Total Hype Newsletter - 2010 May
Transcription
Total Hype Newsletter - 2010 May
totalHYPE COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program MAY 2010 artwork by Angie COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program South Riverdale Community Health Centre 955 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 3P3 1 p: 416-461-1925 ext. 232 2 What’s Inside Cover 1 What’s Inside 3 About TotalHYPE 4 Maximum Harm 5-8 I never had a problem before . . 5 The Cost of Doing Nothing while our friends our dying 9 - 10 Liv’in Dead 11 “dirty” “addicts” and “abusers” 12 - 13 Lovers 14 I don’t care . . . 14 Realities of Living on Social Assistance 15 - 16 A Letter to Delton . . . 16 If I had a hundred dollars . . . 16 Earth Day & COUNTERfit Community Clean Up 17 What is Worse 17 Giselle, we’ll miss you . . . 18 How Will You Go 18 JAIL it is . . . 18 Can Video Cameras Make Us Safer? 19 Community Stuff to Check Out 20 Toronto Drug User Union Information 21 May Calendar 22 Nothing About Us Without Us, TDUU 27 Contributors: Lorie, Chris Fitzgerald, Anita C., Stevie P., Andrew Dopwell, Angie Cassidy, Debbie M., Candis Beckford, Robert M., Raffi Balian, Molly Bannerman, Susan Bender, Sang Won Kim, Kate Kenny. Editors & Assistant Editor: Molly Bannerman, Raffi Balian, Lynne Giroux3 ABOUT. . . totalHYPE COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program’s Newsletter TotalHYPE is a monthly newsletter put together by COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program. TotalHYPE is dedicated to sharing harm reduction information in a respectful way. All contributions relating to drug use must be harm reduction-based. There are many publications of non-harm reduction / abstinence based perspectives but few actually reflect the principles of harm reduction. What is Harm Reduction? Harm Reduction, as we define it at COUNTERfit, is reducing harms associated with drug use at an individual level, a community level, and a political level. This may include, for example, the distribution of safer drug use paraphernalia, efforts to prevent the spread of infection and disease through education, ensuring our neighbourhood is clear of “sharps” and challenging social structures that make the lives of drug users worse. For example, looking at ways that Canadian drug laws criminalize drug users, and how many social systems are not accessible to drug users because of rigid, stigmatizing policies. At COUNTERfit, it is important that harm reduction encompass all of these dynamics. Who Contributes to TotalHYPE? Anyone can contribute to TotalHYPE, as long as the submission is respectful of harm reduction principles. Contributions are made by our service users, staff, volunteers and people who are incarcerated. We especially encourage drug users to contribute to TotalHYPE. And really, most of the contributions are by drug users. How to Contribute to TotalHYPE? To make a contribution to TotalHYPE, you have a few options: 1. 2. 1. drop it off at COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program (address below) mail it to Molly Bannerman at COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program (address below) OR email it to Molly Bannerman ([email protected]) When making a contribution, please note how you want to be recognized in TotalHYPE. You can use your full name, part of your name, a “pen” name, or submit something anonymously. Please also be sure to include references for anything you’ve taken from other sources. Due Dates: All submissions should be made at least 1 week before the end of the month. Receiving a Copy of TotalHYPE We print more than 100 copies of TotalHYPE per month and give them out through our onsite Drop In and Mobile Service. We also mail copies to incarcerated people who have requested copies. If you have access to the internet - you can check TotalHYPE out online at www.srchc.ca, under “About Us” then “Archived Documents”. For more information about TotalHYPE, talk to: Molly Bannerman 416-461-1925 ext. 232 COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program South Riverdale Community Health Centre 955 Queen Street East 4 Toronto, ON M4M 3P3 Maximum Harm by raffi balian Too many people using illicit drugs have died as alcohol and Valium. during the last few months. While some of these deaths were health-related, still too many died Using a combination of depressants is a major from overdose. We work in the field of harm cause of overdose. Indeed over 80% of opiate reduction where our concern overdose has to do with mixing is to minimize the harms that opiates with alcohol or Valium or I never had a problem before. drug users face: harms from other kinds of benzos. In The longer I use prohibition and harms from London, 1 in 3 heroin injectors “responsibly”, the more the drugs themselves. We can't has experienced overdose fog clears, And I begin to fathom a greater harm than related to mixing drugs remember all the pain that I dying from overdose: Death (Preventing Overdose, Neil Hunt have caused. To all those from drug related overdose is et al, June 2004). who’ve loved me. If I listen the ultimate harm we can to the philosophers words, imagine; as such, whenever Fentanyl has recently emerged that what seeds ye sow, ye someone in our community as another important player in the must reap, then I’ve been fatally overdoses, we feel a overdose arena. During my initial sense of failure and despair. given many gifts, and they are stage of Fentanyl use, I not meant for me to keep. overdosed at least six times, Having talked to many probably more. I am a fairly For I’ve sown seeds of hurt cocaine users, I’ve realized experienced drug user, have and I must reap the tears. that they believe overdose is been using opiates for over 17 I’ve sown seeds of anger so for opiate users in general years, work in the harm reduction I face vengeful years. I’ve and heroin injectors in field, and I still overdosed. caused loved ones loneliness, particular. While it is true thus I must walk alone, and that most of the overdose we It is fairly easy to overdose on I’ve taken from others what hear about is for heroin, in Fentanyl because its high is quite is not mine. So what is given Toronto, many cocaine users misleading: It’s so mild, the user to me, I’ll never own. This is also die of one form of can’t feel it, although someone neither self-pity or sorrow overdose or another. else may notice that the user’s of which I write, simply I eyes are barely open. see as others don’t. If everyone accepted their loss Opiate-related Overdose: I have a friend who, after in life, there’d be no addiction, shooting a significant amount of no