March for Dignity !

On Sunday I spent about eight hours with another person putting up flier's for the"March for Dignity " that will be happening on Sunday , May 31, 12pm on the boulevard at Vancouver and Pandora in Victoria British Columbia . As I went out into the communities to get this message out to all that I could get to listen , I encountered some the the people that are being denied this service . A service that could mean a matter of life or death to so many people who are addicted to intravenous drugs or addicted to smoking crack cocaine if something is not done immediately .

The needle exchange in Victoria has been closed for one year on May 31 and there has been a no-service zone put in place so that those who need these services no longer have it available in the area where the other services that they can access such as , hot meals , medical care, emergency food ,showers , clean clothes and blankets, even housing at " Our Place " are . Taking this service away is only opening the door to the greater spread of Hepatitis C or Aids because a lot of the people who need this service are sometimes just way to sick to make it to the Mobile Service. This presents a a heavy burden for those such as Solid and Sag who are trying to distribute just basic supplies to those who can not make it to the Mobile Service which is far more equipped to handle the much need service. Having the mobile unit is also a way for the members of the team to be available with information or medical help if some one needs it .

We need to stop letting fear control how we conduct ourselves as human beings on this planet , because, what does the face look like of some one who is addicted to something that is unhealthy to their health or others . . Addiction can also be alcohol, food , gambling , coffee , shopping , sex , nicotine , and even for our children, video games or television . We provide mass amount of services to help those who need services when their addictions have caused health issues such as cancer , diabetes , obesity , or other health issues . Why are we so adamant about not providing this same support and compassion to the addict who is addicted as well ?


We need to stop saying " we are protecting our children by not wanting a service in our neighborhood that would save a life " because the addicted are also someones child . I would like to believe that if your child needed a service to save their life the folks of your community would join together to help in any way they can . Why is an addict not deserving of the same respect and dignity .

We need to demand the immediate end to the no-service zone , we need to call for the immediate opening of fixed site needle exchanges and supervised consumption services .

We need to stop dehumanizing addicts and start helping them when they are at their most vulnerable .

Why would we not want to step up as a city and help save another human beings child ? Do we not see the collateral damage that is being done because we we are to blind or ignorant on the issues of addictions or because we truly believe the only face of an addict is of a poor homeless person who deserves every thing that has happened or will happen to them .

My name is Jade and I am fifty -eight years old and I am a recovering addict , alcoholic who was diagnosed with Hepatitis C thirteen years ago from my use of intravenous drugs from 1964 -1967 . There was no services available then either nor did we have any idea about Hepatitis C or even Aids to the extent we now know . Hepatitis C can remain dormant for up to twenty years and by that time it can create a lot of damage to the liver and other vital organs . It also can be spread to others during this time, all the while no one is even aware they have contracted it . There are a lot of people who come from my generation that have experiment with intravenous drugs "back in the day ", that are now just starting to show the signs of Hepatitis C . Do we really want to see another generation suffer from these debilitating diseases?



I urge you to come out and walk in support " Harm Reduction Victoria" in the March for Dignity happening on Sunday, May 31, 12pm on the boulevard at Vancouver and Pandora .

I urge you to demand the immediate end to the no-service zone

I urge you to demand of your government the immediate opening of fixed site needle exchange and supervised consumption services .

The life you may be saving now or later on in their life may be your neighbors child or maybe it will be your child .