By: Kenzie Mains, SFU Student
Content warning: discussions of prejudice towards unhoused individuals.
You may be aware of the increasing presence of unhoused people on SFU campuses, whether you’ve seen it yourself, viewed discussions online, or heard conversations in person. With discussions about the housing crisis and unhoused folks comes problematic discourse that treats this vulnerable group as a problem rather than people. It’s not fair to put the blame on them for relying on our campus for resources and comfort. Such rhetoric is all too common and compounded by harmful prejudices, emerging from a wider stigma around houselessness in Vancouver. If anything, the rising number of unhoused people at SFU campuses is another sign that our government’s approach to houselessness isn’t working — and prejudice won’t solve this.
There have been a growing number of posts to SFU’s Reddit page citing concerns over unhoused people on campus. Stigmatizing stereotypes that frame unhoused people as “addicts” or violent criminals are degrading. These ideas frame unhoused people as “intrusive” to Burnaby campus. It is dehumanizing to falsely suggest these individuals are all automatically a danger to the students and residents of Burnaby Mountain. We cannot attribute a person’s lack of housing to personality flaws. The causes of houselessness are deeply systemic.
A growing number of the unhoused people on campus are also students. International students may face exacerbated difficulties finding work and housing due their visa conditions that limit working hours to 20 per week. Students moving from out of province also may not have relatives or friends to stay with. Attending courses and having access to study areas makes a campus a desirable location for unhoused students. Unemployment and the high cost of tuition and textbooks are additional factors.
It’s easy to say that unhoused folks should stay in shelters. But this ignores safety and health concerns unhoused people have voiced about existing shelters, and the fact that some are being turned away.
It’s easy to say that unhoused folks should stay in shelters. But this ignores safety and health concerns unhoused people have voiced about existing shelters, and the fact that some are being turned away. Marginalized groups face further barriers: youth, women, and queer people might flee abusive and discriminatory circumstances without being able to find shelter. Indigenous people also face systemic barriers to finding adequate shelter as a result of colonialism. SFU has washrooms and water fountains, couches to sleep on, food, a library, and a warm interior. A secure campus is much safer than other places where people might stay.
Requests for security or the RCMP to forcibly and permanently remove unhoused people are ignorant and privileged. Since mid-2024, the City of Vancouver has routinely and violently evicted unhoused people from CRAB Park despite a court injunction against such action. Forced removal doesn’t solve houselessness. Ask yourself, when the unhoused are displaced, where do they go? While the city reportedly offered shelter to residents, the residents cited concerns about shelter adequacy, especially around safety.
The experience unhoused people have with police and security is dehumanizing and traumatic, as if the insults hurled at them by others weren’t enough. Street sweeps are known to result in the loss of property, with belongings either being sent to a landfill, or stolen by police and others. Eviction isn’t a solution. Instead, the crisis of unaffordable housing and houselessness must be treated as such.
The issue spans beyond SFU’s scope and would require great action from all levels of government to address. Even so, we might alleviate the burden of houselessness for some by combating harmful discourse and ensuring adequate support is available. For example, access to food supports could be greatly expanded to meet need and affordability for struggling students. The university could also provide support for textbook costs for students. The failure of Vancouver’s street sweep policies should make it clear that eviction won’t solve the houselessness crisis. Let’s not bring this practice to SFU campuses.