murder, no war. Most opiate-related Fentanyl, always complains: “I There would be self-loathing overdoses are closed-cutdidn’t feel anything”, or “I didn’t no more. And since this cases. A person uses strong get anything from that shot”. would culminate from our heroin or too many Oxys, Then she asks me to shoot her wrongs against our fellow their ability to breath is up again. I refuse, but can’t stop man years before. Ironically compromised and the person her from shooting herself up. we would evolve into a world may die. In England heroin Inevitably she overdoses and I of love, nothing more. I injectors are 14 times more have to do First Aid to bring her know this sounds like Utopian likely to die of overdose than back. Recently this scenario glory & really it’s sum is no people who used other drugs happened three times in one day less. But it’s important for (Preventing Overdose, Neil even though my friend is an us to remember that our core Hunt et al, June 2004). But experienced injection drug user. is just plain goodness. most of these people are also Unfortunately she’s a pig when it using other depressants such comes to opiates and 5 Lorie Maximum Harm continued . . . consistently puts herself at risk. Yet she has managed to stay alive because, as much as she likes to go over the edge, she uses massive amounts of opiates only when I’m with her. She’s smart that way. She seldom uses alone; but if she has to, she moderates her shots. the other drugs, or the combination of all the drugs. To compound matters, a lot of cocaine deaths have to do with some kind of heart failure. And people, especially middle-aged men, have heart failure all the time. Who’s to say whether a death had to do with overdose or heart failure? This reminds me to deliver this message to novice Fentanyl users: NEVER USE ALONE. Have a friend nearby, and tell her/him what to do in case you overdose. Also, do a very small shot and wait a while before you do another shot. The Fentanyl high is an elusive high and you may be overdosing before you even feel you’re high enough. One of the reasons Fentanyl is so dangerous is it’s potency. The Wikipedia online encyclopedia asserts that Fentanyl is one-hundred times more potent than the equivalent amount of morphine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fentanyl). Also, Fentanyl patches are programmed for timerelease. When you boil these patches, you destroy their time-release properties. And when you inject the compound, you get a whack of Fentanyl, overwhelming your system. I’ve been thinking about cocaine withdrawal for a while and have come to believe that there are two major types of cocaine overdose: The last thing I’d like to mention about opiate overdose is the following: people who’ve been on Methadone for a while do not easily overdose. In the same study in London, researchers discovered that injection heroin users who were not on methadone were four times more likely to overdose (Preventing Overdose, Neil Hunt et al, June 2004). Cocaine-Related Overdose: I suspect the reason we don’t hear about too many cocaine related deaths is because emergency departments don’t know how to classify these deaths. Cocaine users have a knack of using other drugs as well. Coming down off cocaine is harsh and people take all kinds of drugs to cushion their crash. So when they’re taken to hospital, workers are unable to determine whether the death was from cocaine, 1. Acute Cocaine Overdose (ACO): or overdose caused by ingesting a huge amount of cocaine in a short period of time or through a single use (smoking or especially injecting) 1. Cumulative Cocaine Overdose (CCO): or overdose caused by a cocaine run. In other words, when a person uses cocaine for, say, two days in a row non-stop, the person overdoses. Most cocaine users have seen acute cocaine overdose a number of times. When you or a friend of yours is ‘doing the chicken’, you are going through ACO. Here is what Dr. Susan Woolhouse - one of our physicians at South Riverdale Community Health Centre – wrote about these movements: Cocaine use is associated with a variety of movement disorders. One of the more common movement (muscle/nerve) disorders is called “choreoathetosis”. These are rapid, unpredictable body movements that spread from one body part to another and are often associated with twisting motions (“crack dance” or “chicken”). Crack and cocaine users sometimes can get movements of muscles surrounding their mouths and tongues. These muscle problems usually don’t last long. If they don’t go away, you should see your doctor. People who take anti-psychotic medication (pills for schizophrenia or bipolar such as risperidone or 6 olanzapine) are at greater risk of getting cocaine- Maximum Harm continued . . . related movement disorders (An Email from Dr. Susan Woolhouse, April 22, 2010). police try to subdue people going through CCO. According to North American police, these individuals suddenly acquire inordinate amount of power, necessitating the use of brute force. As the American Medical Association has pointed out, there is no evidence that Excited Delirium exists. But that is another topic and we’ll pick it up another time. In the meantime, if you suspect your friends are showing the symptoms I described, talk to them calmly, always assuring them that as long as they remains cool, you're not going to do anything that they don't want you to do. Let them know you're on their side and that you understand why they feel the way they do, and that with some rest, they will feel fine again. Sometimes knowing that you can sleep the symptoms off is sufficient motivator to calm down. When a friend is doing the chicken, the best thing to do is place a pillow under her/his head, remove any objects in the vicinity that may hurt her/him, and make sure people are not crowding her/him. You should also dim the lights; if there is music or TV, turn it off, and speak slowly and assuredly with the person once they become conscious. (Please read Molly’s article to find out what else you could do when you find a friend is in distress). Cumulative Cocaine Overdose (CCO) can lead to disorientation, incessant and excessive perspiration caused by overheating, dehydration, paranoia and agitation. If cocaine users are not rehydrated (given water or fluids) and don’t give their heart a break, they will have a heart attack and possibly die. More often than not, people undergoing CCO are likely to take off their shirt or other clothing, go outside and start haranguing other people because of paranoia and agitation. Police are often called, reinforcing these folks’ paranoia. Inevitably, police officers end