TO KNOW DOWNTOWN STREET KIDS IS TO UNDERSTAND THEM

There is more to the Downtown Eastside than meets the eye.

When a family drives through the area, the mothers and fathers tell their
children to lock their doors and roll up their windows.

The people offering to squeegee car windows are rudely turned away, and the
working women are disapprovingly stared at only from within the safety of
vehicles.

The average person fears to walk down Hastings St. and will avoid it at all
costs. The people who live there are not seen as real people, but as
nameless stereotypes.

We do not realize that each has their own story about how they ended up
there. And for the majority of people, it was not their choice to stay.

Through a program at St. James Anglican Church, on the corner of Cordova
and Gore, I was given the chance to see beyond these stereotypes and got to
know some of the people and their stories.

Nightwatch is a program in which a group of youths, ages 12 to 24, come
together to spend a weekend at St. James Church.

Throughout the weekend, the group visits and talks to outreach workers,
youth detox centre workers at the Downtown Eastside Youth Activity Society,
employees of the Youth Action Centre, people working at Carnegie Centre and
Oppenheimer Park, as well as various police and actual residents of the
Downtown Eastside.

This program was created to raise awareness about what is really going on
in the downtown Hastings area, because people's knowledge of the area and
its resources is limited.

Residents of Vancouver only hear about crime, drugs, and violence on skid
row in the news.

We hear all the negative things, like how drug use is increasing.

While it is scary to see the drunkenness and the open drug use, we do not
see those who live there as "real" people with stories and feelings.

If you take the time, you will discover that the majority of people in this
community had no other place to go.

While participating in the Nightwatch program, I had the opportunity to
talk to several youths living in the Downtown Eastside.

By hearing their stories, I was able to see past the masks of
irresponsibility the news media has painted on their faces.

These teens are being portrayed as people who use drugs to get high, party
and have a good time.

More often than not, they are using drugs to dull or forget all the mental
and physical pain in their lives.

I learned that most of the young adults go into this area to get away from
bad family situations, or because they feel like they do not really fit in
anywhere else.

Many have been sexually abused by the people closest to them -- people who
take advantage of their vulnerability and pretend to be their friends,
offering them good times and excitement.

The drugs numb the pain. Before these teens know it, they must feed this
sudden, new addiction they cannot control.

It quickly comes to rule their life and they go to extreme lengths to keep
getting these drugs, whether it be stealing, panhandling or selling their
bodies.

Hearing these stories almost brought me to tears.

What possible situations could these people be facing if they think that
being on the street is safer and/or better than being at home? I was
touched, yet saddened, by the words of one person in particular we talked to.

Sheldon, 19, told us he had little support and no family behind him.

"But at least you guys care enough to come down here and listen to me and
get to know who I am."

No one really likes being there. Sheldon had plans for "getting out."

The great thing about Sheldon was that he eventually achieved what few
do. He did get out of the area.

So what can we do as youth?

We can be aware, open-minded and get involved. These people cannot get out
on their own and there are not enough programs to help them out.

Something we can do is make our opinions heard. We can raise awareness and
help get something done about this issue.

If people are not aware of the situation, then nothing can be done.

Elizabeth Adams is a Grade 12 student at Killarney Secondary in
Vancouver. She has acted in several school productions and is preparing
for a one-act play competition.

What do you think? Leave a brief comment, your full name and hometown
at: (604) 605-2029, fax: 605-2099 or e-mail: provletters@pacpress.southam.ca