Pubdate: Fri, 20 Oct 2006
Source: Kelowna Capital News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2006, West Partners Publishing Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.kelownacapnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1294
Author: John McDonald, health reporter

Nurses: Harm Reduction Isn't An Easy Concept To Define

A group of fourth year nursing students at UBCO hope they can succeed 
in explaining the concept of harm reduction to skeptical downtown 
business people where the City of Kelowna and John Howard Society failed.

"We're trying to inform the business community about what harm 
reduction actually is," said Lisa Wensink, speakign about the project 
the four students have undertaken as a graduation requirement.

"With the whole St. Paul supportive housing thing and the lawsuit, 
there has been a whole lot of negative publicity around harm 
reduction. We want to demystify it and give accurate information 
about what it really is."

During the run-up to the decision about where to locate the 
supportive facility--which will house people recovering from 
addictions but not necessarily kick them out if they suffer a 
relapse--the city tried to explain the concept to dozens of people 
opposed to it.

But it must have fallen on deaf ears, as did a similar effort by the 
John Howard Society, the group chosen to oversee construction and 
operation of the 30-bed facility.

A group of business owners in the area launched a lawsuit earlier 
this month trying to block construction of the project.

"Perhaps coming from us it will have a different meaning although 
we're not going to measure our success in terms of having the whole 
community embrace it. We don't expect people to say, 'Here's four 
nursing students, we love nurses so we'll change our minds,'" said Wensink.

Wensink said she and her partners Diana Gort-Ouimet, Ton Gremmen and 
Marja Mackenzie have already approached the Capital News about 
distributing a pamphlet explaining harm reduction and will be hosting 
a table at the next Downtown After Five meeting. As well, the 
Downtown Kelowna Association will send out the pamphlet through its newsletter.

However, a similar request to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce was turned down.

"They weren't interested," said Wensink.

For her part, she believes the negative publicity the subject has 
generated could make it worse than it already is.

"I think it could drive away customers but it's up to the public how 
they interpret it," Wensink said. "Negativity does tend to push people away."

So much so that Wensink says she and her partners even considered 
whether or not to use the term harm reduction when talking about it.

"People tend to have a very emotional reaction to the subject," she says.

Their view is that harm reduction embraces a whole range of things 
from seat belts to smoke detectors as well as the methadone program 
and so-called wet housing.

"Most people hear harm reduction and they think of safe injection 
sites and a bunch of dirty needles lying in the street. That's not 
what this is about."

Wenkins says so far the group hasn't encountered active resistance to 
their message but they're under no illusions.

"It's not a nice subject," she acknowledged. "But at least people 
recognize we do have an addiction issue in Kelowna and it's not just 
affecting people on the street."

For more information on the project or to get copies of their 
pamphlet, contact Wensink at 868-0750.
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MAP posted-by: Elaine