Pubdate: Mon, 17 Dec 2012
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2012 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Jordon Cooper

HEED FACTS ON NEEDLE EXCHANGE

The debate on needle exchanges returned during last week's city
council meeting, with a lot of the opposition focused on the needle
exchange at AIDS Saskatoon on 33rd Street.

I have lived a couple of blocks from AIDS Saskatoon for the past 14
years and have seen the deterioration of the neighbourhood. People who
lived in the area have decided to build in the suburbs and sold their
homes to investors looking to rent. People who called the place home
were replaced by people who drove through the neighbourhood
periodically.

The increase in house values for those who had bought before the boom
is fantastic, but not great for those struggling to pay the rising
rent.

The struggle hasn't gone unnoticed. Every public meeting I have
attended has featured some city employee or another saying rather
condescendingly that the neighbourhood is "in flux."

The city has taken the problem seriously, and the first official
meeting of the Local Area Plan happens in January. More than a year
ago I was talking with a city planner who described the neighbourhood
as being "in crisis." A recent StarPhoenix story on a 33rd Street
Business Improvement District (BID) outlines some of the reasons why.

The question everyone wants answered is, from where do the problems
stem? According to some of my neighbours and the discussion in council
chambers, some of the problems come from the needle exchange at AIDS
Saskatoon.

In their mind, the Saskatoon Health Region giving out free needles
encourages illegal drug use in our neighbourhood. The thinking is that
if we get rid of the free needles, we will get rid of the drug use.
Who knows? We may even get our roads cleared.

Sadly, it's a really flawed argument.

Needle exchanges don't encourage drug use. They reflect it. The health
region could offer a needle exchange in Stonebridge, Willowgrove or
Montgomery and the only complaint would concern the tumbleweeds
blowing by, because the use would be very low.

While drug addicts can be found in all parts of society, drug use is
concentrated in areas that have a lower-than-average rent. The
"market" is based on supply and demand. Where there is a demand the
drug dealers will find it and supply it, and social agencies will
mobilize to deal with the fallout.

It's the same with any social issue. Mayfair School offers additional
services such as healthy snacks for all students and meal programs for
those in need. It even offers a "learning garden," which is a
fantastic idea to help teach people about nutrition and, it's hoped,
will also help with the lack of food in many homes.

Programs are the result of social problems, not the cause of
them.

The larger issues are complicated, but they are being addressed by the
City of Saskatoon and the community as the Local Area Plan (LAP) kicks
off. I have argued this before and will again that LAP is one of the
best initiatives in revitalizing a neighbourhood because it puts the
decision making process in the hands of citizens. The city has a
pretty good track record of implementing those suggestions over the
course of ensuing years.

Combine that with a re-energized community association, the push for a
33rd Street Business Improvement District, better community
connections from the Local Area Plan and - let's hope - a revitalized
park at Mayfair School and you will see a drastically different
neighbourhood five years from now.

City council can clarify and set restrictive rules for needle exchange
sites, but in the end it will be going against the crime statistics in
the area (which haven't increased), and collection statistics that
show more used needles are being returned than are handed out.

The World Health Organization states that needle exchanges are an
important tool in combating the spread of AIDS, something with which
Saskatoon struggles. Needle exchanges have slowed the spread of AIDS
in the city and even lowered the number of needles being found.

Tightening rules and making it tougher to get clean needles also hurts
those addicts who are trying to minimize the risk to themselves and,
in many cases, to those with whom they are using. Drug use may make us
uncomfortable as a community. And even after picking up hundreds of
needles, I always feel nervous when I see one, especially around a
park or near my home. But those aren't coming from the needle exchange
and are a part of a bigger problem that's much bigger than handing out
free needles.

Council needs to ignore the squeaking from a small group of critics on
this issue and listen to the facts. When it comes to the vote, let's
hope best practices win out rather than emotion and morality. There is
a lot at stake on this vote. 
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D