[ad_1]
A new service in & # 39; Campbell River is bringing support for harm reduction people who use drugs at home, the site of most fatal overdoses.
AIDS Vancouver Island (AVI) launched the service & # 39; awareness recent months with & # 39; provincial funds aimed at the communities hardest hit by the opioid crisis, including Kampbell River.
Workers to reduce damage to the workers and Jesse Ashley Shea Atton say the effort is designed to save lives by meeting & # 39; to & # 39; people where they are.
"For people who are not comfortable entering into AVI and enter the service here, we nġibuhom on their kinks, so to speak," said Shea. "They have the right to use drugs with & # 39; safe mode."
Launched in & # 39; mid-October, the a & # 39; communication services are available Wednesday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Both workers & # 39; awareness go around in their personal vehicles, a black SUV and bright orange truck.
It is a mobile version of the site & # 39; prevention & # 39; overdose in downtown office & # 39; AVI, where people can inhibit or disseminate drugs under the supervision & # 39; the health care worker. That service was launched in & # 39; May 2017 and changed some 19 overdose by the end of September & # 39; this year.
The barriers that prevent people from using that resource to save lives include shame and stigma about using drugs or no access to a vehicle, according to the team & # 39; awareness. The result is that people risk their lives using drugs on their own, or resort to unsafe practices such as reusing syringes.
"I met & # 39; to & # 39; someone the other day who said he used the needle again for 10 days," Atton said. "And it was because of logistics."
S & # 39; now this year, 58 percent & # 39; & # 39 overdoses; illicit drugs occurred at home, according to the BC Coroner.
As part of the work of & # 39; their awareness, the team offers to supervise people who use drugs in their homes, finished with oxygen and naloxone in & # 39; & # 39 case; overdose.
They also provide clean syringes and other supplies, referrals to other service providers – including treatment & # 39; replacement & # 39; opioids and other medical aid – education and reduction & # 39; damage, such as using a kit & # 39; naloxone.
The educational thrust is aimed at users and other members of the community, to help in building & # 39; networks & # 39; support. This includes friends, family, neighbors and suppliers & # 39; housing
The drug users come from all walks of life, and the team & # 39; awareness targeting not only people who are struggling with & # 39; dependence but anyone who wants to reduce the harm caused by drug use.
"Everybody knows someone who can & # 39; use this service," said Shea
The traffic representatives are emerging as a major group in & # 39; risk & # 39; overdose, including those who may use drugs b & # 39; recreational way after issuing a camp & # 39; work, she said Shea.
She added that drugs common part as ecstasy or MDMA often contain fentanyl, and b & # 39; so young people are vulnerable to overdose.
The team services & # 39; awareness are also available for persons using an illicit drug, such as morphine seniors taking prescription or using patch & # 39; fentanyl.
Sarah Sullivan, manager of & # 39; offices & # 39; Campbell River and Courtenay of & # 39; AVI, said that the team & # 39; awareness report to the committee and province & # 39; local stakeholders dubbed as "team & # 39; Community action" (CAT).
That committee includes officials from a wide range of & # 39; groups, including the RCMP, the Health of First Nations, the Island Health Authority and City & # 39; Campbell River, among others.
The committee is still looking for someone with & # 39; personal experience having been in the weight of the crisis, including a family member & # 39; someone who died with & # 39; overdose, said Meribeth Burton, spokesman for the Island Health.
"We are looking for b & # 39; proactive approach people who are willing to join – a CATV CAT & # 39; Campbell," she said in & # 39; e-mail to – Mirror.
The committee – which was originally set up after the province declared the opioid crisis as emergency public health in the spring of 2016 – received $ 100,000 this year from B.C. government, part of a larger initiative across the whole province to combat the crisis & # 39; opioids.
Of that money, $ 60,000 to go to the effort & # 39; awareness led AVI, finance the program from October to June. The rest of the funding is to hire & # 39; coordinator of CAT and other related efforts, said Burton.
The 18 selected community for CAT funding are among those most affected in & # 39; BC, according to the province, who announced the funding in February. Two other communities in the lower mainland were added later.
The North Island was the fifth highest per capita rate of & # 39; fatal overdoses in the province last year, b & # 39; about 30 deaths per 100,000 people. S & # 39; now this year, the rate dropped to about 21 per 100,000, but it remains & # 39; several times higher than before the start of the opioid crisis.
By September & # 39; this year, 20 illicit death & # 39; overdose & # 39; drug occurred in the region of Island & # 39; North. There were no recorded deaths & # 39; overdose on sites & # 39; prevention & # 39; overdose or sites & # 39; supervised consumption anywhere in & # 39; BC.
The team services & # 39; awareness of AVI are available to people in the area of Campbell River, but residents of remote areas may also request referrals. The team can & # 39; be contacted via & # 39; AVI office at (250) 830-0787, mobile at (250) 203-0777 or by & # 39; email at [email protected] and [email protected].
@davidgordonkoch
[email protected]Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
[ad_2]
Source link