up using physical force to restrain these individuals, putting more stressors on their heart and preventing them from breathing properly. When restrained by police, these poor individuals frantically struggle for air in a state of panic, causing a need for even more oxygen for their heart and other muscles. The result increased strain on their heart. The police are then dumbfounded when they find these users dead under four or five huge officers. Police have mistakenly termed this struggle as Excited Delirium – a “syndrome” that seems to occur only in North America, and only when Getting back to overdose in our community, every single OD death is preventable, and therefore more painful to accept. When three or more of our service users die in a matter of weeks, we as a community are devastated. But pain is not necessarily bad. Sometimes we need pain to remind us how brittle life can be and accordingly make important changes. We can do so much to prevent overdose – not only among ourselves, but also among our friends and acquaintances. Here are a few simple reminders and strategies to prevent overdose: 1.If you haven’t used for a while, you are vulnerable to overdose. Use with caution. 2.If you just got out of jail, you are vulnerable to overdose. Use with caution. 7 3.Try to buy your drug from the same dealer. Ask your dealer if the drug you’re buying is from a new batch. Dealers usually warn their clients when they come across new and potent Maximum Harm continued . . . stuff because they don’t want any heat associated with overdose. However, because drug dealing is usually done so quickly and so secretly, sometimes dealers forget to warn everyone. So, unless you ask, you can’t be sure if you’re using the same shit. 4. 5. 6. 7. There are a lot of myths out there around what to do when someone overdoses. I am not going to deal with these myths in any deep way, but will mention some of the most important ones: Injecting saline does not reverse overdose. Neither does walking someone around. Actually, walking your friends while they are overdosing can do more harm than good. It forces the drugs to be metabolized faster, hastening overdose. Sometimes, even when you ask you won’t get the correct answer. Even your dealer is often kept in the dark. Therefore, if you’re using a new batch, use with caution. Try a bit first to assess its potency. Injecting an opiate overdose victim with an stimulant doesn't necessarily help the person for the same reason why drugs should not be mixed. You can virtually eliminate overdose from your life if you DON’T USE ALONE! When I wrote “Use with Caution”, I meant be careful how much you use, and don’t use alone. Most overdoses are reversible. If someone can place you in a recovery position (see diagram ABCD), or make sure your airway is not blocked, or knows First Aid, that someone will save you. Slapping your friends while overdosing will not help them unless you're trying to get rid of pent up frustration. If you are having a problem keeping your friends awake, you need to get them help. Finally, if users don't overdose right away doesn't mean that they are safe. Some people have died of heroin overdose three hours after ingesting the drug. This means that you have to keep an eye on your friends for a long time. Learn First Aid. I learned First Aid and CPR at South Riverdale Community Health Centre, and because of it, I have saved at least three people from sure death. One of these overdoses was so serious, I did not dare stop the CPR to call an ambulance – but after about 20 minutes of CPR (actually it seemed an hour to me) I had the person breathing on her own. Since then, I am convinced that I can reverse most opiatebased overdoses through CPR. At COUNTERfit, we have already offered overdose workshops for our Harm Reduction Workers and volunteers. Soon, we will offer basic First Aid workshops to our service user. These workshops can save the lives of your friends and dear ones. In the meantime, it is important for you to learn the basics about overdose and prepare for them. If you or your friend are overdosing, you can also call me on my cell-phone (416.454.7389). You can call me anytime, any day, whenever overdose is involved. Even if I don’t answer my phone immediately, I will listen to my messages and respond to your call as soon as possible. In the meantime, be safe. Don’t mix your drugs: mixing drugs is one of the easiest ways of overdosing Even the combination of depressants and stimulants can be problematic. Different drugs have different half-lives and if one drug lingers in your system longer than the other, you’re left to deal with the effects of the other drug alone. Raffi 8 The Cost of Doing Nothing while our friends are dying written by Molly Bannerman Over the past few months, we’ve seen a significantly high number of community members die. Some of these deaths have been the result of overdoses. Others have been the result of health complications. Some deaths were preventable. Others were not. Whatever the cause, preventable or not, these deaths are so hard to experience for all of us. They bring up fear, anger at ourselves for not doing more, anger at others for what they could have done and didn’t, and at the world for the realities we live in. We know that drug users are more prone to early, preventable deaths than other non-drug users for many reasons. Drugs can be hard on our bodies and can diminish our health. But there are many more reasons. We face more judgement as drug users, and sometimes can’t access services because people are being judgmental or overtly denying us services because we’re drug users. We have less health care available to us - and the health care that is available is often pre-occupied with the connection between our health concerns and our drug use, overlooking other potential health problems or attributing their cause to drug use. The result is that we don’t get the same health care as others, or procrastinate about seeking health care help because we’re sick of being treated that way. The COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program at South Riverdale Community Health Centre is an amazing program at reducing the harms related to illicit drug use, but we have more work to do. Our hope is that people who use services at COUNTERfit take away leadership and knowledge about how to reduce these harms when they are using in the community or are talking to people who use illicit drugs. For example, Raffi has written an article about overdose and how to reduce the risk of overdose-related deaths (see previous article in this edition of TotalHYPE). We hope that anyone reading the article will take the knowledge and share it with others or will encourage others to read it. We want all of our service users to be leaders in the community about harm reduction. In fact, we not only hope for it, we want to expect it. We want to be able to brag about it. And in some cases we can. Many of our service users, volunteers, and allies share information throughout their days about reducing the harms related to drug use. But over the last months, it has come to our attention that our service users and others who use illicit drugs don’t always know what to do when someone is suffering, or having serious health problems. 