Identity in Crisis...

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about (if you think about) East Vancouver?

Almost 3 years ago, as my wife and I frantically searched for a house big enough to accommodate our growing family without breaking the bank, our realtor mentioned East Vancouver. We were moving from the North Shore as it was obvious we wouldn't be able to afford a bigger place there and we were considering going as far east as Cloverdale. We looked in Burnaby, New Westminster, the Coquitlams and even Langley. But East Van???

Like many people, the image that came to mind for us back then was one largely created by what we'd seen, heard and read about in the news. Aside from the annual trip to the PNE, our East Vancouver experience was somewhat limited and our impression of the community was unfortunately shaped by a stigma perpetuated by the media, poor political representation and, in many cases the communities own residents. How many people can conjure up an image of East Vancouver that doesn't include the Downtown Eastside? Needless to say we had our reservations.

Since moving here and become active members of our new community we have realized just how wrong this negative perception of East Vancouver really is. It is extremely unfortunate that a large and otherwise vibrant, culturally diverse and lively community must carry the label provided by a very, very small (geographically speaking) part of it. The challenges of homelessness, drug abuse, prostitution and so on that plague the DTES (and beyond) are undeniably real and they certainly need to be addressed and dealt with in a way that works for everyone. But it is important to understand that these problems are not (nor should they be considered) exclusive to our community and therefor they should not be used as the stick by which to measure the entire community of East Vancouver.

Forget the media for a second, the problem is that our own elected officials and, in many cases residents often focus too much of their efforts on the worst parts of our community forgetting that there is so much more to East Vancouver than homelessness, drug abuse, prostitution and so on.


Not long after moving in I read an article in the Vancouver Courier outlining the history of Hastings-Sunrise and its important part in the shaping of Vancouver as we know it. I know that I've talked about this before but it's certainly worth repeating some of the proud historical achievements of a community now famous for what it doesn't have. Hastings, formally New Brighton has laid claim to many Vancouver firsts such as the first road, wharf, post office, museum, sub-division and hotel. Our community was even the first one in the area to have a telephone. In the latter part of the 1800's, Hastings played a critical role in transportation as stage coaches made their way from the capital of New Westminster to New Brighton to catch the ferry to Stamps Mill and to the logging operations at Moodyville (now North Vancouver). How can one not be impressed (and perhaps a little bit surprised) but such a proud history. Learning of my communities past played a large part in my desire to learn and do more but at the same time, I am often curious and somewhat disappointed that so many of my neighbors seem unaware of this past or have otherwise chosen to forget about it.

Recently I was talking with a person much more familiar with the area than I am and after our conversation I believe that I have a greater understanding of the community and the East Vancouver identity crisis. Or at least one possible explanation for it. According to this person a lot of the challenges that we face today (in respect to who we are and our place within this city) can be traced back to those early days at New Brighton. Although our community was the one to get the ball rolling for what would eventually become Vancouver, for whatever reason we weren't able to hold onto that ball and it rolled away. Somehow, a city that was supposed to take shape on our shores moved west leaving what would later become East Vancouver, in its shadow.


Today we are recognized by the outside world as the community surrounding the DTES or, more accurately from the outside all of East Van is the DTES. This identity is unfortunately legitimized by our own elected representatives like NDP MP Libby Davies who despite her obligation to the entire community, can't seem to pull her head out of the very small part of it that is the DTES. That's the look from the outside anyway.

From the inside, our identity goes back to our being denied right to the city itself. Ever since we have chosen to describe ourselves by all of the things that we are not or that we don't have. We are not the West End, we're not as affluent, we don't get as much money, our services aren't as good, we're forgotten, Hastings Park isn't Stanley Park, the government(s) ignore us... you get the picture. At least this is the impression that I have after attending a few meetings in the community, talking to people and listening to other people talk. We want so badly to be recognized like the Vancouver west of Main street that we fail to see the beauty within our own back yards, or at least the potential for beauty there. Worse, in our efforts to be more like them we (or some of us anyway) are actually working to destroy some of the great institutions still alive that helped create us in the first place and that continue to remind outsiders that there is a reason to visit East Vancouver. There is more to us than the DTES. That we are home to Hastings Park race track and the PNE is something that should be celebrated (I'll save them for another post I think).


Of course I am new to the community and the lens through which I view it hasn't yet become clouded over by visions of private enterprises setting up shop, attracting visitors that spend money here and making a little money of their own in the process. I love this community and couldn't be happier about the decision that we made to become a part of it. While at times its easy to get bogged down by the false identity of East Vancouver and forget about our significance to all communities surrounding us I do believe that the times are-a-changin and we can rediscover our proud past and rightful place in the future of the City of Vancouver. But first we have to work on our own views of ourselves. We need to start celebrating all that we have along with the things that we don't have, recognizing that these are the things that make us unique. We need to participate in creating and maintaining a vibrant community that is safe and that people want to visit and we need to celebrate the private and public partnerships that help make us strong. We need to elect federal, provincial and municipal representatives that recognize all parts of our community and not just the aspects that further their own agenda's. The problems of the DTES will be fixed when they are made a part of a greater community plan and not as long as they are the only part of the plan.


Finally, we need to tell other people what we have. We need to encourage people to visit, move here, set up shop, do business here. We need to encourage growth and move on. The city may have passed us by, but where would it be without us?