A Grassroots Voice for Healthier Neighbourhoods

“There had never been anything so drastic as the heat dome of 2021. Afterwards, I started to hear that a lot of the calls that were made were coming from southeast Vancouver, a lot of calls to ambulances.”

It took time to determine its full impact but Jeannie Furmanek would learn that many people were affected by that summer’s deadly heat wave.

“I heard one-on-one from many folks that they did not realize they were having extreme heat exhaustion.  They thought they were just coming down with the flu.”

Furmanek manages various programs for seniors at the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, a non-profit organization that provides services in an area of Vancouver that stretches from the Fraser river north to 41^st Avenue and from Main street to Boundary road.

The heat wave in the summer of 2021 would claim the lives of more than 600 people in B.C. and would serve as a wakeup call for the province and the city.

“It really was a catalyst for looking at how climate change was impacting our residents in southeast Vancouver in an inequitable way.”

So, when a heat wave struck the next year in the summer of 2022, Vancouver was better prepared. Much of that support was led by community-based organizations because of their close relationship with vulnerable residents.

“There was a real recognition that a lot of the grassroots, neighbourhood houses and non-profits were well situated to be doing a lot of this work.”

Across the city cooling kits were distributed to residents, misting stations set up and information workshops delivered on the health effects of extreme heat.

In southeast Vancouver, a highly racialized area, workshops were offered in multiple languages including Punjabi, Vietnamese, Cantonese and Mandarin.  However, organizers realized that many people who either lived alone or had problems accessing transportation weren’t coming to the Neighbourhood House.  So, the outreach programs moved further into the community.

“Because the heat dome had such a negative impact especially on seniors, we decided to focus our efforts on trying to build relationships with seniors’ residential buildings,” adds Furmanek.

As a result, volunteers now make wellness calls to check on seniors during periods of extreme heat, and neighbours contact each other as well.

A key ally for Neighbourhood Houses has been support from the city of Vancouver through its Resilient Neighbourhoods program.

Tina Erhart, a sustainability specialist with the city says that during crises people go to the places and people they know and trust.

“Since 2021, this program has developed the capacity of organizations to support their communities during extreme heat, wildfire smoke, and other hazards, and share experiences and knowledge across neighbourhoods.”

The program is one of many aimed at making Vancouver the greenest city by cutting local carbon emissions in half by 2030.   

The Greenest City Grants program has funded over 50 projects reaching more than 47,000 people since 2016. Projects range from teaching immigrant and newcomer households on how to improve their home energy systems and save money by reducing energy use to a project involving thousands of high school students with climate justice projects in their communities. (See Making a Difference: Climate Action by Students and Teachers for more details in this issue of the Reader.)

A smaller grants stream in partnership with the Vancouver Foundation has funded over 1,200 resident-led projects. Projects this year include distributing emergency preparedness kits, organizing beach cleanups, and stewarding local nature-based climate solutions, such as pollinator meadows.

“Addressing climate change in Vancouver depends on us all, and we all need to use the abilities, tools and skills we have to make a difference. Community actors can play an important role in using their voices to influence systems change, spreading awareness about climate causes and solutions, and scaling up actions to reduce carbon pollution and prepare for climate impacts,” says Erhart.

In addition, the city of Vancouver funds a program to promote walking, biking, rolling (wheelchair, skateboard or scooter) and transit use.

On October 5 one of its funding recipients, Hub Cycling, took its bicycling know how to a Punjabi community in south Vancouver where they led people on a group bike ride through neighbourhoods.

“One of the purposes was to find ways to reach out to underserved communities to better understand their needs and enable them to adopt active transportation,” explains Navdeep Chhina, director of campaigns and inclusion for the 3,000 member Hub Cycling.

“We try to educate people that if your trip is between 3 to 5 kilometres there’s always the chance you can do that trip by walking, cycling, rolling or taking transit.”

Chhina says response has been so positive that Hub Cycling hopes to stage more events in other underserved areas including indigenous urban communities.

“The power of people coming together in a community shows others that they care for them, want to engage in their environment and encourages them to make behaviour changes to different modes of transportation like biking and walking.”

Hub Cycling, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House and many other organizations are helping to build healthier, more resilient communities especially when the city of Vancouver has limited resources.  Tina Erhart credits non-profits and charities for leading important climate actions and programs across the city.

“As climate impacts continue to intensify in Vancouver, the most relevant and impactful ways for residents to support climate action are to use their voice to influence change in governments, businesses, and other institutions, to get informed about climate solutions and discuss these with friends and family, and to take and scale up daily actions to reduce carbon pollution and prepare for local impacts.”

The voice of residents does matter according to Jeannie Furmanek of South Vancouver Neighbourhood House. She believes there is power in a neighbourhood.

“Every neighbourhood is very unique and has different challenges when it comes to climate change and climate change emergencies. Policy makers can’t necessarily differentiate between all the unique needs and variables between these communities but people who live within them can. So, there is a story to be told there.”