Downtown Eastside Speaks Up!

This report includes the findings from a survey that LSU! members wrote and distributed to members of the DTES Community in 2020. The survey included a variety of topics, from healthcare, housing, and harm reduction. The survey was a way to check in on our neighbours and see what challenges they were facing. From this information we are hoping to get a better understanding of those who make up our neighbourhood and the community. The questions were shaped by the participants of LSU! initiatives. 

LSU! strives to use participatory action research (PAR). PAR has been defined as the “individuals and groups for whom the issue is important should have a genuine role in research and should be the ones to drive the focus and planning of the work” and PAR asks for equal roles and relations to be used when doing research. The process of conducting participatory action research importantly allows community members to take on a position of inquiry and outreach in order to better support and strengthen their community. In contrast to research done and led by academics and external groups, PAR is an approach to ensure that community members are guiding, leading, and benefitting from their own research.

Read the final report Downtown Eastside Speaks Up! containing LSU!’s findings