STUDENT NURSES HOPE TO PROVOKE CHANGE

Emily Allingham would like to see more health care dollars spent on
crack pipe mouth pieces.

Samantha Brown believes safe needle exchange is a health care
service.

And Megan Cox doesn't believe in lost causes, she believes in harm
reduction.

With these thought-provoking messages, the three young UBC Okanagan
student nurses are trying to catch the attention of the public.

Sporting T-shirts with attention-grabbing slogans, the girls will set
up at the Village Green Mall throughout the day Wednesday, Dec. 1.

"It's kind of provoking and we want people to come up and ask us
why," said 22-year-old Cox.

Allingham, 21, adds: "We want people who disagree with
us."

Being a conservative community, the trio says Vernon tends to frown
upon and discourage many harm-reduction efforts "" like safe
injection sites.

"We want to enlighten some people," said 24-year-old
Brown.

The student nurses hope to educate the public on how the sometimes
controversial harm-reduction efforts play a large role in helping the
community as a whole.

"The whole idea of enabling a drug addict, it just reduces the harm
they were going to be doing to themselves anyway," said Cox.

While Vernon doesn't have a safe injection site like Vancouver, it
does offer other controversial programs - free needle exchange/vein
maintenance, free condoms and lube and other services through the
Cammy LaFleur Street Nurse Outreach.

The outreach program offers confidentiality/privacy/non-judgemental/education
on harm reduction strategies.

The trio is striving to increase awareness and acceptability around
such services, in hopes that it will lead to continued services
through community support and funding of programs like the outreach
program.

"It keeps the whole community safer," said Brown.

The nursing students explain that such services strive to treat and
prevent health issues for its clientele.

For example, offering safe needle exchange (as well as vaccines for
hepatitis and testing, counselling and information for HIV, sexually
transmitted infections and hepatitis) can prevent further spread of
disease. In turn, the services decrease health care costs.

"Hepatitis C is on the rise in Vernon. So that has ramifications for
everybody in the community," said Brown, who is eyeing a career
working within the surgical department.

Allingham wants to see more health care dollars spent on crack pipe
filters mouth pieces.

Instead, she says, millions of health care dollars are spent on
treating lung infections and other ramifications from those who smoke
from less than ideal crack pipes.

"It's almost unnecessary costs," said Allingham, who is looking
forward to a career on the medical floor, working with patients.

Along with educating the public, the young women are hoping to gather
signatures in support of harm reduction. Their petition of signatures
will be forwarded to politicians and the outreach clinic.

Cox, who is keen for a future in the ER, hopes it will help ensure
there is always a place for services like the outreach program.

"Just in case anyone tries to take away the funding," said
Cox.

The nurses have also set up a page on Facebook - Harm Reduction in
Canada - with videos and information. To date, approximately 130
people "like" the group, and the students encourage other Facebook
users to look them up and "like" them too.