so perhaps this issue will emerge later, but the tone of the proposal does not give any indication that the structures are for the long term.

Perhaps if VANOC really wanted to make an impression on the residents of the city, combat criticisms, and be a model games for the world, they could instead build permanent hostel type accommodations that could then be converted after the games to much needed shelter units or social housing.

Olympic-sized coverage

With the 2010 games looming in a little over eight months, there is much still left to be done and the spotlight on Vancouver will only grow as it nears. Vancouver will not only see an influx of spectators, athletes, and officials but also be flooded by press and media from all over the world.

Media coverage can be a either a positive or negative thing, depending on the nature of the message and the intentions of the writer. Coverage of the DTES draws from both sides- those that agree the coverage is needed to build awareness and garner help, and those that criticize for trivializing the issues and residents. Some critics even go so far to say that coverage of the DTES is exploitative and it marginalizes and demeans the issues and residents even further when the coverage focuses specifically on the dark side of the DTES.

The DTES is often portrayed in the media negatively- highlighting what is viewed as the worst issues and occurrences of the area. See the ending of this article for, in my opinion, an example of grossly overstating the issue and demeaning those in the area.

This type of reporting is what I believe contributes to perpetuating the stereotype of the DTES and its residents. In fact, it has been noted that the majority of those residents are of low income, and not drug addicts as the media tends to focus on.

By continuing to label the area as one infested with drug addicts and those with mental health problems, this only in turn hurts the area even further. Readers, visitors, and citizens of Vancouver alike focus on these negative aspects instead of focusing on the positive things in the area- the numerous organizations that provide services and support, the many community events to raise awareness and support, and the generous people who give their time to make a difference.

The Tyee, an independent and alternative news publication, consulted with residents of the DTES, journalists who have previously covered the neighbourhood, and academics who “study power relationships between news media and those who fall under its scrutiny” to develop a list of guidelines for individuals covering the DTES. These are largely common sense- knowing the area, recognizing the reporting will have real life consequences, and reporting respectfully. However, these type of things are not always respected in favor of writing a good story.

I personally feel things such as this are particularly important as the City of Vancouver welcomes thousands of media personnel for arguably the largest sporting event on the planet. Lets just hope that the coverage that is done is in a respectful manner and in a tone that looks forward to solutions, rather than continue to label.