B.C. buying Chinatown seniors home to prevent future evictions

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — Several dozen families are feeling immense relief after the province bought a seniors’ home for low-income Chinese elders in East Vancouver.

Tim Lam’s 90-year-old grandfather is one of the many seniors who lives at Grace Seniors Home.

Lam and his family are one of many who spoke out after he says the owner said they would be closing this summer.

“This is ultimately the result that we were advocating for and that was to push to have not only our current senior family members be able to stay at Grace Seniors Home and not have them ripped out of their homes — but also to have a place of care for Chinese seniors within Chinatown for the future. It’s very important to us, for low-income Chinese seniors, to have that space in perpetuity. Because for many of us, we consider the elders the foundation of our community.”

Lam says there would have been a 20 per cent decrease in low-income seniors housing within Chinatown If the sale of the building went through.

He adds it would have also been an extremely isolating and “traumatic” experience for the elders.

“So many of our elders … have called Chinatown, their home for decades … and the vast majority of seniors there … only speak Cantonese. So to be able to be in the neighbourhood that they call home for so many years, to be in the neighbourhood where they have all their friends or connections, but also where they can just go out and speak to any of the shopkeepers, the restaurants, the owners everywhere —  that’s so vital to keeping a vibrant community and to feel connected to your community.”

Related Article: Vancouver non-profit raising funds to support low-income seniors in Chinatown

The province is buying the East Pender building for $17 million, including renovations for over 3 million dollars. It says the facility will begin operating with cultural support in June.

“I think this whole situation is also a reminder of how precarious our seniors are, not just our seniors, but especially non-English speaking seniors. I’m hoping that this can really be a reminder that they need to do their due diligence, that they owe communities a duty of care to not let this happen again.”

Lam adds that the experience has also been a personal victory for his family since his grandfather doesn’t usually speak about these kinds of subjects.

“It takes a lot for him to speak out for a lot of different reasons. He’s only Cantonese speaking, he comes from a low-income background. He was taught to often keep his head down,” Lam explains.

“So for him to stick over his neck, for him to speak out and essentially be along with my mom and myself as whistleblowers for what’s happening — and then for him now to see our advocacy work turned into success … it’s quite special. It’s really special. And I know knowing my grandpa who’s not I will admit, not much of a not a very emotive kind of person, but I know he will feel quite relieved. Not just him, but all the seniors in that building and their families.”