Dreaming for Social Justice Equity
Reframing South Vancouver & Marpole Neighbourhoods
Dreaming for Social Justice Equity
The region of South Vancouver is bustling, vibrant and diverse in every way. Made up of four distinct neighbourhoods stretching from 41st Avenue to the Fraser River and Boundary Road to Granville Street, South Vancouver is filled with restaurants and grocery shops, single family homes and apartment buildings, parks and libraries. South Vancouver is full of life and home to both South Vancouver and Marpole Neighbourhood Houses (SVNH and MNH).
With over 130,000 residents, it is the most racialized (80%) community in Vancouver, with newcomers making up 56% of the population. South Vancouver is exceptionally multigenerational and filled with families. There is a diversity of needs for communities living in South Vancouver and these needs often are unmet because of a gap in access to resources, amenities and services. The barriers are wide and include huge geography, transportation, fewer amenities and services, language and cultural barriers, social isolation and un/underemployment.
In 2021 a group of researchers from Simon Fraser University, in partnership with both SVNH and MNH, developed a report exploring the inequities found in the region of South Vancouver, and the impacts it has on the neighbours who live there. The South Vancouver & Marpole
Neighbourhood Equity Report “uncovered gaps in the way resources are allocated and services are delivered in the South Vancouver and Marpole neighbourhoods across a range of prioritized communities and services, including children and youth, mobility and families, healthcare, newcomer services, Indigenous people, LGBTQ2S+ community, and older adults. With respect to these themes, South Vancouver and Marpole neighbourhoods receive less services per capita than the Vancouver average.” The report lit a fire in the bellies of the communities’ neighbours, advocates, business owners and neighbourhood house staff, and in September 2021, the Reframing South Vancouver Initiative was born!
Reframing South Vancouver Initiative 1.0, the equity-seeking quest from September 2021 to March 2024, is a bold project to change the system and address the historic inequities in South Vancouver. The project was funded by WES Mariam Assefa Fund, Vancouver Foundation and Real Estate Foundation of BC. During the past three years, the Reframing Team engaged over 2,000 residents, conducted over 100 community outreach sessions and enrolled over 45 Neighbourhood Advisory Committee members. The engagement was unique, widespread, diverse and responsive to the participants – dialogue was delivered and captured in a variety of ways depending on the demographics, and equity was at the center of the project.
On June 28, 2023, the Reframing Team took the project to the City of Vancouver Council to present their findings, recommendations and asks. 34 community speakers from South Vancouver and Marpole stood before Council to share their diverse stories. These brave and passionate community advocates were from all walks of life, including Indigenous leaders, seniors, high school students, newcomer families, 2SLGBTQIA+ community members, neighbourhood house staff, academic researchers and board members. They captivated Council with their personal and genuine stories as proud residents or allies of South Vancouver and Marpole.
Tomomi Suzuki, a newcomer engaged from the beginning of the initiative, was one of the speakers at the Council meeting. Tomomi grew from a newcomer who struggled to find support for her family, to a neighborhood champion who leads community projects. Last June, she found the courage to stand in front of Council, requesting more funding and support for South Vancouver. “We need to tell the City what we need in the neighborhood,” said Tomomi, “I think part of the reason for less funding in South Vancouver is that not many people know the system well enough to voice out their needs.”
A motion entitled “Addressing Ongoing Inequities by Improving Social Infrastructure and Access to Services Across South Vancouver and Marpole Neighbourhoods” was brought forward by Councillor Christine Boyle at the June 28 meeting. The motion requested Council and City staff to address different areas of inequities faced by South Vancouver and Marpole, including:
- Reviewing the work of the Reframing South Vancouver Initiative and other community engagements and using them to inform City decisions
- Creating a Neighbourhood Action Plan for South Vancouver
- Allocating funding to SVNH and MNH for equitable community engagement
- Allocating funding to address food security challenges and public safety, and increase park and public space amenities for all age groups and abilities
- Improving coordination of and access to warming and cooling spaces during extreme weather events
- Improving public transit and active transportation infrastructure
- Increasing housing options for all incomes
- Supporting Family Places, Vancouver Public Libraries and other community resources
- Requesting provincial support for improved healthcare and expanded childcare services
- Requesting provincial support for the Memorial South Park pond
