NO FANFARE OVER SECOND SITE

The city's second Health Canada-sanctioned supervised injection site will
open next Thursday when the Dr. Peter Centre moves to its new premises at
the corner of Comox and Thurlow.

Maxine Davis, executive director of the Dr. Peter Centre, said the
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority included the centre in its application
to Health Canada requesting permission to operate a supervised injection
site at 139 East Hastings St.

As a result, Health Canada granted a Section 56 exemption to permit legal
injection of illegal drugs at both sites. The East Hastings site was opened
to the media on Monday morning with much fanfare, but is not yet open to
injection drug users.

"Health Canada came by to inspect our site when they inspected the Hastings
Street one and they've approved us," Davis said.

The key difference between the two sites is that the Hastings Street site
is for any injection drug users, while the Dr. Peter Centre will be
restricted to injection drug users who are registered with the Centre.

Opened in April 1997 in a disused part of St. Paul's hospital, the Dr.
Peter Centre provides live-in and drop-in support for people who have
HIV/AIDS and are living in poverty. The centre was the brainchild of Dr.
Peter Jepson-Young, a Vancouver medical doctor, who documented his battle
with HIV on CBC TV. He died of AIDS in November 1992.

Currently, the centre houses 10 people and has 200 clients registered with
the day program.

The new Dr. Peter Centre will have 24 beds and is expected to handle more
day visits on a weekly basis, compared to its current five-day-a-week
service. The $10-million building was constructed on city land and funded
by donors and the provincial and federal governments.

Davis said a key reason the VCHA decided to fund 24-hour support for an
additional 12 beds is because it will reduce the number of people with
HIV/AIDS who are currently in hospital beds, either because they need a
24-hour intravenous drip or are chronically sick.

"They were prepared to fund the increase from 10 to 24 beds because they
need to improve the flow through in St. Paul's Hospital. There are at least
six to eight people in St. Paul's who are waiting for us to open so they
can move in," Davis said. There is currently a waiting list to get into one
of the self-contained suites. Of the 24 beds, 18 will be for residential
care, four as palliative suites and two as respite beds.

The Dr. Peter Centre has operated a small "harm reduction room" since April
2002, after nurses noticed clients going outside to inject drugs in unsafe
and unsanitary conditions. About 20 clients use the room, which is staffed
with a nurse.

Viviana Zanocco, media relations officer for the VCHA, said the authority
has not asked to open any more supervised injection sites in the city.