What's Next? 21

Gentle Reader, here is an excerpt from an email I just sent to a new friend.  Time alone will tell if, upon reading this, this person will want to continue being my friend, but I am prepared to make certain sacrifices for matters that are important to me, and this is one of them.  All for now, ducks!

 I found myself eavesdropping on your conversation with one of your customers, and I thought I would offer you my two bits worth.  I believe you were talking about a safe injection site at Saint Paul's Hospital and that you had signed a petition against it.  You mentioned too that you came across someone shooting up in your doorway when you came into work this morning.  You also mentioned that there are other such services available elsewhere in Vancouver and that if people living with addictions choose to, then they can use those places instead and that it is their own personal choice.

Now, before I address these matters, I think there is something you need to know about me.  I work with people with co-occurring disorders, which is to say, people who suffer from mental health issues as well as addictions.  I have worked in this field for many years, and I am trusting that you will be open to my input.  First of all

, because of the pandemic, it is much more difficult for substance users to access the scant services that are now available, because of safe distancing and related concerns.   Add to this mix the lack of safe affordable housing and other essential services of support and treatment (I did say, I work in the field, so you can trust me when I say that there is nowhere near enough funding or support available for our people), then you might understand why people living with addictions, homelessness and mental health issues are going to be showing up elsewhere in the city.  For that matter, they were already in the West End before you were, so you might as well accept them.

It is also quite possible that one reason that person was shooting up in your doorway was because of the lack of available services.  Safe injection sites save peoples lives, help provide them with a sense of connection and community, and eventually help them on the road to treatment and recovery.  This is not simply my opinion.  I happen to know this!

As far as personal choice is concerned, most of them are already coping with mental health, homelessness and addiction issues.  For the most part they come from backgrounds of horrendous neglect, abuse and mistreatment.  They are nowhere near to a place where they are able to make the kinds of choices that you and I would like them to make, or feel ourselves capable of making.