Partner Feature: SRO Collaborative

 Photo provided by the SRO Collaborative

If you have ever read about living conditions in the Downtown Eastside, you’ve probably heard of the term SRO, or single room occupancy. Many individuals in the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood live in these typically small rooms, often with a shared bathroom and no kitchen. SROs are known for their poor conditions, often violating various health and safety codes. 

The SRO Collaborative is an organization that works to advocate and support tenants living in private SROs. The Collaborative began in 2015 after the now executive director was involved in support work with tenants facing eviction from SROs. She had realized that some tenants had placed notices on their doors stating that they had naloxone available. That ignited one of the first projects of the SRO Collaborative, called the Tenant Overdose Response Organizers, or the TORO project. TORO connected tenant organizers, the individuals with the best knowledge of the needs of their building and neighbours, with supplies and education required to prevent overdose deaths. 

The organization has since grown to continue supporting tenant organizers in various SROs, spanning from South Granville, to Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside. Support is given in culturally appropriate ways, such as cultural medicine and connection to elders for Indigenous tenants, and support for language and culturally relevant foods for the senior tenants in Chinatown. The basis of the organization is to work alongside the tenant organizers, identify the issues in their buildings, and provide them with the necessary support and resources.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for food became more evident. The main grocery store in the Downtown Eastside had shut down and organizations were limiting their outreach meal programs as a precaution. The partnership between the SRO Collaborative and the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House grew out of this need. 

Since May 2020, 200 hot meals have been sent out weekly to four different SROs in the community. These meals are cooked fresh at the Neighbourhood House and delivered by SRO tenants to the buildings. Past meals have included chilli, beef stroganoff, and burrito bowls to name a few. The lead tenant in each building assumes the responsibility to distribute meals, ensuring that seniors, elders, and those with mobility challenges have deliveries right to their door. Otherwise, tenants are able to grab their food from shared tables. 

The partnership ensures tenants from various SROs receive nutritious hot meals, a precious commodity in short supply since the beginning of the pandemic. As funding for the program remains until the end of March 2021, we hope to find ways of sustaining this impact beyond the pandemic. Both the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House and the SRO Collaborative are mutually grateful for all the work that goes into the partnership and look forward to continuing the effort.