DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE NEEDS A CO-OPERATIVE APPROACH

Philip Owen, Vancouver's former mayor, walked the streets of the
Downtown Eastside in "grim frustration at what might have been," is
one of the opening lines of The Province's Operation Phoenix series
on that troubled neighbourhood.

Owen was referring to the Four Pillars Strategy, which was touted as
the answer for the addiction problems facing the DTES when it was
brought into being several years ago.

Why didn't the Four Pillars strategy work? Why is the former mayor so
frustrated over the lack of success over a seemingly winning strategy
for the addiction problems of the inner city. First and foremost, I
have to look at my own part.

As a former addict, I rallied against harm reduction and the Four
Pillars plan like it was the plague. I thought the harm-reduction
part of the concept would get all the attention and that the Four
Pillars approach would fail. My opinions were based on my own
personal journey to recovery and my egotistical and prideful belief
that abstinence was the only way.

And while I still see abstinence as the bar to shoot for, I have
learned along the way that there are no absolutes and there is room
for harm reduction in a balanced and comprehensive plan to deal with
the drug problem.

For some, recovery has ceased to be an option due to the damage
caused by the drug use. They have passed the point of thinking in a
manner that requires cognitive thinking and for them compassionate
harm-reduction measures should be made available.

But that approach should be determined on an individual basis, as
many seemingly hopeless addicts I know personally have found
productive and responsible lives based in abstinence from drugs.

Owen is also correct when he says the DTES needs an overseer or czar;
someone who is able to co-ordinate all the groups and agencies in the
neighbourhood and formulate a plan so that all Four Pillars --
prevention, treatment, harm reduction and enforcement -- work together.

It is particularly important for those from the harm-reduction and
abstinence-based camps to learn to work together. Rather than seeing
each other as enemies, they should look to each other as allies in
the war on drug addiction.

Our economic situation will determine how much funding will be
allocated to the DTES going forward. It seems as the number of
non-profits seeking funding grows, the number of tax dollars
allocated for addiction services is decreasing. Social enterprise
should and will play a role as non-profits create business ventures
while offering employment, life-skills training and housing options
to the homeless and addicted.

But for the DTES to have a hope of success, there has to be a strong,
united front to deal with a deeply entrenched and persistent enemy
whose mission is to create misery and suffering before delivering a
very sad death to addicts.

I hope that my vision -- DTES service providers working together
through government-funded programs and social-enterprise businesses
alike for the common good of the individual and society -- is not out
of reach. Two things are certain.

The first is that a tangible solution is attainable. And second, it
won't happen without a comprehensive plan overseen by a DTES czar
with no strong bias toward either for harm-reduction or abstinence approaches.

When the day comes, and providers of harm-reduction initiatives and
abstinence-based communities work together, we will see change.

Hope and change are two things we hear a lot about lately. Let's see
if they will come to the DTES. Without change we'll continue with the
current overlap of services in some areas, lack of services in
others, and addicts and the community will continue to suffer.