Campbell: Downtown Eastside Needs Smarter Collaboration

0:00Former Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell, now the province's special advisor on the downtown Eastside's crises, says groups there need tighter. Coordination to cut service overlaps and make aid more effective. A pointed last September on a six-month deal worth $92,000 plus $10,000 in expenses, his contract just got extended, pushing. The total cost the $204,000 including $20,000 for expenses. He's been chatting with residents, advocates, and folks on the ground about homelessness, addiction, mental health, and toxic drugs. Campbell knows the neighborhood's way rougher now than during his days as corner in the 1990s or mayor in the early 2000s. Pining it on Fintanel's rise, the Riverview hospital shut down and stalled rental builds back then. Fintanel hits differ from heroin, he explains. No massive brain or body damage from quantity alone, but deadly mixes do the trick. He calls out crumbling, single-room occupancy buildings as unsafe, especially for indigenous

1:03women, and backs the city's paws on new supportive. Housing there while shifting some spots out of entertainment zones. Housing Minister Christine Boyle praises his groundwork and pulling people together for real action. Advocates like Sarah Blithe from the Overdose Prevention Society, Dick is straight talking time with those struggling, hoping it sparks changes though. Some like Scott Archondis, grab about dodged meetings and little visible progress. With Campbell still digging in, the push is on for partners to collaborate smarter, turning talks into lasting fixes for the East Side's toughest. Fights. That's your update from Vancouver News today, powered by AI.