RELOCATION OF NEEDLE EXCHANGE WORRIES PARENTS AT ST. ANDREW'S

School Wasn't Warned Of VIHA Proposal

St. Andrew's elementary schoolchildren in their blue tartan uniforms
will pass by drug addicts and pushers on their way to the playground
after Victoria's needle exchange moves into the neighbourhood this summer.

St. Andrew's principal Keefer Pollard said worried parents were
desperate for details yesterday, but he had none to give.

"We're very concerned we've received no information before this went
public," Pollard said. "The safety of the children is our primary concern."

The Vancouver Island Health Authority plans to relocate the city's
cramped needle exchange to the much bigger, 12,000-square-foot
administrative building owned by St. John Ambulance at 941 Pandora Ave.

VIHA has made an offer of about $2 million for the building. The City
of Victoria is contributing $100,000 to the purchase price and will
provide funding for policing around the building, which will also
house doctors, nurses and mental-health workers.

The needle exchange will be adjacent to the newly constructed Our
Place homeless drop-in centre, near the Victoria Conservatory of
Music, across from a busy McDonald's restaurant and kitty-corner to
the private Catholic school.

VIHA president Howard Waldner said he understands why some people are
upset. "The problem is no matter where we go, there will always be
community issues and sensitivities," he said.

Because there are already drug addicts and transients in the area,
Waldner believes the addition of the new Our Place, further
integrated health services and a significant police presence "will be
a major mitigation."

Users won't be allowed to inject drugs at the needle exchange or to
loiter around the building, Waldner said.

Victoria Deputy Police Chief John Ducker said details on the number
of officers and patrol times won't be established until after the
police budget is approved. However, he says the old Cormorant Street
site was never a suitable location.

Putting it in an area where there will be more and better services,
Ducker said, to help clients "will be better for everybody. In
addition to that, we will supply as much presence as we can under the plan."

St. Andrew's already hosts all the trappings of a modern-day urban
school with its metal doors, video surveillance cameras, door buzzers
and fences. With the anticipated arrival of the needle exchange,
Pollard said the school will consider "adding additional security equipment."

Funded by VIHA and run by AIDS Vancouver Island, the needle exchange,
which serves about 1,500 intravenous drug users, is being evicted
from its current location on Cormorant Street. It must be out by the summer.

The facility has become notorious because some addicts use drugs
nearby and leave behind a trail of dirty syringes, blood and human
waste on the street.

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe said yesterday the city doesn't intend to
move the Cormorant Street problems to Pandora Avenue.

"With a decentralized model, we will not see the volume of clients
going to one particular facility and with some extra police presence
in this neighbourhood, it will actually be a safer environment," said
Lowe, currently on vacation, in an e-mail response.

Steve Haviaras, spokesman for the Victoria Conservatory of Music,
said he's surprised by the news but that the Conservatory is
supportive of efforts to address homelessness, health and social ills.

"Many of us saw it in the paper this morning for the first time,"
Haviaras said. "I'm trying to be as optimistic as possible. The fact
a police office will be part of it may improve things generally in
the neighbourhood."

VIHA also plans to lessen the burden on the needle exchange and
neighbours by using numerous satellite and mobile locations for
needle drop-off and pickups.

The exchange may exist only as a mobile service for a while, as
neither Victoria's mayor nor VIHA's president believe the official
move can occur by the June 1 eviction deadline.

Officials met Thursday with immediate neighbours to the needle
exchange and plan to meet with more people in the area over the next few weeks.