Episode 44: Kids on the Block Part 3 - Danny
[A highly saturated blue and pink image of ribbons in front of a crowd. (Original photo from the Vancouver Archives. Title: “Pride 2000.” Photographer unknown.)]
Right wing politicians say safe supply will hurt kids – that young people will get hooked on drugs they'd otherwise never try.
But kids already use drugs. If we want to protect and stabilize the lives of young people who use drugs, we need a regulated, non-toxic drug supply.
On episode 44, we hear from Danny – a young queer refugee who shares their story of surviving persecution and toxic drugs.
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A note about the title of this series: “Kids on the Block” is a phrase drug users on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside yell when a family with children walks by. It’s a warning to other drug users to be mindful of their language and to put their gear away.
Transcript
A complete transcript of this episode will be uploaded here when ready.
Calls to Action
A Vancouver-based Youth Advisory Council made up of 10 young people who use drugs has published the following calls to action for Canadian policy makers:
(1) We want accurate information about the risks and benefits of different drugs and how to practice different kinds of harm reduction in our schools and communities.
(2) Those providing harm reduction to YPWUD should always collaborate closely with them to determine what (if anything) regarding their drug use and harm reduction practices can be shared.
(3) Ideally, youth-oriented safer consumption sites should have a non-clinical, relaxed feel to them, and include a welcoming drop-in space alongside private spaces for safer consumption. They should be staffed by a mix of peers and providers with experience providing non-judgemental care, support, and camaraderie to YPWUD.
(4) Youth-oriented safer consumption, drug-checking, shelter, and housing programs and spaces should have dedicated programming and hours for young women, gender diverse and queer youth, and BIPOC youth. Mobile outreach vans and safer consumption rooms are critical to making harm reduction and other forms of support more accessible to YPWUD in the context of the street involvement, and in particular those who are not residing in city centres.
(5) We demand an end to compulsory or involuntary abstinence-based treatment programs. We want to be listened to regarding what drugs do for us, socially, physically, mentally, and emotionally, in our daily lives. Youth-dedicated drop-in centers and service hubs should center relationship- and trust-building and harm reduction.
(6) YPWUD who are in government care (i.e. living in foster care and group homes and independent living arrangements) must be able to access harm reduction services without fear of discipline and repercussions.
(7) We demand that YPWUD be at the table in a meaningful way (and not just as token participants in the process) as plans for decriminalization and safe supply are rolled out in British Columbia and elsewhere.
(8) Harm reduction organizing and programming must be informed by an intersectional lens. It is critical to recognize and respond to how the risks and harms experienced by YPWUD are shaped by intersections of class, race, gender, sexuality, and ability. It is also important to recognize the intersections between drug user activism, anti-poverty activism, housing activism, and sexual health activism.
(9) The goal is to grow a diverse and strong collective of YPWUD locally, nationally, and internationally.
For more details on these calls to action, see: Canêdo et al. (2022). Harm reduction calls to action from young people who use drugs on the streets of Vancouver and Lisbon. Harm Reduction Journal 19:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00607-7
Works Cited
BC Centre for Disease Control, “Opioid Use Disorder among Youth in BC.” June 6, 2023. http://www.bccdc.ca/resource-gallery/Documents/Statistics%20and%20Research/Statistics%20and%20Reports/Overdose/2023.06.06_OUD_youth_infographic.pdf
Canêdo et al. (2022). Harm reduction calls to action from young people who use drugs on the streets of Vancouver and Lisbon. Harm Reduction Journal 19:43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00607-7
Coroners Service, “Youth Unregulated Drug Toxicity Deaths in British Columbia: January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2022,” https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/birth-adoption-death-marriage-and-divorce/deaths/coroners-service/statistical/youth_drug_toxicity_deaths_2017-2022.pdf
Damon, William, Ryan McNeil, M-J Milloy, Ekaterina Nosova, Thomas Kerr, and Kanna Hayashi. “Residential Eviction Predicts Initiation of or Relapse into Crystal Methamphetamine use Among People Who Inject Drugs: A Prospective Cohort Study.” Journal of Public Health (2018).
Fast, Danya, Thomas Kerr, Evan Wood, and Will Small. “The multiple truths about crystal meth among young people entrenched in an urban drug scene: a longitudinal ethnographic investigation.” Soc Sci Med (2014).
McNeil, Ryan, Taylor Fleming, Alexandra B Collins, Sandra Czechaczek, Samara Mayer, and Jade Boyd. “Navigating Post-Eviction Drug Use Amidst a Changing Drug Supply: A Spatially-Oriented Qualitative Study of Overlapping Housing and Overdose Crises in Vancouver, Canada.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence (2021).
Credits
Crackdown is produced on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil Waututh Nations.
Our editorial board is: Samona Marsh, Shelda Kastor, Jeff Louden, Dean Wilson, Laura Shaver, Reija Jean, Delilah Gregg, Martin Steward, and Ryan Maddeaux. Rest in peace, Dave Murray, Greg Fresz and Chereece Keewatin.
This month we also need to say goodbye to three drug user activists. Rest in peace to Clint, Crystal and Cecil. We will miss you.
This episode was conceptualized, written, and produced by Sam Fenn, Alex de Boer, Rebecca Haines-Saah, Lisa Hale, Danya Fast and Garth Mullins.
Score by James Ash and Sam Fenn.
Special thanks to Kali Sedgemore, Annalina Claire, and Naja Kassir. As well as Taliah Lyons, Zara Lyons, Sarina Lyons and Ayla Martin from Youth 4 Youth Canada. And thanks once again to Bones, Jade, and Danny for sharing their stories with us.
Today’s episode was funded in part by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, The Vancouver Foundation and Michael Smith Health Research BC.
If you like what we do, support us at patreon.com/crackdownpod.
