harm reduction
VIHA will expand needle distribution programing
By Derek Spalding, The Daily News
The Vancouver Island Health Authority wants to improve its distribution of needles to drug addicts by increasing the number of locations that hand out the syringes.
VIHA has struggled to set up a permanent needle exchange site in Victoria, which prompted health officials to review its approach to harm reduction. The health authority will conduct an expedited review of all its facilities to determine how to expand the distribution, explained Dr. Richard Stanwick, VIHA's chief medical health officer.
Nanaimo has been fortunate enough to establish a permanent site with the Harris House, according to city social planner John Horn. Though that site came with its own controversy, there has been little reason to indicate the program is not working. VIHA's new needle delivery system will augment such systems and distribute the needles to other locations as well.
Read more »Upcoming Event (Vancouver-Tonight!): Pivot Annual General Meeting- Guest Speaker Evan Wood. All interested are welcome!
Event: Pivot Annual General Meeting with Guest Speaker Dr. Evan WoodTime: Nov 25 2009, 6:30pm
Location: 112 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC V6B 1G8
Invited: All Pivot members and interested members of the public
Cost: Free
First Nations conference exposes 'hidden epidemic' of HIV
REGINA — There are ancient songs First Nations women used to sing in the forest to heal their injured men, songs of anguish and of strength, set to the heartbeat rhythm of a healing drum.
Read more »Harm Reduction: The Anti-Drug
By: Melinda Tuhus
A mother from suburban Hartford, Conn., had a life-saving drug on hand when she truly needed it. One evening last spring, she found her son, who had recently returned from an addiction treatment pro-gram, unconscious in his bedroom. He had relapsed and overdosed on heroin.
“He was not breathing, and he was gray,” says the woman, who requests anonymity to protect her son’s privacy. “That’s when I called 911 and went running around the house trying to find my Narcan. We gave him two injections to get him breathing again before the ambulance got to our house.”
Victorians Heat Up over Torch Launch
The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca
VICTORIA, LEKWUNGEN AND WSANEC TERRITORIES—At first glance, Victoria, BC appears to be an idyllic setting for the official launch of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.
Only a short trip across the water from Vancouver, Victoria is known as a sleepy, prosperous, tourist-friendly city. Yet beneath this façade, Victoria is becoming a hotbed of local resistance to the Olympics, which is fueled – in part – by deepening poverty.
"Gordon Campbell called the Olympic Torch Relay 'an incredible opportunity to showcase' B.C." says No2010 Victoria organizer Kim Croswell. "The fact that he thinks there’s something to ‘showcase’ tells me what circles he’s running in."
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