Pubdate: Thu, 08 May 2003
Source: Westender (Vancouver, CN BC)
Copyright: 2003 WestEnder
Contact:  Http://Www.Westender.Com/
Details: Http://Www.Mapinc.Org/Media/1243
Author: Mary Frances Hill

URBAN LEGENDS: A DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE NURSE BREAKS DOWN BARRIERS BETWEEN
HEALTH CARE AND ACTIVISM

Who: Megan Oleson

What: Registered Nurse, On Site As A Volunteer At The "Safer Injection 
Site", Organized By The Coalition For Harm Reduction, At 327 Carrall, Near 
Pigeon Park. The site, which is not government sanctioned, opened last week 
and has so far welcomed about 15 addicts each night, between 10 a.m. And 2 p.m.

Roots: Raised in victoria, studied nursing there at Camosun College. Has 
worked as a community activist with Vancouver's Anti-Poverty Committee, the 
Housing Action Committee and the Vancouver Area Network Of Drug Users.

Born In Scrubs: "I Was very sick when I was younger (with hemolitic anemia) 
and it was challenging as I was growing up. I spent a lot of time in 
hospitals. I have this philosophy that you become what you're most familiar 
with."

Beat The Heat: "We opened this space because our needle exchange was 
dropping by more than half, and our condom exchange was dropping by more 
than half, because of the 41 reallocated policemen in the downtown 
eastside. We knew we needed to do something and we needed to do it now . 
People aren't accessing clean needles (at needle exchanges). The police 
walk by, park their car out on the front. They make their presence known 
around here. We pretty much ignore them."

Syringe In One Hand, Protest Banner In Another: Aside from her work in the 
downtown eastside, Oleson works as a critical care nurse at Vancouver 
General Hospital. "There are a lot of obstacles in nursing. You have to 
work really hard for the maximum wage that you get. And there are a lot of 
politics involved. That increases your workload by more than a half. It 
becomes so physically and mentally demanding. Here I have relationships 
with everyone who walks in the door. It's not a medical model. It's a 
beautiful thing because it's so much more holistic."

A Room Of One's Own: "A lot of addicts don't want to be rushed. They don't 
want to inject alone, and they need access to clean water and rigs and 
supplies. Here they aren't going to be harassed, there won't be a million 
questions when they come in . There was a woman last night, it was the 
first time she had come into the space. She was so happy she could sit at 
the table and take her time."

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Oleson cites a report from the BC Centre For 
Excellence In HIV/AIDS, In which a majority of polled injection-drug 
addicts stated that immediately after a police officer confiscated their 
drugs, they scored more. "Policing doesn't prevent drug use, it doesn't 
prevent selling drugs. It just clears an open-air market that is visible, 
but it pushes it somewhere else. It forces (drug users) into riskier 
situations, like further back into the alleys, under the viaduct, or alone 
in their rooms."
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MAP posted-by: Beth