"The city is trying to sweep us under the rug."
That's former Winters Hotel resident Jenn Hansma who says tenants received minimal support following the fire that displaced over 140 and claimed the lives of two people.
It's been nearly a year since the devastating blaze ripped through the Gastown single resident occupancy (SRO) building and many of the former tenants live in unsafe conditions, she explains.
Hansma lost all of her belongings in the fire, including precious heirlooms and her beloved cat. She was immediately moved into the Columbia Hotel, which she says was on fire watch for two months and she lived in fear that another one would break out.
"We all have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and have problems with fire alarms, seeing fires, and smelling smoke. Nightmares," she tells V.I.A.
The former Winters tenant says residents were each given a $500 cheque, a television, and a welcome basket from London Drugs after they lost all of their belongings.
"How are we supposed to start our life over with that?"
Hansma says the residents of the massive SRO were also "like a family" and have been mostly split up into different buildings. On Tuesday, April 11, they will join other community members at 4 p.m. at 122 Water St for a memorial march to mark one year since the tragedy occurred and to honour the lives of the two people who died in the fire, Mary Ann Garlow and Dennis Guay.
The group will march down to the former site of the Winters Hotel where they will attach locks, which will "take longer for the city to remove," Hansma explains.
"They don't care about us," she emphasizes, directing blame at SRO operators Atira Property Management. "Atira has abandoned the tenants and it is quite concerning."
Questions raised about SRO safety at one year mark of the tragic blaze
Vancouver Area of Network Drug Users (VANDU) community organizer Vince Tao believes the city and property management haven't been held accountable and many of the safety issues that resulted in the tragic fire have not been corrected in other buildings.
"We are still waiting for an answer," he tells V.I.A., adding that he's "lost count of the buildings that have burned down" in the DTES.
While tent fires have made headlines of late, the housing advocate says that the reason why so many people live in tents is that "buildings have burned down."
According to another Winters resident named Nicole, there were no alarms when the fire broke out on April 11, 2022. She was able to get her own pets, a cat and a rat, safely out of the building, but added that "if we would have taken any longer, I don't know if we would have made it out."
The sprinklers were also not activated because a fire had broken out only days prior to the devastating blaze and a technician had to turn them back on.
The city told V.I.A. in an emailed statement that it "mourns the many losses from this tragedy" including the loss of former tenants, Garlow and Guay.
"We recognize the hardship all residents went through with the loss of their homes, possessions, and pets," it stated.
The city added that many Vancouverites "donated clothing, food, and care items to support the residents through this crisis, and all displaced residents were provided alternate housing."
Some former tenants, including Hansma, say they never received these care packages and struggle with their current housing situation.
