NEEDLE DELIVERY STARTS FOR ADDICTS

Addicts who pump drugs into their veins with a needle won't have to go far to
find clean syringes anymore.

A new mobile needle exchange has started rolling along the streets of Greater
Victoria.

Prompted by the lack of service available during daytime hours, the Victoria
AIDS Resource and Community Service Society (VARCS) this week launched Mobile
X. The mobile service is taking the needle exchange to where users gather,
giving them the choice of staying put and waiting for needles to be delivered
or actually going to the exchange located at the corner of Blanshard and
Cormorant streets.

"It's easier to go around to people to wherever they are in the community so
they don't have to make their way to a building," said Michael Yoder, executive
director of VARCS.

He said it made more sense to establish a mobile program rather than simply set
up another needle exchange in a building.

The aim of the program is to reduce the spread of HIV and hepatitis C by the
estimated 2,000 intravenous drug users in the region, and address the potential
dangers of having discarded needles strewn around Capital Region
neighbourhoods. The Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) has kicked in
$6,000 for the program but VARCS is still seeking funding from other sources.

The Mobile X van is on the road from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday. It
is operated by volunteers and outreach workers from local organizations such as
the Prostitutes Empowerment Education and Resources Society.

The Mobile X involves more than just exchanging needles.

Yoder pointed out the program includes a medical component as well. Nurses from
the Cool-Aid Community Health Centre and VIHA ride along with the van and
provide medical assistance to addicts who need it, Yoder said.

"Because a lot of these people are marginalized we want to make sure that
they're connecting to services and programs that will help them improve their
situation, whatever that might be," he said.

One of the conditions that nurses treat intravenous users for are abscesses,
Yoder said. An addict who injects drugs such as heroin or cocaine will often
develop an abscess if he or she shoots up the wrong way or develops an
infection from having some form of foreign substance under the skin, he
explained.

"If somebody's got an abscess it gives (the nurses) a chance to look at the
abscess, assess the situation, ask them about symptoms and either refer them to
the hospital, clinic or a doctor," Yoder said.

He said an educational component is also part of the Mobile X. Yoder said it's
important that intravenous drug users know how to maintain their health as much
as possible.

"It's helping people maintain their health so they don't get sick. We can't
stop people from using - we're not encouraging people to use - but we want to
make sure that people can maintain their health as best as they can."

While the rate of HIV and hepatitis C among intravenous drug users in Greater
Victoria isn't as high as in Vancouver, the numbers are increasing, said Yoder.
He noted that the Hep C virus is a lot easier to contract and said far more
addicts have it than HIV.

Miki Hansen, executive director of AIDS Vancouver Island, said her organization
has been supporting VARCS in its quest for funding for a mobile needle exchange
for the last few years.

"We totally support what VARCS is doing," she said.

Hansen said having a daytime needle exchange is beneficial for people who don't
want to wait until the evening to use the existing needle exchange, which is
open until 11 p.m. Now intravenous drug users have access to various forms of
assistance day and night, she said.

Dr. Richard Stanwick, chief medical health officer for VIHA, noted that mobile
needle exchanges have a successful track record. "This is an additional harm
reduction tactic that has been proven to work elsewhere," he said.

Stanwick pointed out that a similar program has been in place in Winnipeg since
the early 1990s. And the experience there has shown that a mobile needle
exchange is effective in tackling the health issues that result from
intravenous drug use, he said. Yoder said the mobile needle exchange van
travels to various locations.

He said VARCS is hoping to take the van out as far as the Western Communities
and Sooke.

"It's going to take us some time to find all the hot spots and a lot of that is
from word of mouth," Yoder said.