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Saturday morning pancake at Woodwards Housing in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Delicious pancakes were cooked up by Dan, our generous chef to feed hungry residents.
Health, Harm Reduction and the Law: The InSite Case and the Future of Canadian Drug Policy in Vancouver
Join us for Health, Harm Reduction and the Law
written by darcie| Thu, 05/05/2011 – 10:41
Next week, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the Federal Government’s final appeal of the decision to allow the Insite Supervised injection facility to continue to provide lifesaving medical services and support to people who use injection drugs. We are inviting everyone who is interested in learning more about the struggle to open Canada’s first supervised injection site, the ongoing legal battle to keep it open, and the potential impact of a final ruling in this case to join us May 17th for Health, Harm Reduction and the Law: The InSite Case and the Future of Canadian Drug Policy.
Pivot board member and author of Vancouver’s groundbreaking Four Pillars Drug Strategy, Donald MacPherson will moderate an evening of discussion with legal professionals, medical experts, community activists and safe injection site users. The evening will focus on demystifying the case, celebrating the successes and challenges of the movement for evidence-based drug policy, and turning our attention to the future of drug policy in this country.
We’ll see footage straight from the courtroom in Ottawa. We will hear from the Portland Hotel Society, which operates Insite, and their lawyer, Monique Pongracic-Speier. Dr. Thomas Kerr of the Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Maxine Davis, Executive Director of the Dr. Peters Aids Foundation will talk about the potential health implications of the decision in this case. Plaintiff Dean Wilson will reflect on his journey through the court process as a person who has used Insite. Downtown Eastside activist Bud Osborn will share reflections on the grassroots movement for a supervised injection facility. Dave Murray will talk about the unique perspective and legal arguments that the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users has brought to this case.
We’re looking forward to a lively evening of discussion, debate and reflection on the implications of this case for people who use drugs in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and beyond.
At Home/Chez Soi National Training event by Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) in Richmond, BC
The At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project is investigating mental health and homelessness in five Canadian cities: Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
The At Home/Chez Soi project is based on a Housing First approach.
A total of 2285 homeless people living with a mental illness will participate.
1,325 people from that group will be given a place to live, and will be offered services to assist them over the course of the initiative. The remaining participants will receive the regular services that are currently available in their cities.
Participants will have to pay a portion of their rent, and be visited at least once a week by program staff. The project is all about choice, and people will be able to choose housing within a number of different sites within their cities – including apartments and group homes.
The overall goal is to provide evidence about what services and systems could best help people who are living with a mental illness and are homeless. At the same time, the project will provide meaningful and practical support for hundreds of vulnerable people.
Data from this kind of extensive research does not currently exist in Canada.
The MHCC project is unique and the largest of its kind underway in the world right now.
A comparison between different Housing First approaches and “care as usual” is being studied in all cities. In addition, each of the sites has specific population targets and various sub-studies
1. Moncton: one of Canada’s fastest growing cities, with a shortage of services for Anglophones and Francophones.
2. Montreal: different mental health services provided to homeless people in Quebec.
3. Toronto: ethno-cultural diversity including new immigrants who are non-English speaking.
4. Vancouver: people who struggle with substance abuse and addictions.
5. Winnipeg: urban Aboriginal population.
Read more here
Second Annual ROCKER FOR STREET SOCCER in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Vancouver’s street soccer teams are practicing hard and excitedly gearing up to compete in this year’s Homeless World Cup in Paris, France and we need your help to get them there!!!
Come meet the first and only homeless women’s team in Canada or chat with last years Team Canada players about their trip to the Homeless World Cup in Brazil
Mayhem and fun will include:
Get Out the Vote for Federal Election 2011 in Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Get out the vote!
Vans will pick up from the following locations throughout the Day in Vanouver Downtown Eastside (DTES)
Regal Hotel, Portland Hotel, Pennsylvania Hotel, Rainer Hotel, Stanley New Fountain Hotel,
Station Street Community, Beacon Hotel, Woodwards, Roosevelt Hotel, Colonial Shelter, Sunrise Hotel
Smith-Yuen, Onsite, LifeSkills Centre, Hugh Bird Resdidence, Oppenheimer Park,
Radio Station Cafe, Seaview Shelter, Flint Residence Shelter, Bosman Hotel Community,
Park Hotel, Marble Arch Hotel, Carl Rooms
To register to vote, you’ll be asked to certify that you are a Canadian citizen who will be 18 or older on election, and prove your identiy and address.
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