ADDICTS, POLICE SET TO PLAY BALL

Organizers hope they can help police put a human face on drug users
who say they are often roughed up

Drug addicts and the police are natural enemies, and in the oppressive
poverty of the Downtown Eastside, relations between the two can be
very, very frayed.

But this afternoon, they'll set aside their differences to play
softball. The Street vs. The Heat will be the centerpiece of a
community celebration at Strathcona Park that includes a picnic,
activities for kids, and bingo for seniors.

The idea behind the game is for drug users and cops to meet somewhere
other than on the street and interact in more normal surroundings.
They might even have fun, and bond.

"Hopefully this will make things better for us, and better for them,"
says organizer Bryan Alleyne. "Hopefully, it will make them have more
respect for us, and vice-versa."

The Street team will be made up of members of the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users (VANDU), a group of addicts and former addicts.
The 41-year-old Alleyne, for example, has been using heroin and
cocaine for over two decades, and has lived in the Downtown Eastside
since 1988.

The game is the brainchild of Alleyne and Deb Mearns of the Downtown
Eastside Safety Office.

"We've all been working really hard to deal with a number of the
issues in this community, and making sure that the community has a say
in what happens," explains Mearns.

"This is a day to celebrate as a community, pat ourselves on the back
for all the work. There's no speeches, no work, no nothing, other than
everyone just getting together."

To make sure the game is played fair and square, Mearns has recruited
the B.C. chief coroner Larry Campbell as umpire.

"They needed an honest man," says Campbell, a former member of the
RCMP. "One who is loved by both sides." He laughs. "And they couldn't
find one, so they chose me.

"I think it's a great idea. If there are any barriers, it helps to
break them down. Everybody gets to see each other outside of their
daily milieu. I think it'll be a lot of fun and good for the community."

Mearns also hopes the publicity generated by the game might dispel
some of the misconceptions Vancouverites have about the people who
live in the Downtown Eastside.

"Every time I see '9,000 addicts live in the Downtown Eastside' -
well, that's almost the total population," she states. "Come on."

In fact, she says there are about 1,000 drug addicts in the Downtown
Eastside, and about 13,000 in the Lower Mainland. The population of
the Downtown Eastside is 8,000 to 10,000, depending on where you draw
the boundaries.

VANDU has about 660 members, including 19-year-old Shawn Galvin, who
became a heroin addict two years ago when family problems led him to
flee his East Vancouver home and live on the street.

"We try and save lives," explains Galvin. "We advocate a harm
reduction approach to reduce drug-related harm in Vancouver. We don't
condone - but we don't condemn - drug use.

"We believe that people who get addicted to drugs shouldn't be handed
a death sentence. Because they are. They shouldn't be marginalized and
pushed into dangerous situations. We need good housing, proper access
to medical care."

Galvin will be participating in the softball game, but says it's not
all fun and games.

"Frankly, I'm a little wary of doing this, because it might give the
impression we condone the police," says Galvin. "The reality of the
situation down here is that the police regularly do illegal searches,
they regularly beat people up and do all kinds of nasty things...They
definitely treat people much more brutally than they would in other
parts of the city. I know that from first-hand experience."