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RAPS Helps Victims of Gastown Fire

On Monday, a catastrophic fire tore through a Gastown commercial and residential building, leaving more than 140 people homeless, including some in adjacent buildings. Residents of the Hotel Winters managed to escape the fire in the single-room occupancy hotel, which is operated by the Atira Women’s Resource Society.

On Monday night, Mandy Lichtmann, who is RAPS’ Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator, saw a social media post from Atira asking for donations of supplies, including pet food.

“The residents have lost their homes and many of them have pets,” she said.

On Tuesday morning, Mandy packed up a van load of supplies from the RAPS Pet Food Bank, as well as toiletries, linens and clothing from the RAPS Thrift Stores, and headed to Gastown.

Residents are being housed temporarily on cots in an auditorium at the Vancouver Japanese Language School, “Their life’s belongings with them,” says Mandy. City officials say the building that burned, which was built in 1907, may have to be demolished.

The RAPS Pet Food Bank is well stocked and Mandy said she hopes the connection she made with Atira’s Kaley Toussaint will allow RAPS to provide ongoing support to the victims of the fire and others in the city. (RAPS has been involved in assisting animals in the Downtown Eastside and elsewhere in the community for some time, including a pop-up veterinary clinic last winter.)

RAPS is fortunate to receive donations of pet food and other supplies from community allies like Bosley’s Yaletown, Bosley’s Steveston, Bosley’s Ironwood and Companion Pet Foods & Supplies.

Caring for animals often means helping care for their people also. This is a core value of RAPS and the emergency response to this tragic fire is an example of our mission in action!

We will continue to assist the people and animals who have been affected by this disaster and we are ready to assist always.