9 And we’ve noticed that not everyone knows how to take a leadership role and help someone in crisis. Some people fear calling 911 because of what it might mean for them or others involved. They ask questions like - If someone has overdosed, will others in the room be blamed by police? Will they be charged for having drugs? Will they be disclosing a location where people can use safely - rendering it vulnerable to police surveillance? Will other drug users be angry at one person for calling 911 and having the police come to the location? Some may even think “someone else will call” or “what’s in it for me”. In reality, these questions prevent people from getting help and they sit by without doing anything, letting someone suffer. The reality is, the vulnerable person who needs help will inevitably suffer significantly and maybe even die. But those who did nothing will have to sit with that reality for the rest of their lives a guilt I wish on nobody. In the state of New Mexico there is a legal provision called the “Good Samaritan Law”. New Mexico has one of the highest rates of overdose in America. People rarely knew how to respond to overdoses, and feared calling for help for many of the reasons above. The implementation of the “Good Samaritan Law” was The Cost of Doing Nothing intended to encourage drug users to call for help if someone was overdosing by extending some protection to drug users. While the Law has limited capacity to prevent charges related to drug trafficking or existing warrants, the law did work in helping to encourage drug users to call for help when someone was overdosing. In Canada we have no such law, provision or assurances. However, as drug users and people who believe in harm reduction, we need to take a leadership role in seeking help for our friends who are in health crisis. We have options. And we all need to take on leadership roles in helping others, especially when we know we are made so vulnerable by our drug laws. Here are some options to consider when someone is dealing with a health crisis: • Seek medical attention if someone is in a medical emergency. Use your judgement about taking someone to an emergency room or calling an ambulance to come to the location. If there is time, you can call the COUNTERfit office or mobile number during their service hours to ask for advice. You can also call TeleHealth to ask for advice. This is a free number you can call to speak to a Registered Nurse about health care • • related questions (see below for number). If you are worried about how the person will be treated by staff at the emergency room because they are a drug user, call COUNTERfit and ask someone to accompany the person or meet them at the emergency room. Staff are able to advocate for services and support drug users during the crisis. If you are using at a drug dealers place or a “crack house” and are worried about calling 911 and attracting attention to the place, think about calling a cab and taking the person to the hospital. If you don’t have money, try to convince the dealer to help you get assistance for the person. Drug dealers don’t want anyone to die in their home. They don’t need that kind of heat. Remember, a medical emergency can happen really quickly and you may not always have time to take a person to the emergency room. You may have to call 911 and have an ambulance come. If this is the case, consider the following: • Call 911 and give the address • While the ambulance is coming, have one person stay with the person in crisis and talk to them, trying to 10 keep them calm • • • continued . . . and assuring them that you’re there with them and help is coming, Have others work together to try to clear the space of drugs and drug paraphernalia. Once the space is clear, ask everyone to leave so they are not at risk of arrest, questioning etcetera. Have just 1 or 2 people stay with the person in crisis. This will help to reduce the risks for others involved. If there is time, contact COUNTERfit Staff. We can help to reduce the risks for those involved and to provide help. We can come to the location, help to clear the space, or take the person to the hospital. Above everything - don’t do NOTHING. You have options and can get help. Be creative. But doing nothing is not only negligent, it’s also inhumane. Be compassionate for people around you. People will respect you for your bravery and leadership. Tele-health Ontario 1-866-797-0000 COUNTERfit Drop In 416-461-1925 ext. 235 COUNTERfit Mobile Service 416-451-1951 SRCHC 416-461-1925 LIVIN DEAD Screen saver flashbacks of years made of minutes livin just to get high. Amongst the ranks of the Livin Dead. We all got stories people wouldn’t believe. Chippin Bolivian soft as soap, the colour of mother of pearl one minute. Hooverin the basement floor with a straw, next minute the crash of the Livin Dead. On the arm of the Man with the jazz one minute emerging from the brite lites of the all-nite pharm into the early hours to pan for one more hit next minute, All the dearly departed Shot gun blasts one last smash, HIV hepatitis C Livin Dead ‘ ‘Cept… I stepped out of the Ranks, went civvies Got this dread disease. Still… at this minute(an anyone who knows me’ll tell ya “positive” enters my world only as a test result – not a state of mind). STILL… at this minute, I’ll hazard to sayI’m feelin alive these days. Can’t say I’m happy – though I laugh and smile and play. But one minute is quite often just like the next. I’m learning to know what to expect from myself, from my world which has grown from a minute to a lifetime. Even with Hep. Screensaver snapshots of plans for tomorrows Amongst the Ranks of the Living. 