Proximity of safe injection site not the problem — or solution
Re: Cowichan is building an inner city around our kids
A safe injection site would be best situated farther away from schools. However, it likely wouldn’t change much.
A friend in Victoria who works at an elementary school said the school has to carry Naloxone kits, because traffickers are trying to sell to kids. There is no safe injection site near the school to blame. And it’s in a fairly upper-middle-class neighbourhood.
Drug addiction, and a lack of resources are the problem. You sound like people with the good fortune not to have an addict in the family. You may not realize addicts are somebody’s kids — someone probably loves them, remembers their potential, and hopes they will someday be healthy and happy. And some addicts have children.
There are addicts on the streets who would like to get into treatment, but there are not nearly enough beds, especially on Vancouver Island. Waits can be two months or more for a bed. Addicts need to be able to go to detox and treatment when the desire is strong.
We also need more supportive housing. If you’re homeless, it’s difficult to even take a shower, let alone get a job or have the mental strength to make positive changes. Statistics show more people get off drugs once they have a stable home. Safe supply of drugs would save communities money, by freeing up paramedics, police and emergency rooms dealing with overdoses. Paramedics are getting PTSD from the sheer number of overdoses they have to deal with. Portugal turned around its big heroin problem by decriminalizing possession and making resources more available. We need to do the same.
We need to take care of everyone’s kids. We also need to show kids how to have fun, handle stress, resolve conflicts, and live a rich and meaningful life without drugs and alcohol.
Grace Wyatt
Duncan
