DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE GETS FEDERAL GRANT

OTTAWA -- The federal government will announce today a $5-million
grant aimed at reversing the downward spiral of Vancouver's Downtown
Eastside, a community in crisis because of drugs, poverty, and crime.

The money will be spent over five years to fund a proposal backed by
the city of Vancouver and a 45-member coalition that includes school
boards, business associations, churches, and community groups, say
federal and municipal government sources.

Government officials say the $5 million won't simply be added to the
hundreds of millions of tax dollars spent annually to deal with a
community that has the lowest per capita income in Canada, a
52-per-cent child-poverty rate, and an HIV and hepatitis C epidemic.

The money won't, for instance, pay for new or existing programs such
as needle exchanges.

Instead the funding will establish an office, most likely in a central
location on Hastings Street, that will attempt to bring diverse
community interests together to come up with a consensus on solving
the Downtown Eastside's profound problems.

The office will attempt to facilitate and mediate between groups
including Gastown businesses and residents, the Chinatown business
community, and long-time residents -- including substance abusers --
who fear they could be displaced by urban development programs.

The city's application to the justice department says the problem
can't just be seen as a crime prevention matter.

"The Downtown Eastside simply involves too many issues -- drug
trafficking and use, alcohol abuse, child prostitution, racial
tension, urban native issues, gang activity, and businesses that prey
on disadvantaged people," the application says.

"An intensive, broadly based and long-term community development
program is required to restore the area and achieve some consensus on
directions which will provide for its long-term stability."

The federal justice department says the project is expected to have
some impressive successes in its first year, including less crime and
drug use, better housing, reduced poverty, and a greater sense of
safety on the streets.

However, the program's budget for year one reflects the modesty of a
program in an area where, according to the city's proposal, more than
200 service agencies operating in and around the community spend
"hundreds of millions of dollars annually, provided by the three
levels of government."

The city, which sought $1.2 million annually from Ottawa, projected it
would need $400,000 for the establishment and operation of the office
and its staff; $200,000 for research; $300,000 for facilitation and
mediation work among the diverse and conflicting community groups; and
$100,000 for focus group work and interviews to assess the program's
value.

One city official said the project will also attempt to improve
coordination and cooperation between all the service agencies.

"There are an awful lot of people doing good work, but there isn't as
much coordination as we'd like to see," he said.

Vancouver Mayor Philip Owen pitched the program to Liberal MPs last
September, saying it would ultimately save taxpayers' money.

The city published six reports last summer that described the Downtown
Eastside as an area in "a downward spiral," being invaded by a
younger, meaner drug crowd.

The reports' recommendations included a 10-year housing plan,
demonstration projects on micro-suites, crackdowns on badly run
rooming houses, and the hiring of a consultant to get antagonistic
local groups to cooperate.

"The federal money would be used to pull all of this together," Owen
said after meeting with the MPs.

He said the money could help, for instance, in convincing various
factions to find common ground on drug treatment options.