11 by Lorie “dirty” “addicts” and “abusers” Written by Molly Bannerman COUNTERfit, staff, volunteers and service users are often reminding each other that language defines the reality around us. One of the most common examples we hear is the use of the term “clean” - referring to abstaining from drug use. While people often use this term with pride, expressing their own sense of accomplishment for not using, the terminology inevitable casts judgement on those who are not abstaining. By using the term “clean” to refer to abstaining we are implying that the opposite applies to those who are using.... that drug users are “dirty” and “unclean”. While this may seem like a small detail, these small details create a bigger reality and social understanding of drug users. Lets face it, there’s tones of judgmental people out there and this kind of language plays in to people’s judgements and the stigmatization of drug users. Another common example we hear is the use of the word “addict”. I hear many arguments against the use of this word. But often these arguments are made by people who have had the experience of being called an “addict”. I can’t claim this and therefore I don’t feel like I can make that argument first hand (although it makes perfect sense to me). However, the parts of this argument that I do feel I can advocate include the argument that the term ‘addict’ has been used primarily by professionals who work in the drug “treatment” field of work. Generally the term is used to problematize drug use. It implies that drug users have little control over themselves and that they need to be “fixed”. I have never understood this perspective. There are so many drug users who not only function well in our society - but in many cases they also add creativity to communities, challenge people’s assumptions, and pushing more conservative populations to think outside their normal perspectives. Even more importantly, drug use is often part of being social and having fun. It also can help people to cope with stresses. To assume all drug users need fixing is such a gigantic leap from reality. But this is the context the word “addict” is also used in. It emphasizes the notion that there is something wrong with all drug users and that they need treatment. The final part of the argument about the terminology “addict” that makes a great deal of sense to me is how all encompassing the term “addict” is. Somehow, people are allowed to be “addicted” to cigarettes or coffee and its a small part of their identity. Its not something friends or family generally focus on. Health Care providers might spend a bit of time talking about the negative health consequences of smoking or drinking too much coffee, but its not usually a central part of all healthcare appointments. And it doesn’t impact what health care people receive, whether they have ulterior motives for their behaviours, or whether they’re lying about their level of stress or pain in order to get drugs or whether their health concerns are an actual problem or whether it is a consequence of drug use?. Once you’re identified as being “addicted” to illicit drugs, pretty much everything about you becomes defined as a “drug addict”. It often becomes the focus of health care appointments. People around drug users including family, friends, the community, all seem to consider this as an all encompassing identity. Not only is people’s health care affected, but also their treatment by the police, by their family, friends, children’s aid workers, etcetera. People seem to see an drug users as an “addict” first and foremost, neglecting all other aspects of people’s personality,, struggles, feelings, and more. Any other roles, skills or identifying traits fall by the 12 wayside and people become “An Addict”. “dirty” “addicts” and “abusers” continued. . . The idea of a drug users being able to parent, be a friend, a sister or brother, a care provider - all seem to be compromised or questioned. Similarly, any skills or professional identities become irrelevant. People are identified as “addicts” before they are identified as truck drivers, poets, writers, health workers, mothers, daughters, brothers, sisters, etcetera. I’ve never understood how this one simple trait can become the single and most identifying trait for someone. Many other behaviours are treated differently (i.e. people who smoke or drink tones of coffee!). When we use this word “addict”, we’re playing in to this all encompassing ideology and forgetting about all the amazing characteristics and dynamics of each others personalities, and how we’re treated by people around us. I recently read an article about research done in 2008, highlighting the significance of language in defining the reality and specifically, how we see and treat drug users. In the research, surveys were distributed and completed by about 500 professionals attending a conference on mental health and “addiction”. The survey included a bunch of statements describing an individual who used illicit drugs and was having trouble following court orders. Some of the participants at the conference received surveys using the terminology “substance abuser” and the others received surveys using the terminology “substance use disorder”. Those who received the survey with the “abuser” terminology were more likely to use punitive measures to deal with the individual not following the treatment plan, and were more likely to agree with statements implying that the individual was to blame for not following the treatment plan. On the contrary, those who received surveys using “disorder” terminology were more likely to create the impression that it is something 13 treatable. While I’m not sure I can necessarily agree with the idea of “treatment” in the way it often exists today, this research clearly shows how language can create differences in the way professionals treat people...and the services people receive. The article discusses the ways that problematizing drug use creates a significant amount of stigma which reduces the likelihood of individuals seeking support or accessing services. The article goes on to highlight the differences in language when referring to “eating disorders” and not “food abusers” for example, which shifts the sense of blame, and the use of punishment versus support. It changes the dynamics of social stigma. The article also refers to an old proverb saying which highlights this point: “If you want something to survive and flourish, call it a flower; If you want to kill it, call it a weed” COUNTERfit is a program that aims to challenge the social realities defined around us - and how they impact people. When you hear words like “clean”, “addict” or “abuser”, take time to reflect on how this might make people who are using drugs feel, and how words create norms around the treatment of drug users in our society. Change is a slow process. But if we all work together to change the languages we use, we can work together to improve the treatment of