Pubdate: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2008 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/letters.html Website: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Judith Lavoie, Staff Writer Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/vics.htm (Lucas, Philippe) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange) GROUP TO DISTRIBUTE DRUG GEAR DOWNTOWN Harm Reduction Victoria Will Hand Out Needles And Supplies In 'No-Go' Zone Harm Reduction Victoria, a grassroots group formed after the Cormorant Street needle exchange was closed May 31, is planning to hand out needles and supplies in the so-called "no-go" zone, the area bounded by Blanshard, Yates, Balmoral and Chambers streets. "We're marking the six-month anniversary of closing of the Cormorant Street needle exchange by ensuring that an essential health service is provided for drug users, if only for a few hours," said Harm Reduction spokeswoman Kim Toombs. "This is a symbolic action that will also meet people's basic needs." The forbidden zone, which takes in Our Place and AIDS Vancouver Island, is in the exact area where most street people obtain services, and many do not want to leave the area to meet the mobile needle exchange, Toombs said. "Some don't want to drag their stuff or lose the spot where they are sleeping. That's the living room for many of the street folk," she said. The mobile exchange was set up as a stopgap measure when no permanent location for a needle exchange could be found. However, a report released in September showed that the number of needles supplied by the mobile unit was down about 23 per cent from 35,000 a month at the fixed site to 27,000 in August from the mobile unit. Only about 40 per cent of needles are being returned, compared to a 70 per cent return rate at the old Cormorant Street facility. That means people are re-using and sharing needles, putting them at risk of everything from HIV and hepatitis C to abscesses from blunt needles, Toombs said. Eliminating the no-go zone would not solve all the problems of not having a properly funded, permanent location, but it would help, she said. "VIHA really dropped the ball big time on this," she said. However, Shannon Marshall, Vancouver Island Health Authority spokeswoman, said it was the Needle Exchange Advisory Committee, not VIHA that established the no-go zone. The committee, which includes representatives from community groups, AVI, Victoria, police and VIHA, decided mobile services should not be offered in areas where there are schools, daycares and open businesses, she said. "It makes perfect sense to have an exclusion zone," Marshall said. St. Andrew's elementary school is in the no-go area. "We still recognize a fixed site exchange is the preferred option and we would certainly welcome suggestions from the community," Marshall said. However, no sites have been identified and, if an area is considered, there will be full community consultation, she said. Today's needle distribution is supported by Victoria councillor elect Philippe Lucas. "The mobile needle exchange that is currently operating is largely insufficient and the no-go zone renders a crisis situation worse," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin