Abbotsford – Letter of Support – Abby DWS – Protest Encampment at Abby City Hall – Abbotsford Drug War Survivors – Community Impact Statement:
Our friends and colleagues have spent their summer literally on the
steps of Abbotsford City Hall, protesting the numerous decampments
happening around town, and across the province. This protest camp
stands in solidarity, against decamping efforts across the province,
with various other community organizations which are a part of our
provincial Coalition of Organizations by & for PWUD, including
Vancouver’s DTES OUR STREETS movement.
The decampments that spurred this action include the longstanding
camp on Gladys Ave, across from the Salvation Army, and multiple
camps along Highway #1. These have been escalating since plans for
the expansion of the highway began. Now after nearly 3 months of
peaceful protest the City has given their notice to the residents of
this camp that they must remove their tents and belongings by Monday
Sept 23 or face forced removal based on allegations of trespassing.
The camp is set up on public land, and has been home to nearly 60
residents living amongst over 50 tents since Saturday June 1st when
they moved from their initial protest camp space at Babich park. This
initial phase of this protest featured near-violent counter-protests
from NYMBYs(“Not In My Backyard” folks). Neighbours and other
residents of Abbotsford appeared in opposition of this peaceful
protest, in all of their ignorant glory, to harass our friends –
individuals in pursuit of justice for all Candaians being victimized
by this housing crisis. People were threatened verbally and some
tents were vandalized.
The individuals leading the activism are not new to this type of
pressure from city officials nor hateful constituents. These lived
experience experts have been at the forefront of housing advocacy in
Abbotsford for over a decade. This same group [Abbotsford Drug War
Survivors] once took the City of Abbotsford to court after being
decamped in a violent event 10 years ago that included filling their
tents with pepper spray and spraying chicken manure on their personal
belongings.
Today’s camp is the result of this decade of inaction and a housing
crisis that worsens every day. These individuals have lived in
unimaginable poverty, all whilst fighting against these broken
systems which keep them oppressed. Many of them tell harrowing
stories of this cycle of decamping – notoriously dubbed “The
Abbotsford Shuffle.”
This is not an issue which only affects precariously housed and
unhoused folks in our communities. Today’s housing crisis has created
a massive burden throughout our entire housing market. This is
something that most citizens are suffering through right now. Young
families everywhere are being burned by a greedy and overburdened
rental market. These folks are bravely putting their foot down for
the greater cause, to get the attention of BC Housing and other
relevant governing bodies to say: Enough is enough! We need real
solutions NOW. Nothing has changed in a decade since the last time
they took the city to court; in fact, the situation has only gotten
worse.
Government inaction on this key issue is killing people; a 13 year
old girl died in one of these camps just a few weeks ago. In light of
the ever-worsening toxic drug supply crisis, this specific camp has
been run incredibly carefully with strong will and intention. There
are resources and supports set up to prevent toxic drug poisonings
such as a safe consumption space (SCS), and a consistent flow of
experienced peer support workers. Our very own Mountainside Harm
Reduction Society’s FTIR drug checking program has been supporting
the residents of this camp as well.
This is a cause more people should be getting behind, and we all need
to let the City of Abbotsford know that there is no excuse great
enough to stymie this cause today. The residents of this camp,
through great mental and physical struggle have been keeping their
interpersonal issues under control in service of the greater good;
the supported and professional nature in which this camp has been run
has greatly mitigated street-trauma related issues. It is entirely a
peaceful protest on public land. The camp has been kept clean and
organized. We condemn in the strongest possible terms any
allegations of trespassing or that the camp is dirty or a threat to
public health.