[news] Safer Injection Site Opening!

[resist admin]

-----Forwarded Message-----
From: Pivot Newswire <newswire at pivotlegal.org>
To: Cop Watch <copwatch at lists.resist.ca>
Subject: [Copwatch] Safer Injection Site Opening!
Date: 28 Apr 2003 22:35:42 -0700

Support the opening of a Safer Injection Site!

On Tuesday, April 29, an interim safer injection site will be opening at
327 Carrall Street, in the Downtown Eastside.  Supporters of the site,
including Pivot, are calling for volunteers and donations.  We need:

1.  Supporters to show up for the press conference and opening of the
safer injection site.  Time: Tuesday afternoon, 2pm, at 327 Carrall
Street.

2.  Volunteers to assist staff in overseeing the site.  Hours are 10pm to
2am, 7 days a week.  Contact Megan Oleson, at (604) 561-5724

3.  Donations of art to help decorate the space.  Photos, paintings,
posters etc. can be dropped off at 327 Carrall, but please call in
advance: Ann Livingston (604) 719-5313

thanks!

Press Release - For Immediate Release, April 28, 2003

Safer injecting site opens in the Downtown Eastside in response to
"Project Torpedo" Location: 327 Carrall Street Time: 2pm, Tuesday April
29, 2003

Vancouver - An interim "safer" injection site and night-time drop in
centre for drug users has opened in response to an aggressive new policing
strategy that public health experts fear may lead to increased
transmission of HIV. The centre, located at 327 Carrall Street, provides a
place where drug users can obtain sterile injecting equipment and inject
under the supervision of a nurse. Intended to alleviate the ongoing high
rate of drug overdose and infection resulting from people injecting in
back-alleys and alone in hotel rooms, the safer injection site is an
interim measure while community members await the opening of the
long-promised government funded safe injection site.

Megan Oleson, a registered nurse and staff person at the health centre,
says, "We had to be proactive to respond to the immediate health needs of
the community. The increased police in the Downtown Eastside is only
exacerbating the public health emergency and we could not sit by and watch
more people dying when those deaths are preventable."

The safer injection site began operating on April 7, 2003, the day
'Project Torpedo' was launched by the Vancouver Police Department. Open 7
days a week from 10 pm to 2 am, the centre is proving to be a crucial
service for many drug-addicted residents of the Downtown Eastside who need
a place to inject safely and obtain injection supplies. Volunteer staff
who work at the centre supervise all injections and can react quickly in
case of an overdose.

Many drug users have expressed their sense of relief that the centre is
available and peer-driven.  Murray Turnbull, a member of the Vancouver
Area Network of Drug Users, said, "We are forced to do this safe injection
site for ourselves by ourselves because all layers of the government are
unwilling to do what they promised they would do."

The opening of the safer injection site is supported by the Harm Reduction
Coalition, a group of Downtown Eastside organizations who have come
together to speak out against the increased enforcement and demand the
implementation of the other three pillars envisioned in Vancouver's 'Four
Pillar' strategy. The Harm Reduction Coalition includes the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users, the Anti-Poverty Committee, the Housing Action
Committee, and Pivot Legal Society.  A press conference and viewing of the
site will be held at 2pm on Tuesday, April 29, 2003.  A number of
representatives from the 327 Carrall Street drop-in centre and from the
Harm Reduction Coalition will be making statements and answering
questions.

For more information, contact:
Megan Oleson, Registered Nurse and staff person at 327 Carrall St. 	 604-561-5724
Tim Howard - Director, Pivot Legal Society 	604-685-5618 (ext. 225)
Ann Livingston - Project Coordinator, VANDU  604-719-5313