Bruce inspires more than community

In writing the songs for Bruce -- The Musical, Bill Sample learned about activist Bruce Eriksen. What he discovered was that Eriksen was a recovered alcoholic who lived in the rundown Downtown Eastside. His exposure to the derelicts and drunks and addicts he lived among made him understand that here was a neighbourhood without hope. It inspired in him a goal to cultivate a community spirit that could overcome the eastside's problems. Along the way, Eriksen married politician Libby Davies and by her became a father.