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CRAB Park residents hunker down as extreme winter weather blankets camp

Unhoused people can be found living in tents in many parts of Vancouver. At CRAB Park on the waterfront near the Downtown Eastside, about 20 people are doing what they can to survive an especially cold spell.

About 20 people are living in tents and makeshift structures amid a cold snap and snowfall

Rafferty Baker · CBC News ·
At least a dozen tents and makeshift structures are pictured covered in snow under deciduous trees.
CRAB Park tent city is pictured with many of the tents covered in snow on the shortest day of the year, Dec. 21, 2022, during an extreme cold snap in Vancouver. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

It's –8 C at Vancouver's CRAB Park tent city, and David Bradbury is using a broom to clear snow off the roof of the kitchen tent.

Bradbury has been living at the park for about nine months. His tent is set up right next to the kitchen.

He has assumed the role of camp cook, initially proving himself — by his account — with regular French toast breakfasts for as many as 50 people some mornings.

Now, there are about 20 people regularly living on site, and the tents and make-shift structures are covered with a thick blanket of snow.

David Bradbury uses a broom to clear snow of the kitchen tent at CRAB Park's tent city.
David Bradbury uses a broom to clear snow of the kitchen tent at CRAB Park's tent city in Vancouver, on Dec. 21. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

With sustained temperatures well below freezing, Bradbury is trying to help keep people warm by cooking soups and broths, or whatever he can prepare with the ingredients donated by the broader community.

"Well it's pretty tough here right now — we have no electricity. It's hard to get deliveries in here from people who like to help out," he said on Wednesday, the shortest day of the year.

A man's silhouette is seen bent over in a doorway of a tent. In front of him is a shelf full of canned goods and several fire extinguishers on the ground.
David Bradbury checks fire extinguishers in the kitchen tent at the CRAB Park tent city. The kitchen is stocked with food donated to the camp residents. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

"You have to all bundle together and we're all on battery-operated lights and propane stoves so we can have heat and cook and eat," said Bradbury. "So yeah, it's pretty rough right now."

No electricity

In January, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled that eviction notices from the Vancouver Park Board weren't adequately justified and residents in the camp could stay.

The Park Board had been providing electricity. A recent Vancouver Sun story detailed how the camp relied on a single outlet, with a network of extension cords supplying power.

However, Bradbury said that power had been cut off a week or two ago, leaving residents in the dark during the most extreme winter conditions they've experienced at CRAB Park.

"You don't cut off power, for people in need, in the freezing cold," he said.

"It's freezing cold, and if you don't have the basic needs, you're going to die."

Fiona York, who works as a volunteer advocate for the camp residents, said the Park Board indicated it was working on restoring power.

A woman wearing glasses is photographed looking directly at the camera. She has bangs, a winter jacket and the sun is shining on her face and the out-of-focus background.
Fiona York works as a volunteer advocate for the residents at the CRAB Park tent city. She's calling for donations of food, winter clothing, and anything the unhoused members of the CRAB Park community could use to survive the extreme winter weather. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

In an email statement, the Park Board said electricians with the city had discovered "the power transformer and circuit breaker supplying power to the electrical outlet at CRAB Park had been vandalized.

"Someone attempted to bypass the circuit breaker resulting in major and potentially life-threatening electrical hazards," the statement reads. 

The Park Board said they are working on repairs.

Camp residents relying on donations

York said residents rely on support from donors, and most shelters are full this time of year, leaving them nowhere else to go to stay warm.

"People need to have access to the sheltering space here," said York, adding that she thinks about 40 people are using the camp, though many come and go.

She's involved in organizing a fundraiser online called "Christmas for CRAB Park Tent City," but York also encourages people to drop off donations, including blankets, tarps, sleeping bags and cold weather gear at CRAB Park.

Meanwhile, Bradbury and his fellow tent city residents are helping each other out, swapping tips for how to insulate tents with the resources they can muster.

A man is pictured with a moustache and unshaven face, smiling. He's wearing a paperboy style hat and hooded sweatshirt, and snow is sticking to his clothes.
David Bradbury, who has lived at the CRAB Park tent city for about nine months, says the camp's residents are looking out for each other as bitter winter weather poses challenges. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

"We just check and make sure everybody's OK, and where everyone gathers in the warm-up tent to stay warm and dry, we make sure everybody's fed and full, and no cuts and bruises, stuff like that," he said.

"We just take care of each other, like family, you know?" 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rafferty Baker

Video journalist

Rafferty Baker is a video journalist with CBC News, based in Vancouver, as well as a writer and producer of the CBC podcast series, Pressure Cooker. You can find his stories on CBC Radio, television, and online at cbc.ca/bc.

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