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Lola
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| Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2007 5:14 am Post subject: National Post Article - 4Real |
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National Post
Canada.com Network
'Poorest postal code in Canada' explored by actor, MTV series
Eva Mendes gets complete education in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
Chantal Eustace, CanWest News Service
Published: Monday, December 24, 2007
Phil McCarten, ReutersActor Eva Mendes's social concerns encompass more than the plight of the homeless and the addicted in Vancouver's most dysfunctional neighbourhood. Last week, she became the public face -- and then some ...
VANCOUVER -- Sol Guy stands next to a needle drop-box in a Downtown Eastside alley, and nods to two men dumpster-diving a few metres away.
He's retracing a scene from an episode in his new MTV series, 4Real, in which he and Hollywood starlet Eva Mendes examine the troubled neighbourhood's issues, from drug addiction to homelessness.
"We were picking up needles and putting them in here,"said Guy, 33, raising his eyebrows and smiling at the graffiti-covered box.
The series, which Guy hosts, kicks off tonight at 7:30 p.m. on CTV with the first of four "sneak peek" episodes. The entire series, including the Vancouver-based episode, will air in March on MTV in Canada.
In each show, a celebrity -- including Mendes, Joaquin Phoenix and Cameron Diaz -- travel to meet with local leaders and activists in developing countries, war zones, remote villages and slums.
Phoenix visits an indigenous tribe in the Amazon. Diaz meets a medicine man in Peru. British rapper M.I.A. heads to Liberia to meet a children's-rights advocate. Hip-hop star K'naan visits the largest slum in East Africa with a local aid worker.
Vancouver's Downtown Eastside seemed a good fit, said Guy.
"It's the poorest postal code in Canada and it's like, yo, we can do better than that as a city," said Guy. "We have to examine collectively why that place exists, where have we failed?"
The Vancouver episode focuses on health advocate Liz Evans and her work with the Portland Hotel, which has a number of outreach programs for people in the area. While filming in October, Mendes worked in the hotel's kitchen and joined volunteers at night, collecting used needles in alleys.
"I've completely been educated," Mendes said of her experience. "We can't look the other way, nor should we look the other way."
Guy said the experience made him examine his own stereotypes, something he hopes the audience will also do. "I just hope that people in Vancouver recognize the beauty of the people [in the Downtown Eastside] and they're not to be ignored."
Josh Thome, 35, an environmental and social activist, created the series with Guy.
Thome said he hopes the series inspires people to action. "We've come so far, but I feel we're at the starting line," Thome said in an interview yesterday.
He said the website for the show, 4Real.com, is important to connecting the audience to issues.
It includes backgrounds on the people and areas featured by the series, and is linked to Vancouver-based online giving group, www.givemeaning.com, so people can donate funds.
Thome said he's particularly proud of the Downtown Eastside episode, to air in March. "It shows you don't need to travel around the world to find inspiring leaders or issues that need addressing," said Thome. "You can literally look outside your door."
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