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Renovation of the 16 SRO hotels purchased by the British Columbia government last year to provide livable, clean, well-supervised socially responsible accommodation for members of our most indigent and vulnerable Downtown Eastside population continues apace in 2009.
The folks at Vancouver Housing Update report that …
“The renovations being made to the SROs represent major upgrades to the buildings. Where possible, the renovations are energy efficient: high-performance windows, low-energy lighting systems, and efficient ventilation and heating systems are being installed; exterior walls and roofs are being insulated. Mould, asbestos, lead paint, PCBs, and other recognized hazardous materials are being eradicated from the buildings and moisture resistant drywall which inhibits mould is being added to all sites where finishes are being replaced. With the removal of hazardous materials, the building envelope repair, and the new ventilation systems, the buildings will offer a greatly improved environment for tenants.”
To eradicate a terrible bed bug infestation problem that plagues the Downtown Eastside, those engaged in the renovation of the government-
owned SROs have set about to employ diatomaceous earth in an effort to control bedbug infestations. Diatomaceous earth is a soft rock that crumbles easily into a fine powder. The substance is being placed into the building wall cavities of each of the 16 SROs. When bedbugs crawl across it, they pick up traces of the powder, absorbing liquids from the host’s exoskeleton, which causes the bedbug to dehydrate and expire.
Eighteen of the city’s most experienced non-profit groups who work to deliver housing, shelter and support services to those in greatest need, and who currently act as community partners operating SROs across the Lower Mainland — delivering Outreach programmes to the homeless, and / or provide emergency shelter across Metro Vancouver — have been assigned the responsibility to act as operating partners for the SROs currently being renovated and which, in most cases, are expected to open later this year.
