Pubdate: Wed, 13 Mar 2002 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2002 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: Dale Hofmann COMMUNITY ALLIANCE DOESN'T SPEAK FOR CHINATOWN To the editor: I read with dismay the piece "Chinatown group suing city for disregarding zoning bylaw for drug drop-in centre," Feb. 27. First, let's make it clear-Chinatown does not oppose the Health Contact Centre. A handful of business owners and politicians oppose the centre, and have taken advantage of residents' fears and concerns about safety in their neighbourhoods to make political hay. What the leaders of the so-called Community Alliance have consistently failed to do in their rabid opposition to health services for residents of the Downtown Eastside/Strathcona neighbourhoods is put forward any sort of alternative. We can all agree that the scourge of drug addiction must be stopped, and that everyone has a right to live in a safe and secure neighbourhood. The only measures being proposed to move towards those goals are precisely the ones the Community Alliance politicians would stop by any means possible. Punishing drug addicts for their illness is as inhumane as would be exiling cancer patients or the physically challenged to life on the streets or in prison, but as importantly, it simply doesn't work. When faced with a course of action that clearly isn't working, the Alliance position is, "Do it harder." This position has been rejected by everyone involved, including the police and city council. Absurdly, the excerpt from the Alliance's campaign materials describes precisely the problem that the Health Contact Centre is intended to address, in conjunction with other changes at the Hastings and Main corner. By offering addicts a place to access services off the street, the Centre will help to reduce traffic at the corner, while giving them an opportunity to access the help they need to make changes. The four-pillar approach to dealing with drug addiction and the street drug trade has worked in in Europe and the U.S., and in those cities, opposition groups like the Alliance withered away when faced with the facts. Prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and enforcement combined in the coordinated approach agreed to by all levels of government and by all community groups but the Alliance will save lives and make all our neighbourhoods safer and happier places. Let's get on with it. Dale Hofmann, Vancouver - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom