ABBOTSFORD'S MENTAL HEALTH AND ADDICTIONS RESOURCES SADLY LACKING

The Advanced Issues 2410 class uncovered a major problem in
Abbotsford during a project studying harm reduction. The problem they
discovered is a by-law in Abbotsford that effectively bans any sort
of harm reduction programs for drug addiction.

On April 1st, class members Stevie Pearson, Mel Cabral, Tanya
Friesen, Forrest Rosenthal and Nadia Moshtaginejad, along with some
citizens of Abbotsford, presented their findings about the by-law
with a special question and answer period where attendees could speak
to the citizens about their personal experiences and thoughts.

Harm reduction is generally known as a compassionate minimization of
the consequences associated with mental illness and drug abuse. It
can be seen in programs such as Insite, which promotes safety for
both users and citizens as it provides an alternative to shooting up
on the street, with used needles that can transfer disease, and out
of the plain view of children and other citizens.

While Abbotsford has the same problems seen in Vancouver, such as
many people suffering from addiction to drugs and mentally illness,
the same programs are not available to help them. The zoning by-law
in question prohibits any needle exchanges, mobile exchanges and safe
injection sites.

The fact is that the people who need help the most are stuck in
between those laws which prevent effective help, those which solely
purport abstinence and people like Barry Shantz, who does everything
he can to set up support systems in his community.

The students encountered Shantz during their field research and he
gave them a tour of downtown Abbotsford where needles are visibly
evident on the street. He also took them to the place he calls "top
of the line," the Women's Resource Society of the Fraser Valley's
"Warm Zone" where women are able to access showers, laundry
facilities and information about other help available to them, while
he shared with them his personal experiences in using harm reduction
techniques.

As of now, Shantz runs an unofficial needle exchange, using the few
people he trusts to help him distribute clean needles to the
community, and pick up the used ones.

"Only an ignorant person would see harm reduction as a bad thing.
Nobody is doing anything about the unnecessary human suffering
happening before my very eyes," said Shantz, who encountered these
problems firsthand at the downtown Abbotsford building he manages,
having to constantly clear the doorways of the homeless and drug-addicted.

Barry then became interested in the problem and educated himself by
reaching out to Vancouver institutions actively involved in helping
combat the drug addiction, attending their meetings, then becoming
acquainted with the what harm reduction is and what it consists of,
where he learned of Insite.

One of the biggest obstacles in Abbotsford are those as seen in the
highly vocal NIMBY group, an acronym for "Not In My Back Yard;"
advocates of abstinence and nothing in the way of treatment or
services. "Mental health and drugs are not class-orientated problems,
they can happen to anyone, and when it does happen, they fall to the
lowest priority," said Shantz. "I want to address, expose and make
effective the very people who are getting paid to help and who are not."

He shared the case of Leah, a 25 year old he took in this winter
after regularly finding her on his doorstep. Leah is mentally
disabled and crack addicted. When he found her, her disability was
unrecognized and she was not on government assistance. After many
attempts to receive help from the available resources, Barry was
finally able to set up a program that he hopes will protect her for
the rest of her life. Leah is now on welfare, but before she may
receive her assistance cheque, she must take her medication.

Barry underwent many obstacles in the system while trying to set her
up with resources from the community. In one case, Leah was unable to
receive mental health services because she had declined the
assistance in the past.

"People in the public don't know enough. The level of ignorance in
Abbotsford is high, and religious passion doesn't do the trick. To
help, people need to have specialized training of which Vancouver has
an abundance of, and Abbotsford is short on," explained Shantz.

On Monday April 6th, Mental Health and Addictions will meet to
discuss an upcoming public forum on this matter. As of now, the date
is set for May 4th, where they will present these issues to city hall
and to the public.