Two social service programs in the Downtown Eastside get six-month funding extension

What happened: Two groups that provide basic supports for community members in the city’s poorest neighbourhood can carry on, at least for now. Aboriginal Front Door Society (AFBS), a low-barrier service provider operating storage, food, and day shelter programs, and Watari Counselling and Support Services, which offers shower, laundry, and social services, have had provincial funding for their programs in the Downtown Eastside extended for another six months. 

• “It's nice to have a little breathing room,” AFBS executive director Chris Livingstone told Vancity Lookout. 

Background: Last spring, Livingstone got a six-month notice from the province that funding would be cut after September 2025. At the time, the city told Vancity Lookout they’d made “extensive efforts” to secure stable funding for “critical services” like AFDS and Watari, but the province wasn’t able to find the money. 

The details: With the six-month funding renewal, AFDS will receive about $750,000 (with a bit less than 20 per cent of that coming from the city), while Watari will get over $1.2 million, according to the provincial announcement. The city will also continue donating the space where the programs operate. 

Program funding is now set to expire after March 2026. Livingstone is concerned their access to the city-owned space, which is used by other service providers like Heart Tattoo Society, could be jeopardized. Livingstone said there have been conversations with the city, but there’s no certainty yet. 

Still on shaky ground: “It would have been nicer to have a longer term, like a full year,” Livingstone said, adding it was “a lot of work to get [the province] to reverse their decision.”

• However, the six-month extension allows AFBS to continue its services and gives them extra time to secure funding from elsewhere, Livingstone said. There are opportunities to get funding from other programs, like Lu’ma and Agriculture Canada. 

“We're pretty optimistic that we can get stuff together, but technically, we're still on shaky ground,” Livingstone said, given the temporary nature of the provincial funding.

“We'll definitely dedicate a lot of our focus to figure out where we're going to get the longer-term sustainability,” Livingstone said. He’s hopeful that support from the province and city will help open doors and connect them with other funders.