Letter to the Minister of Health on Language Access, 2026
The DTES Chinese Advocacy Network is advocating for stronger access to professional interpretation services across British Columbia’s healthcare system. Drawing on interviews with low-income Chinese seniors, healthcare professionals, and frontline community staff, we identified practical opportunities to improve awareness, continuity, and access to interpretation services. We have shared these findings and recommendations in a letter to the Honourable Josie Osborne, Minister of Health. Read the letter to learn more about the issue and our recommendations.
Projects from previous years
Heat Wave Preparedness, 2025
Developed a coordinated heat wave response plan ahead of the 2025 summer season. The initiative included planning for cooling centres, a community education campaign to help low-income Chinese seniors prepare for extreme heat, and the design and construction of a portable cooling fan to improve comfort and safety during heat events.
Possible projects and priorities for future years
- Working with the city to provide input to the redesign of Memorial Plaza
- Working with the city’s seniors liaison to provide context on the lives and needs of low-income Chinese seniors frequenting the DTES.
- Partnering with the Learning Exchange to host English Classes for seniors
- Tenant and Workers rights workshops
- Developing an annual tax clinic process
- Preparing for the 2026 census so that the DTES Chinese population can be represented properly in neighbourhood statistics
- Annual event for professionals to get to know our community while our community receives services for a particular need (e.g. creating an emergency contact card).