drug users and the way drug users are seen in our society. Drug users must have the right to be seen as individuals who are loved, have skills and different roles, and who are valued. Reference: “Words used to describe substance-using patients can alter attitudes, contribute to stigma”, International Journal of Drug Policy, http://www.physorg.com/ news182604133.html Thanks to Zoe for sharing this article! I Don’t Care one way or the other, But Lovers I feel your soul, wounded so With slings & arrows in mounting score As moved as any when love doth pierce the heart and tho we try, we cannot stop – the more painfully we stab, the more we lose control Without our willing it; the duel becomes a living thing Here’s the reasons why my words FLY at your face an assault in place of expected grace & class You try, as I, to pull your jabs We, each of us, lack power. We seek to speak – our words come out all twisted. The fight is now beyond us. The slings & arrows fly at will If you can take it I can make it be myself around u. I’m not rough & tough and my angry words belie. no longer can we bind them. Each hit you take, I reel from heartache. We cry out our regrets, There seems so far and wide Past choices taught me hide the nice a tearful deep divide Both with heavy, leaden hearts the duel over, we walk apart. Cobwebs of guilt choke my breath I’m left bereft. My soul, shredded/strewn in the bitter wind I seek solitude as a fugitive giving thought to nothing else Knowing the hurt will come wanting only to run For if I stay I will seek you out and we will continue to hurt each other with our love. Lorie 14 save it 4 the few who see me & who really want the truth & not the lies. The ones who take their masks off too, and look me in the eye. T’anx 4 dat – I tip my hat. You get to meet the girl I hide, I’m just like you a little scared a whole lot lost, and dyin deep inside. Lo!e Realities of Living on Social Assistance The Star, Published April 6, 2010 Nick Saul Executive Director of The Stop Community Food Centre other things, social assistance rates by 22 per cent. In the Liberals' recent budget, the poorest in Ontario got exactly what they've come to expect from politicians. They weren't just ignored, they were attacked. This time it was through the eradication of the Special Diet Allowance, a lifeline to food for thousands of people living on social assistance in this province. Hiding behind an auditor general's report that highlighted fraud in the system, the Liberals nimbly sidestepped the real fraud perpetrated each and every month: unethical and staggeringly low social assistance rates, which rob the most vulnerable people in our society of their health and dignity. The McGuinty Liberals said they'd take a different tack on the poverty file. They told us they understood that poverty is more often than not connected to a disability, lack of affordable housing or a pension that doesn't cover the bills. The language was good. Many of us working with the most vulnerable in our province felt hopeful that change was coming. No one wants to be poor. No one wants to battle cockroaches in a damp basement apartment or send their kids to school hungry. This may sound self-evident, but it's worth reminding ourselves of this lest we go back to darker political times when poverty was seen as a character flaw or a lifestyle choice. It's mantras like this, of course, that Mike Harris and his government dined out on during their tenure. They demonized the poor, stripping away our hard-won social safety net, cutting, among But the recent budget is a stark reminder that you can't eat nice words. Yes, they have moved on increasing the minimum wage. But when it comes to people on social assistance this government has, in real terms, done nothing to reverse the Harris cuts. The new budget raises Ontario Works rates a meagre 1 per cent (a monthly increase that's less than a round trip on the subway) while inflation is projected to rise to 2 per cent this year. And the elimination of the Special Diet Allowance, an additional amount allotted to those whose poor health demands healthy food, is actually a step backwards for thousands of people. We've all heard the repeated calls for "realism" and "restraint" when it comes to spending, but for the poor and marginalized in this province, reality is restraint. Reality means making choices between rent and food, 15 medication and diapers, a transit pass or textbook. Under the new budget, a single person on Ontario Works will receive $595 a month; the average bachelor apartment in Toronto rents for $800. Do the math: such low rates mean it's impossible to afford both shelter and healthy food. Everincreasing numbers of people are forced to rely on food banks, an inadequate emergency response that is now entrenched and institutionalized. And it's not just those on social assistance who are affected. Poverty affects us all through lost productivity, unsafe neighbourhoods, ballooning health-care costs, unrealized potential and a shortage of skilled workers. With this latest attack on the poor, the Liberals are stealing from our future. We need to show this government that we won't accept such short-sighted "realism." We need to remind them that tackling poverty requires leadership, training and supportive social policy that can help people move on with their lives. It's why The Stop and thousands of others want this government to immediately introduce a $100 healthy food supplement for all adults on social assistance. We ask also that it establish a rate-setting process based on what it actually costs to live in our province – not on some arbitrary number the government feels it can afford at a particular moment. Being Realities of Living on Social Assistance from the Star, continued from last page . . . realistic should not mean battling a deficit at the expense of the province's most vulnerable. This week, a group of wellknown Ontarians will show this government that they aren't willing to accept its retreat from its own poverty reduction agenda. Toronto's Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown, activist and author Naomi Klein and former head of Alliance Atlantis Michael take action. MacMillan, among others, plan to experience for just a few days the reality of living on the It's not too late for the budget available to someone McGuinty Liberals to fulfill their on social assistance. This own promises. In fact, we need means eating only from a food their leadership now more than ever. Rhetoric about equity bank hamper and at soup kitchens. This act of solidarity and fairness must be replaced aims to draw attention to the by action. Doing