The Hongcouver | Volunteer watchmen guard the legacy of Vancouver’s threatened Ming Sun Society

Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, blighted by drug dealing and street prostitution, can be a grim place, even on the brightest of days. So why would someone willingly spend the entire night there, freezing in a parked car in the dead of winter?

A team of hardy volunteers has taken on the task of standing 24-hour watch over a dilapidated-looking structure in the city’s toughest neighbourhood.

“We want to be sure that no one walks up with a can of accelerant and tries something stupid,” said David Wong, a spokesman for the charitable society, which has served impoverished Chinese immigrants for almost a century.

The ongoing struggle over the fate of the building has forged unlikely alliances between the Chinese community, heritage preservationists, and fellow residents of the Downtown Eastside. The society largely blames a would-be developer for their plight, which they say was triggered back in July by the demolition of his neighbouring building. They say the botched process damaged the Ming Sun building, forcing the eviction of its 10 or so impoverished Chinese residents, some aged in their 70s.

Although the demolition order remains in place, the City of Vancouver has now given the society until August to commence a renovation process. The society hopes the former tenants, who paid below-market rent, will eventually return to the home where some had lived for almost 20 years.