This morning I was at the opening of Downtown Eastside Connect, the new media centre at Woodwards aimed at press visiting Vancouver for the Olympics. Information about various local not-for-profit housing groups, including St. James is on display, with the goal of highlighting all the work being undertaken to address homelessness and revitalize the neighbourhood.

Mayor Roberstson, Minister Coleman, Chief of Police Jim Chu and others were on hand to speak to a scrum of local and international media interested in the centre. For our part, St. James welcomes the project - we think it's a great opportunity to talk about the challenges as well as the numerous recent successes.

I don't think any of the local NFPs are going to sugar-coat reality - so much still needs to be done, and we don't see eye to eye with the government on everything - but we can make sure everyone understands the commitment and energy that is making a difference. We can also make sure that the community here, vibrant and close-knit, doesn't get presented in a one dimensional way as it so often does.

For more media information about St. James, see here.