AS NEEDLE EXCHANGE GOES MOBILE, SUPPORTERS WORRY ABOUT EFFECTS

Beginning May 26, Staff Will Drive, Walk And Park To Dispense Services

Victoria's needle exchange staff will begin in late May walking,
driving and at times parking on the city's downtown streets to give
out needles to intravenous drug users. Organizers don't know if this
plan will work, but it's the only one they have in the face of
eviction on May 31.

The trial mobile service will start up May 26 delivering needles, as
well as condoms and other harm-reduction paraphernalia, on foot
during the afternoon and early evening hours and by van at night
along a designated route. Staff, working in teams of two, equipped
with cellphones, will also respond to calls at 896-2849 for
information on where to get clean needles.

By van, staff will travel along Government Street (starting at Herald
Street), Gorge Road, Garbally Road and Douglas Street and back to
Herald Street. Under the service's new code of conduct, however, the
mobile service will have "no service zones" near schools, daycares,
open businesses and faith organizations. It also promises to be
vigilant about picking up needles if found around dropoff areas or in
downtown hot spots morning and evening.

Thus far, the route will include only one confirmed stop on Princess
Avenue near the corner of Government Street, where the van will park
on the street and give out needles.

The trial route was devised with input from the Vancouver Island
Health Authority and the Victoria police, said Katrina Jensen,
executive director of AIDS Vancouver Island, which delivers the
service on behalf of VIHA.

"I think it's going to be sad that Victoria is without a needle
exchange for first time in 20 years," Jensen said. VIHA and
University of Victoria researchers will evaluate the service from
June until September. "Only time will tell if it works," she added.

"We're concerned about when we go mobile, we won't be able to access
the same number of clients and distribute the same number of
syringes," Jensen said. AIDS Vancouver Island and VIHA continue to
look for a fixed site.

The needle exchange allows addicts to exchange clean needles for
dirty ones to help prevent the sharing or reuse of dirty needles and
spreading blood-borne infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis
C. If addicts don't use the new mobile service, the concern is that
these infection rates will increase.

With a clientele that ranges from people living on the street to
those who come after working 9 to 5 p.m., Jensen can't guess which
user group if any the mobile unit is more likely to miss.

"We're really concerned for the clients. We don't want to see an
increase in hepatitis C or HIV, and we will work as hard as we can to
prevent that," Jensen said.

Mike Conroy, VIHA's chief operating officer, said the health
authority is also concerned some clients won't use the new service
but is doing what it can to make as accessible to addicts as possible.

"It's an unknown a risk, for sure, but we're certainly trying to get
the message out [to clients] as well as to all community agencies to
ensure people who need the services know how to avail themselves of
them," he said.

The needle exchange has been handing out packs of needles with extra
supplies to some clients to facilitate the changeover to a mobile service.

Jensen said it will also be more difficult, as a mobile exchange, to
spot and offer other services to drug users such as addiction
counselling, health care and education.

The needle exchange has 1,500 registered clients -- seeing about 400
a month -- and has operated out of its Cormorant Street location since 2002.

But over the last year, the operation became increasingly
controversial because users loitered outside the building, leaving
behind dirty syringes, blood and human waste. Some neighbours took
legal action forcing the landlords to shut down the service.

A new location was found but didn't pan out because what seemed an
ideal location for VIHA -- its new $2-million St. John Ambulance
building at 941 Pandora Ave -- outraged parents at the nearby private
St. Andrew's Elementary School.

The health authority has now formed a committee with representatives
from police, business, community associations, outreach organizations
and faith organizations to respond to issues around the mobile
exchange and work toward solutions and possibly finding a fixed site.

Conroy concedes it won't be easy to start up a fully mobile service
but that many measures have been put in place, as well as additional
funding, to ensure the service "has a really good chance at success"
offering the maximum impact for users and the minimum impact on the community.

"I think we'll experience challenges in a number of sites but the
need goes on," he said.