Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2003 Source: Vancouver Courier (CN BC) Copyright: 2003 Vancouver Courier Contact: http://www.vancourier.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/474 Author: David Carrigg PLACE TO SHOOT UP, 'CHILL OUT' TO OPERATE BY SUMMER The Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has demolished a $30,000-model safe injection site set up by the Portland Hotel Society to make way for a new $1.2-million facility paid for by the provincial government. The health authority's new 12-stall safe injection site, at 135 and 139 East Hastings St., will be operated with the help of Portland Hotel Society staff, who will provide peer counselling. Construction began in mid-May and is expected to be completed by August. The Portland's site, which was paid for through an anonymous $30,000 donation, had six stalls, stainless steel tables and mirrors for supervision. Viviana Zanocco, spokeswoman for the health authority, said besides the 12 stalls, the new site will contain a "chill-out" room and support services for addicts. Zanocco said Health Canada approval to operate the site is imminent, but will include certain conditions-that the site be operated by a health authority and that only injection drug use be permitted. Zanocco said the health authority chose the site because the Portland Hotel Society had already built the model site on the ground floor of 135 East Hastings St. The Portland Hotel Society, the Life Is Not Enough Society and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users created a separate society-Health Quest Support Services Association-to lease the space. The health authority has taken over Health Quest's lease, and plans to remove the wall dividing the ground floors of 135 and 139 East Hastings and install a ventilation system. The Portland's facility was reportedly not useable because it wasn't built according to city building codes. Thia Walter, director of Health Quest Support Services Association, said she's not thrilled that the health authority has taken control of the site, but is happy that addicts will be able to shoot up safely within the next few months. "The health authority had some pressure put on them to come up with something and we were the only game in town," Walter said. Walter believes it's not necessary to have support services on-site because a user would likely not be interested before or after shooting up. "They have this strange idea that you have to have services attached to the actual site, which is kind of foolish. If someone is looking to have a fix, concentration is on that fix and until they get that drug into them they are not going to be listening to someone offering a life-skills course. Then once they get high, they either want to dance on the streets or chill out and enjoy the fact they are not in pain anymore." Zanocco said providing support services is part of Health Canada's conditional approval for the site. "What's happened wasn't part of the Portland's envisioning for the site because when they started out on this, they didn't know what Health Canada wanted or required for a supervised safe injection site," Zanocco said, adding there are no plans to reimburse the Portland for the $30,000. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens