Downtown Eastside: August 2008 Archives

Dave Dickson is leaving.

That name might mean nothing to you, but it's widely known in the Downtown Eastside.

Dickson spent more than 20 years walking the DTES beat as a member of the Vancouver Police Department. Now retired, Dickson works as the sex trade liaison for the VPD.

The liaison position was created two years ago--for Dickson--to help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the street.

Almost every day, the 57-year-old Dickson travels from his Surrey home to the syringe-speckled streets and alleys of the DTES. He doesn't have an office or a budget. He relies on street smarts, honed during his days on the force. He's on a first-name basis with prostitutes, drug addicts, street people and government and non-government workers in the area.

His relationship with prostitutes is unprecedented. He's the only man allowed inside the WISH women's shelter. His contacts on the street, combined with his access to police computers, help him locate missing persons for organizations such as Strathcona Mental Health.

VANCOUVER - Every night in Oppenheimer Park, Brian Humchitt and his wife Tina lay their heads beneath a large banner that says, "Homelessness is not a crime." They've called the inner city park -- which has become a tent city of sorts -- their only home for the past two months.

Dozens of homeless people and their supporters flock to the Downtown Eastside park, bounded by Jackson, Dunlevy, Powell and Cordova streets, to sleep in tents at night, socialize during the day and take advantage of the soup kitchens, free showers and bathrooms available nearby.

However, violence is common in what some call "Dopenheimer Park." Dealers and addicts jockey for space under the trees, idling away the hours on old mattresses.

The city has contracted security guards to patrol Oppenheimer Park, monitoring the activities there.

Photo: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun