Tag: Downtown Eastside

Thank you for making this an amazing Christmas!

A message from Amanda Burrows, Executive Director: I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to you—our community of values-aligned supporters—for joining us this Christmas to make an impact on the Downtown Eastside. I’m delighted to share that this has been our biggest Christmas campaign ever, and it’s thanks to you. Together, for our programs […]

Canada supports 103 new affordable homes in Vancouver at 320 E Hastings

FIRST UNITED Executive Director Amanda Burrows (centre) pictured with Vancouver City Councillors Lenny Zhou, Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, Mike Klassen, and Christine Boyle, Lu’ma Native Housing Society President Dave Baspaly, and Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Joan Phillip. Photo by Maxine Bulloch. Vancouver, British Columbia, November 6, 2023 Construction is underway on 103 units for Indigenous residents and […]

A Year of the FIRST Food Truck

“We’ve had community members tell us, ‘It’s amazing that you’re still able to provide food while your building is being redeveloped,” shared Cristien Donhuysen, Program Manager.  It’s been over a year since we’ve launched our FIRST Food Truck, which provides free meals to Downtown Eastside community members every weekday at lunchtime. Through the food truck, […]

Calls for Justice This Advent Season

This Christmas season, we invite you to participate in Advent through the theme of justice—specifically to begin the work of Call for Justice 18.17 from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. Call 18.17 states: “We call upon all governments, service providers, and educators to fund and support the re-education of […]

Sole Comfort

Over 20 years ago, Bruce Cowburn, former FIRST UNITED staff member, was brought to tears when he witnessed our Foot Care Program in action for the first time. Bruce described the sight, as quoted in Hope Lives Here: A History of Vancouver’s First United Church by Bob Burrows, saying: “There was a [community member] playing […]

The Road to Redevelopment

Timeline In 2017, community engagement, redevelopment and capital campaign feasibility studies set the stage for an incredibly ambitious project— the redevelopment of our site at 320 E Hastings. Five years later, site work got underway 2022 April– Street Use and Salvage & Abatement permits are received, clearing the way for preliminary work to begin on […]

Still a Sanctuary in the Heart of the Downtown Eastside

There is something notably different about East Hastings these days. The corner at Gore is missing a recognizable landmark—FIRST UNITED’s old church building. That’s because we’re currently undergoing a redevelopment, demolishing the old building to make way for a new purpose-built facility that will better serve the current and growing needs of the Downtown Eastside. […]

Summer Newsletter: A Retrospective On Our Building

Honouring the History of Our Old Building We’ve dedicated this summer edition of First Things First to our former building—to honour its history and legacy in the Downtown Eastside. Read just some of the significant events and milestones that took place in our old building. Featured photo by Walter E. Frost 1973 (City of Vancouver […]

Revisiting Our Totem Pole Ceremony

Our building at 320 East Hastings is currently being demolished and we’re feeling a little nostalgic. Just a little over a year ago, we were moving our programs out of our old building to prepare for hazardous material removal and demolition. Part of that preparation was safely moving the totem pole that was in our […]