Education key to overcoming fear
Victoria News, March 28, 2008
Re: Proposed needle exchange move
I have been working in this field for more than 13 years, along with other services, we also run the Mobile Needle Exchange. I am also coming up to 15 years of clean and sober living.
First I'd like to address the schools in the area of the proposed location for AIDS Vancouver Island's Street Outreach Services.
I completely understand the anger at not having been consulted prior to the news coverage, which to my understanding, was leaked to the media before VIHA was ready. I also sincerely understand the fear that parents, children, teachers, etc. have at the thought of the exchange moving so close; I have children of my own.
However, when I have felt fear, especially when I have no personal experiences to go by, only what I have seen and heard from second-hand sources, I try to learn as much as I can so I can make my decisions based on knowledge (power).
I would like to challenge the people who oppose this move to really be honest with themselves - if there had been lengthy consultations, would their minds and opinions have changed at all? Or would the horror stories and stigma associated (to the exchange) prevent them from really hearing about the new model and proposal.
After all the media coverage and the explosion of people accessing and "doing their business" outside the current location on Cormorant Street, I sincerely don't believe the police (as they have had to provide so many resources), the City of Victoria (which has to deal with the fallout) and others would be so supportive of this proposal unless it was sure to be a completely different model.
It could turn out to be one of the safest blocks in our city with all the resources, including police, in the building. We also have three agencies in the community who presently conduct regular needle recovery. Two of these agencies provide rig dig services very early in the a.m. (one is a direct service of AVI) and would no doubt be committed to keeping the surrounding properties, especially the schools, free from debris and any sharps.
The last thing I need to point out is this. Through all my years of using substances (starting in middle school) and all my years of working in this field, I have yet to come across a member of the homeless, substance-using population "hanging" around schools and trying to "push" their dope on the kids.
My experience has been quite the opposite. It is other youth in the schools and other youth-orientated venues where drugs are being introduced to our children. Again, I am a true believer that knowledge is power. If we equip ourselves and our children with knowledge, they will be so much better equipped with information when posed with a difficult situation, whether it is a needle on the ground or someone offering them drugs.
In closing, the issue of substance use and the problems resulting from this have risen significantly over the past couple of years without precedent. Housing, a safe consumption site and importantly, prevention programs aimed at our children at a very early age, before they know more than us, has to be implemented.
Between myself, others I have met in recovery and the hundreds of clients I have worked with over the years, no one has ever expressed that this lifestyle is great and it's what they wanted to be when they grew up.
Addiction has no boundaries, if anyone is vulnerable enough, it is a possibility.
Karen Dennis, Executive director, Victoria Aids Resource & Community Service Society