nothing just gross inadequacies of social isn't an option anymore. assistance rates and underline the urgent need for this government to If I had a hundred dollars if I had a hundred dollars I’d buy some salad, and maybe keep all of my teeth A Letter to Delton I imagine you in my dreams, You finally came to me. My prayers were answered. My life has finally changed, Because you loved me for me. You were there when nobody else was, you always put me first. I ask myself if this is real, If you are my night in Shining Armor and found out God sent you to me. It’s hard to believe your in my life, Now I want to become your wife. You have a strong spirit, and a wonderful heart. You have always been there to support me, with open arms and a listening ear. A shoulder to lean on. My love for you is constant, never failing. Pure as a Dove sent from above. Delton, you have put love back into my life, and in my heart I’ll love you until my dying day. Candis Beckford 16 If I had a hundred dollars if i had a hundred dollars I’d buy us fresh fruit, oh all them crazy seasonal ones if I had a hundred dollars If I had a hundred dollars I’d buy us a buspass, a nice reliant automobile if I had a hundred dollars - I’d have less stress To get a hundred dollars you just have to stand up strong if I had a hundred dollars We wouldn’t have to sing this song If I had a hundred dollars I could eat And we wouldn’t have to eat kraft dinner but we would though, we’d just eat more! and buy really expensive ketchup! yeah, that’s right, all the fanciest ones, like the kind that comes in bottles! Submitted by Susan B. Earth Day & COUNTERfit s Community Clean Up The most recent COUNTERfit Community Cleanup * Team D: Leslie Grove Park and surrounding area took place on Thursday April 22, 2010 as part of the SRCHC Earth Day In terms of the overall results, here are the findings: festivities. Our tasks * Garbage: 11 small bags and 13 large bags included: * 'Sharps': 1 syringe and some glass * Collecting litter *Encouraging and thankful * Locating/disposing of comments from random 'sharps' (i.e. needles, stems, community members: 5 etc.) WHAT IS WORSE * Attaching posters/stickers As of December 2009, the most recent program statistics available Out on the street, Many thanks to all the wonderful indicate cars go by people who participated, that COUNTERfit distributes man moves around, including: 18,000 syringes per month. does he really know why. (These are the highest syringe * Candy, Cordelia, Iain and Paula distribution figures in Toronto, not Cars make pollution, (SRCHC staff acting as team counting The Works (The Toronto that is hard to bare, leaders) Public Health harm It rises up, and dirties our air. * April, Alma, Andrew, Bill, Carl, reduction program] and we usually Can we change what is Christopher, Drake, Jim, Lorne, distribute more needles than all Lawrence, Maureen, Richard, other Toronto harm reduction happening now, Roland, Sally, Tracy, and Vik (Cf programs combined.) We also can we make it better, service users acting as collect 85% of the number of or do we know how. participants) needles we distribute. To clean it up is a very hard * Molly (safety contact at SRCHC) task, Considering the large number of The target locations were: supplies we distribute and how but if we don’t we’ll live busy both the COUNTERfit office through a mask. * Team A: SRCHC vicinity North: and mobile service are, the fact They say that drugs are bad network of roads and alleyways that we are not finding more for your health, in the area bounded by Dundas carelessly discarded 'sharps' in St E, Pape Ave, Queen St E, but with this pollution, our parks, streets, gardens, Carlaw Ave alleyways etc., is truly remarkable. do we share the wealth. Reports of carelessly discarded For when I Die, * Team B: SRCHC vicinity South: syringes found by community who will say he died from network of roads and alleyways members are also rare. We drugs, or the car going that in the area bounded by Queen believe these are both indicators St E, Pape Ave, Eastern Ave, of our program's success. way. Carlaw Ave, including perimeter Hooray! of the former Woodgreen by Chris Fitzgerald Community Services and first Please consider getting involved alley way south of Queen St E, in future community cleanups between Carlaw Ave and Empire Ave during the next few lovely months. Stay tuned for 17 more information! * Team C: Jimmie Simpson Park and McCleary ~ Sang Won Playground G"elle . . . we’ll m"s y$ So I hear you’re leaving us, how will you go, train or bus? You showed us how to be healthy and strong. You showed us how to do it right not wrong. You showed us how to do it right, you showed us how to make our star shine bright. You will be missed by one and all, now who will catch us when we fall. I just hope whoever gets your skills now, appreciates how much you mean so take a bow! Good Luck! by Anita JAIL - it is . . . I was left for dead in the west too much bed head skin turned red so instead i fled with fleas to the east, please this is one outrageous disease of my own destiny please i plead send me simply free transferred with hundred people into penatang on a chain gang with orange orangoutangs wondered me do my own thing so once again I moved and grooved to maplehurst well things got worse my body was gonna burst maybe I should’ve stopped at the first verse first rhyme in time if you got the thirst I seen the nurse 18 She almost called a hearse i muse converse if you bind got a pill to cure this ill I’m sure you’ve one in your purse jail - it is all inside us remove that dreaded curse from stevie p so stick with me i’ll take you the place to be aka steven phi Can Video Surveillance Cameras Make Us Safer? As drug users, we constantly worry about being under surveillance by police or the government, and because of Canada’s punitive drug laws, we are always vulnerable to being harassed and criminalized. Things like cameras in the community, supposedly intended to increase safety, can make us feel like we’re being watched and targeted by people advocating for “safer communities”. Recently, however, a woman was brutally assaulted in the South Riverdale area. She didn’t know the assailant. And had very little memory of what he looked like. The police took quick action and questioned many merchants in the area to see if there were any video cameras that might have captured the assailant. And despite a few merchants having cameras, none of them had any useful video. The cameras were either off or not facing the right direction. After a few weeks of investigation, the assailant came forward and confessed; however, this could have happened much quicker if the police had found a video recording of the man. And to be honest, it was strictly luck that the assailant confessed. We’re pretty sure this is a rare occurrence. At South Riverdale Community Health Centre we have a few cameras around the building. None of these are at the front of the building because we’ve worried about the feasibility of police requesting the recordings to criminalize our service users. We’ve also worried about our service users being suspicious of why we have cameras. But in the situation above, the cameras could have helped our service user. This incident has pushed us and some of the women who work in the sex trade to consider whether we should be installing cameras at the front of the building. We could advertise these to women who are sex working so they can use them to record their dates and increase their safety. 