[van-announce] Safe Injection Site Update July 1/03

[mirth at resist.ca]

July 1/03
Update on the Safe Injection Site 327 Carroll st.

Currently, the safe site is busy as usual. Everynight we see over 25-35
people access the safe site to fix and pickup or exchange supplies. We see
over 70 people access the drop-in portion of the site for coffee and a
place to sleep and relax for a few hoursout of the night.
We are in desperate need of volunteers from thursday to sunday. If you are
interested in volunteering for a 2-4 hour shift once a week. Come by the
site, or call Megan at 251-3127.

Last week Health Canada announced their approval and formal go-ahead for a
Supervised Trial Injection site for Vancouver, hopefully to be opened in
September.
Those of us who volunteer and use the Safe Injection Site at 327 Carroll
st. are pleased with the recent decision,  however we continue to press
forward with our demands for :  1. A user/peer run safe injection space.
2. An Immediate End to the 51 extra police in the DTES 3. Implementation
of the other three pillars, Prevention, Treatment and Harm Reduction.

We, have drafted recommendations for the trial run Safe Injection Site, 
including recommendations drafted by users on what peer positions would
like inside a safe injection site. The data of statistics and survey
material compiled from the existing  user run safe injection site will be
included in this soon to be released package.
A petition for a user run safe injection site is in ciculation.

On July 7/03, will be our three month anniversary, over these months we
have relentlessly been bringing our demands and our voices to the Mayor
Larry Cambell, Council and Vancouver Police Board public meetings. In
turn, there has been absolutly no legitimate effort by local government
and the Vancouver Police Department to
understand our position and to address our concerns.
The only effort we have witnessed is an increase in policing and police
brutality to people who live in poverty, while Larry Campbell denies and
skirts around issues of human right violations.

At the last VPD board meeting we presented to the VPD board two requests.
1. The police do not park direcly in front of the safe injection site ,and
harass the people entering and leaving the safe site.
2. The police and community liasons work out a perimeter for the safe site
to protect our patrons and work towards regular community meeting where
people who live in the DTES can determine and have a voice in descions
made by the city, Coastal Health and the VPD on health and enforcement
initiaves. Many other people spoke to the same issues. Shortly, Larry
Campbell and Jamie Graham became frustrated with the speakers at the
public meeting and walked out on everyone in attendance and ended the
public meeting.

In the same week, the VPD through the City of Vancouver made the area
directly in front of 327 Safe Injection Site and Pidgeon Park a Police
Zone.
Already on a nightly basis the police constantly harrass us at the 327
Safe Injection Site. They park their cruisers directly in front of the 327
Safe Injection Site door, they walk their drug dogs in front of our door,
to intimidate people, they harrass and intimidate people who come in and
out of 327 Safe Injection site, they drive their police motorcycles on the
sidewalk and through crowds of peole in Pidgeon park and people standing
in front of  the 327 Safe Injection Site. This is a blatant intimidation,
and ulitmatly when you intimidate someone from using ANY Safe Injection
Site, you are forcing them into the alternative, a dark back alley, or
fixing in their hotel room alone. In any case, into riskier situations,
with exposure to violence, untreated overdose, no access to medical
attention, and exposure to health risks.
The Vancouver Police department is exposing it's ANTI- harm reduction
stance and it's sick disregard  for the lives of people who live with
addiction and people who live in poverty.

We need your solidarity!

We are urging our supporters to Call
Judy Rogers, City Manager 604-873-7625
judy_rogers at city.vancouver.bc.ca
and Randy King (Traffic) 604-873-7372
Demand an inquiry into the necessity of a police zone outside of 327
Carroll st., and ask for its removal. (Any citizen of vancouver has this
right)

We are urging supporters to Call Chief Jamie Graham 604-717-3535 or
jamie_graham at vancouvercity.bc.ca
SGT. Scott Thompson 604- 717-3321
Demanding the VPD remove the extra cops on the DTES and end the harassment
of people volunteering and accessing 327 Safe Injection Site. Demand the
removal of the police zoning of 327 Carroll st. and Pidgeon Park.

We thank all of those who have stood beside us up to this moment!