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Unfortunately, over the last six months, the SBIA has only seen conditions worsen for both park residents and business members operating next to or near the park. The death that occurred in the park on Jan. 1 feels like a tragic tipping point and the SBIA feels a responsibility to raise its concerns on behalf of its members with city and parks board officials, calling for support to prioritize housing immediately.

The Strathcona Safety team works to support over 800 SBIA members. This includes operating a two-person safety team seven days a week, eight hours a day, who monitor 44 city square blocks across seven sub-districts and respond to business member needs and safety concerns.

From July 2019 to January 2020, the SBIA safety team reported that 46.9 per cent of their time was spent in the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District, which includes Oppenheimer Park, resulting in 2,704 unique reports. That is 2.8 times more than any other sub-district the SBIA monitors and a five-per-cent jump from the first half of 2019 when the initial survey results were reported.

Our safety team members take every precaution to ensure their own safety is prioritized so they can address the needs and concerns of SBIA members. Given recent activity in Oppenheimer, the SBIA can no longer direct its safety team to walk through or even along the perimeter of the park, leaving businesses surrounding the park more vulnerable.

The SBIA has also noted a significant increase in trash and debris along the perimeter of the park. Micro-cleaners from Strathcona-based Mission Possible, a social enterprise that employs individuals who face barriers to traditional employment, spend up to 16 hours each week cleaning the Oppenheimer area. From in and around the park, on average, Mission Possible picks up 7.7 needles per hour and fills 12 large garbage bags of debris each week.