19 While installing cameras could help to increase safety for our service users, it could also make our service users feel uncomfortable, distrustful, and potentially not come to the centre. To help us make a good decision on this, we want your feedback. Would a video camera at the front of the build make you feel more or less safe? What are the pros and cons? What do you think about the idea? Please drop by COUNTERfit and share your thoughts with us - or leave us a note by dropping it off in one of two spots: there is a tin can marked “COUNTERfit” at the front reception desk, and one in the COUNTERfit Drop In where you can drop off your thoughts. Thanks! COUNTERfit Staff & creative chameleons… writers-in-waiting calling all writers, a lively new group will be happening in late may-june at south riverdale community health centre for COUNTERfit service users. the group will meet once a week to write. we will write quickly and slowly, we will write poems, rants, haikus, serious stuff, funny stuff, letters, poems, tributes, memories, short stories, manifestos, personal dictionaries, and/or anything else your pen wishes. if you think you might be interested, speak with kate or call 416-461-1925 ext. 388. check out this stuff in the community ... WoodGreen Community Services Program Calendar - 650 Queen St.E. Mondays Tuesdays Wednesdays Thursdays Information and Referral Desk: 9am to 12 pm Information and Referral Desk: 9am to 12 pm Harm Reduction Drop In 9am to 12 pm Breakfast Drop In: 9 to 11am Breakfast Drop In: 9 to11am Housing Drop In: 9am-1pm Guitar Group: 9:30 to 11am Guitar Group: 9:30 to 11am Bagged Lunch:11:30 am Bagged Lunch:11:30 am Information and Referral Desk: 9am to 12 pm Bagged Lunch:11:30 am Information and Referral Desk: 9am to 12 pm Fridays Information and Referral Desk: 9am to 12 pm ID Clinic Drop In: 11am – 1 pm Hot Lunch: 10:30 am - Lobby Stretching and Relaxation 11:30 am Stretching and Relaxation 3:30 pm Second Harvest Food Truck: late Morning-early aft Supply, quantity and distribution times vary. (Pick-up tickets around 10:30 am) Bingo Group: 1 to 3pm Shared Care – Health Clinic with doctor - by Appointment 1 to 4:30 pm Harm Reduction Hot Lunch: 12pm to 1pm Bagged Lunch: 2pm Bagged Lunch: 2pm Housing Help Drop In: 1-4 pm Shared Care Medical Drop In with nurse and case worker: 8 am-4pm (Schedule varies: Check with reception) Shared Care Medical Drop In with nurse and case worker: 8 am-4pm (Schedule varies: Check with reception) Shared Care Medical Drop In with nurse and case worker: 8 am-12pm (Schedule varies: Check with reception) Women’s Beading Group (Talk to Gillian Edwards for details) Legal Drop In: Speak to a lawyer alternate Thursday afternoons. Check with reception to confirm lawyer is scheduled. Lobby Courtesy phone (please dial 9) WCS program calendar Apr14,2010.doc 20 Shared Care Medical Drop In with nurse and case worker: Every second Friday Morning (Schedule varies: Check with reception) Don’t forget to contribute articles, drawings, art, poetry, safety information, stories etc for our upcoming COCAINE ISSUE We’ll release this issue when we have enough information to create an ENTIRE TotalHYPE Newsletter all about COCAINE Join Nothing About Us Without Us ay M he t r us fo p i r T O G A & c i n ay 20 ay c i P y M ay M a d d n s o r Thu rting M ta 7th s p u 1 r n o g f i S e t a K or on y l l o ti a M m t r c a o f t n n i 25 9 Co more 1 1 6 4 416 Are you a current or former illicit drug user? Are you interested in advocating for the rights of drug users? Do you believe we should have the same human rights !!! as ON I T C RRE everyone else? O C Toronto’s Drug Users Union g: n i t Ou Thurs. May 13, 2010 2 - 4 p.m. South Riverdale CHC 955 Queen Street East Coffee, snacks, and TTC provided We Demand to Have A Say! contact torontodrugusersunion@g mail.com 21 Sun Women’s Coffee Hour: Molly’s Office Mondays 8am- 9am Women’s Harm Reduction Drop-in Tuesdays, 4th Floor 9am – 11am COUNTERfit Mobile Service Mon – Fri: 6pm – 12am Sat & Sun: Noon – 12am Queen St E Health Bus Stop @ Woodgreen Tues’s 12:30-2:00pm Women’s Health Bus Route Wednesdays 5- 6am Bike Clinic Front Lobby Every Thursday 1pm – 3pm Outreach Clinic Tues & Thurs 2:00pm – 4:00pm 31 Victoria Day 24 17 10 3 s yi a D y9 r’s a e th M Mo day, n Su Mon May COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Office Drop-in Hours: Mon – Fri: 9am-5pm 22 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 10 - 12(Sarah) 25 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 10 - 12(Sarah) 18 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 10-12 (Sarah) 11 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 10 -12 (Sarah) 4 Tue Harm Reduction Housing Workers 1:30 – 5 (Laura) 26 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 1:30 – 5 (Laura) 19 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 1:30 – 5 (Laura) 12 Harm Reduction Housing Workers 1:30 – 5 (Laura) 5 Wed 27 20 13 r ug to D n o r To ion r Un Use p.m. 2-4 6 Thu 28 COUNTERfit Cooking Group 10 - 12 COUNTERfit Cooking Group 10 - 12 21 10 – 12:30pm 14 COUNTERfit Cooking Group CF 10 Cooking Group - 12 10 – 12:30pm COUNTERfit Cooking Group CF 10 Cooking Group - 12 7 Fri 2010 Note An OW / ODSP Worker comes to SRCHC every Thursday from 2 - 4 p.m. Talk to a COUNTERfit Staff for more information. In loving memory of Lory-Ann. You will be missed. 23 COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program South Riverdale Community Health Centre 955 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M4M 3P3 p: 416-461-1925 ext. 232 24
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Total Hype Newsletter - 2009 October
TotalHype is released monthly and is created by COUNTERfit Harm Reduction Program
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