Pubdate: Mon, 17 Sep 2007 Source: Victoria Times-Colonist (CN BC) Copyright: 2007 Times Colonist Contact: http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/481 Author: Cindy E. Harnett Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?137 (Needle Exchange) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/hr.htm (Harm Reduction) VIHA TO STUDY 'PUBLIC ORDER' AT NEEDLE SWAP But Another Report Won't Solve Persistent Problems At Downtown Site, Lawyer Says Junkies continue to shoot up, defecate, buy drugs and collapse on the streets around the Victoria needle exchange while area businesses continue to try to shut it down and the health authority plans another study. In short, months after criticism of the needle exchange on Cormorant Street came to a head, nothing much has changed. A lawsuit seeking to temporarily shut down the facility is expected to go before a judge by the end of the month or early October. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, which funds the needle exchange, says it will pay for a third-party review of best practices around needle exchanges so as to address the "public order" problem. It is also waiting on the results of the mayor's task force on downtown issues due in mid-October, said VIHA chief operating officer Mike Conroy. Victoria lawyer Stewart Johnston, whose Amelia Street law firm is off Cormorant Street and is one of the parties seeking a temporary injunction, doesn't put much faith in that. "If history is any guide it will just be another report and what we need is action," Johnston said. AIDS Vancouver Island operates its seven-day, two-person needle exchange on a $250,000 budget. The agency said its funding has been frozen since the early 1990s, despite a spike in demand. Since 1996, the number of syringes distributed has jumped to one million from 128,000, and clients have increased to 2,000 from 545, according to the agency. AIDS Vancouver Island said it needs $585,000 - -- more than double its current operating budget -- to run an expanded needle exchange in a new location. AVI director Katrina Jensen is on holidays and staff have been instructed not to talk about the issue pending the court battle. The agency had been hoping the health authority would provide more money for the service, allowing additional staff to be hired so that the needle exchange could stay open either during the dinner period or ideally all the time. "I'm not sure that's the issue," Conroy said of the need for more funding. Johnston said he supports an expanded and properly run service, but is fed up waiting for change. Since demanding action several months ago, Johnston said the response from the police and city work crews has been outstanding. "[The street] is clean and attractive. It's just that every afternoon about 4 p.m. it's like Night of the Living Dead ... and it's horrible until 6 a.m. "When the police come, the junkies move along and the city crews come and clean up the mess," Johnston said. The needle exchange is part of what's called a harm-reduction strategy -- to ensure addicts don't use dirty needles and spread blood-borne diseases. But without other essential services, and without more financial support and a bigger facility, the needle exchange seems to be creating more harm for addicts than it reduces, said Danielle Topliss, a lawyer in Johnston's firm. "It's not reducing the harm an addicted life poses to the drug addict who doesn't have facilities to access, rehabilitation, addiction counselling or detox [or treatment] beds," Topliss said. Topliss said stakeholders have to get beyond whether the needle exchange is a good concept and focus on how to run it properly. Conroy said VIHA has helped the facility expand its reach over the last year and yet the problems around Cormorant Street remain. "It's a big issue, we've heard from the community and we're actively looking at it," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom