Shutdown of Tent Cities a Chance to Change Housing Policy, Advocates Say

Outreach workers from The Salvation Army visit with residents of a roadside tent encampment n Toronto, on May 5, 2020. Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER—T.J. Lovell had just 30 minutes to pack up his belongings from the tent city in Oppenheimer Park if he wanted access to a hotel room that he could share with his father.

Lovell, who camped in the tent city for two months, was one of about 300 homeless people who have been living at the park due to a lack of affordable housing before he was moved to a hotel in downtown Vancouver.