IndigenousTwo Indigenous-led organizations say a number of drop-in services for unhoused Vancouver residents in the Downtown Eastside are at risk of scaling back or shutting down.Aboriginal Front Door Society and Watari will lose funding Sept. 30, the organizations sayEdzi’u Loverin · CBC News · Posted: Aug 25, 2025 4:28 PM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours agoChris Livingstone says Aboriginal Front Door Society’s storage and food programs, which cost over $100,000 per month to run, provide service to around 800 people who are unhoused in the Downtown Eastside, daily. (Mike Zimmer/CBC )Two Indigenous-led organizations say a number of drop-in services for unhoused Vancouver residents in the Downtown Eastside are at risk of scaling back or shutting down.Aboriginal Front Door Society (AFDS) and Watari Counselling and Support Services expanded their drop-in services with provincial funding when the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Police Department began a decampment process of East Hastings Street in 2022.But now, the City of Vancouver has told them money is no longer available for the program.”If this all stops, then it almost feels like a betrayal,” said AFDS executive director Chris Livingstone.”Our goodwill is going to drop once we have to reduce service.”AFDS provides around 700 bins where unhoused clients can safely store their belongings and also hands out over a thousand cups of coffee and hundreds of meals every day. The storage and food programs cost $100,000 a month to run, said Livingstone.”If they don’t have the spot, then they’re not going to be able to go to welfare appointments, not going to be able to make it to a doctor, not going to be able to go to a shelter because they’re protecting their belongings,” said Livingstone.WATCH | Storage program for unhoused clients at risk: Indigenous led storage program for unhoused Vancouver DTES residents at risk Despite months of advocacy, Aboriginal Front Door Society says a number of its vital programs for unhoused people in the DTES are at risk. The organization says provincial funding, administered by the City of Vancouver, is drying up.Edward Yochim, a storage program participant, said he used to have to carry 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of camping supplies on his back before access to the program.”Nothing can do what this place does, like just for all the services it’s in a league of its own,” he said.”Like imagine all these people if this wasn’t here, this is gonna be a big mess down here.”Aboriginal Front Door Society is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and is run by six full-time employees and up to 50 volunteers.Meant to be temporary, says cityThe City of Vancouver said in a March 21 letter to Livingstone that funding for the program was through a partnership with BC Housing and was intended to be temporary “to support the delivery of urgently needed drop-in social services supports” at the time of the encampment.”The funding agreement with BC Housing was extended in 2023 and again in 2024, but a longer-term funding source has not been identified,” said the City of Vancouver in the letter.Watari Counselling and Support Services received a similar notice in March, says executive director Heather Scarff.Scarff said Watari opened a new site as a result of the 2022 funding from the province and she never thought the wellness centre and food hub was meant to be temporary.”We had to do massive renovations to even start beginning to provide programs and services there … so I find it puzzling that after we did all of that work and have that place running so smoothly, that it’s all just going to come to an end now,” said Scarff.The hub acts as a space for dozens of community partnerships, including two health clinics in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health, a Downtown Community Heath partnership, as well as social services and Downtown Community Court.Heather Scarff (left) is pictured with team members and community at Watari’s Wellness Centre and Food Hub, at 320 Alexander St. in Vancouver. (Watari Counselling and Support Services)Watari provides 3,500 meals a month to Indigenous seniors, people in single-room occupancy (SRO) units in the Downtown Eastside and veterans that live in the area with mobility issues, said Scarff.United Way and Aboriginal Front Door Society also use the commercial kitchen at the hub to provide their services.”Running to full capacity, we were just under $200,000 a month, so it’s a big chunk of money to run that centre with the commercial kitchen and all the services that come out of there and all the wellness services that we provide,” said Scarff.”It’s really disheartening to our staff, to our volunteers, to our peers, and also to the community members …. It’s a sad situation all around.”Funding ends Sept. 30A spokesperson for the City of Vancouver said in a statement it continues to discuss the urgent need for funding for the Aboriginal Front Door Society’s storage service with the provincial government.Both Livingstone and Scarff say they’ve sent letters to B.C.’s housing ministry to advocate for each of their programs.”I have reached out to [Housing Minister Christine Boyle] as well; I sent her all the support letters. I sent her our stats of services and the services we provide, and I haven’t heard back,” said Scarff.”So we’re just kind of in limbo right now.”Funding for the two organizations is expected to end Sept. 30.”Being an Aboriginal leader of Watari Counselling and Support Services, that doesn’t sit well with me, especially with that date being Truth and Reconciliation Day,” said Scarff.A spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said in a statement that Watari and Aboriginal Front Door Society were up for funding review and the province aims to have more information to share soon.ABOUT THE AUTHOREdzi’u Loverin is graduate of CBC’s Indigenous Pathways Program and has reported in Vancouver and Winnipeg since 2024. Edzi’u is a member of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and a registered member of the Tahltan Nation, but is currently based in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ territories. You can email Edzi’u at edziu.loverin@cbc.ca with story ideas.
2 Indigenous-led programs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside face provincial funding cut
