NEEDLE EXCHANGE GETS CASH, BUT WON'T BE MOVING

Addition Of $125,000 Will Help Expand Services, But Facility's
Neighbours Unlikely To Be Appeased

The Vancouver Island Health Authority will inject $125,000 into
cleaning up Victoria's controversial needle exchange, but to the
disappointment of neighbours, the site won't be moving anytime soon.

The health authority's action plan, stemming from a $12,000
independent review, will include hiring an extra staff member,
alternate needle dropoff and pickup sites, and agreements with
clients to improve their behaviour. VIHA funds AIDS Vancouver Island,
which runs the needle exchange on Cormorant Street.

"[The plan] should not be considered a panacea," said Mike Conroy,
chief operating officer for the health authority. He said success
isn't possible without commitment from other partners in the Mayor's
Task Force on Homelessness, which expects to find housing for 50
people now living on the street by March.

Katrina Jensen, executive director of AIDS Vancouver Island, said
until now, the needle exchange -- which is too small to provide
adequate services -- has been operating in "survival mode."

The extra funding is a far cry from the $585,000 the agency requested
for a new 3,000-square-foot building, but the approximately 50 per
cent increase is "huge" in terms of making significant changes to the
service, Jensen said.

"People are looking for a magic bullet, but in terms of mental health
and addictions, there isn't one," she said. "This is a start."

An additional staff member means the needle exchange, which employs
two paid staff, can remain open all week from 3:30 to 11 p.m. without
closing for dinner.

The needle exchange, which serves 1,500 addicts, has sparked
controversy because some of the homeless addicts loiter outside and
leave behind a trail of dirty syringes, blood and human waste.

In July, residents and business owners in the area requested a
temporary court injunction shutting down the exchange, which they
argue is a nuisance to property owners and tenants. That request is
still working its way through the application process.

Lawyer Stewart Johnston, whose law firm is nearby, said the new
funding won't stop people "whacked out of their minds, from screaming
and going nuts ... what residents have to put up with at night is brutal."

The service needs a bigger location with amenities such as toilets, he said.

NDP MLA Rob Fleming said the report will not appease his North Park
constituents: "It's a cheap, temporary solution," he said. "I'm very
disappointed there's no commitment to look at a new site."

Lawyer Keyvan Shojania, who has an interest in a nearby condominium
development, said he's disappointed but that the inaction works in
his favour. "They basically said they're prepared to do nothing, so
there's no reason why the landlord would not give them an eviction notice."

Landlords Yentel Property Management warned the needle exchange last
month that it would serve an eviction notice today -- effective May
2008 -- if it can't stop the loitering and defacement of public and
private property.

Jensen told the Times Colonist the eviction notice seems likely, but
added that if the needle exchange cleans up its act and finds an
appropriate alternate location, funding from VIHA may be forthcoming.

Victoria Deputy Chief John Ducker said police can help do a better
job around the needle exchange with the extra funding and officers
they've requested. But the real answer lies in providing housing and
other support services the homeless, drug-addicted community needs,
Ducker said.

The review'srecommendations suggest shutting down the needle
exchange's drop-in centre, although Jensen said the extra staff
member will allow that service to remain open. The report also
recommends pursuing a supervised consumption site in Victoria, which
requires an exemption from federal drug laws.

Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe said yesterday the city will hire someone in
the new year to write that proposal for submission to Health Canada.

The report can be found at viha.ca.