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Tent cities that have sprung up in Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria, and Nanaimo in recent years have something in common: the guiding hand of Surrey-based Alliance Against Displacement.

The roots of DisconTent City in Nanaimo illustrate the role of the Alliance, an advocacy organization formed in 2013 that describes itself as “anti-capitalist, anti-colonial.”

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In March, a group of people started to live in tents on the lawn of Nanaimo City Hall to call attention to homelessness. They were ordered to leave and they eventually did.

Listen Chen, an organizer with Alliance Against Displacement, recalled what happened next.

“We saw that from the mainland and got in touch with some of the people on the ground in Nanaimo and we said: ‘These are our experiences organizing tent cities — would you like some help? Are you interested in starting a more long-term tent city that is not just protesting conditions, but also offering a stable, safe place for homeless people to find community?’