'IN-SITE' SAFE-INJECTION SITE READY, WAITING FOR GOVERNMENT GO-AHEAD

She knows all about the needle and the damage done. She has lived and
worked in the Downtown Eastside for more than a decade and knows too many
people who've OD'd in alleys and cheap rooming hotels.

Liz Evans knows a safe injection site won't solve the area's inveterate
drug epidemic, but given proper supervision, fewer addicts will end up
wearing toe-tags, she believes.

"It doesn't solve all the problems, but it's a necessary step to eliminate
unnecessary deaths," Evans said Thursday as she gave a tour of a new safe
injection site for IV drug users proposed for the Downtown Eastside.

Dubbed "In-Site," the 2,500-square foot facility located in the 100-block
of East Hastings--sandwiched between a sub shop and XXX store--features a
client intake area, injection room and counseling and emergency rooms.

Health Quest, a coalition of community groups proposing to operate the
safe-injection site pending government approvals, and other local
stakeholders hope In-Site will become the first of a number of legal
safe-injection sites in Vancouver.

"In-Site will help the community, both the drug users and other residents,
deal with addiction in a new and progressive way," said Evans, a Health
Quest board member. "The facility offers a practical solution to managing
the negative impacts of drug addiction, including HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and
overdose deaths." She noted more than 2,400 people have died from
preventable drug OD deaths in B.C. in the past 10 years.

As she walked around In-Site, Evans noted the facility has been tastefully
decorated --"everyone thought because it was the Downtown Eastside it would
be grubby"--so drug users could feel a sense of dignity. The site, she
added, would benefit the entire community by moving the open drug-use scene
indoors.

"It's one piece of a very complex puzzle.

John Turvey, executive director of DEYAS, favours a safe-injection site,
but only as part of a systemic approach to the drug problem in Canada's
poorest neighbourhood. He notes provincial cutbacks have resulted in the
closure of recovery and treatment centres. "I wish it was part of a
continuum of care," he said.

Although the safe-injection site model has support from the Mayor's office,
the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority and other community stakeholders,
there's no guarantee In-Site's doors will open anytime soon.

Currently, the health authority is preparing a proposal on safe injection
sites that will be submitted to Health Canada at the end of February.
Health Canada has already indicated support for the pilot project, provided
the sites are part of scientific study conducted by the health authority.

"From there it will take up to 60 days to get approval," said health
authority spokesperson Clay Adams Thursday.

Funding, however, is still a major problem. The estimated price tag of a
safe-injection site, along with access to support services, like drug and
detox programs, is more than $1 million.

"We don't have any money," lamented Adams. "We're hoping for federal money."

North America's first legally sanctioned safe injection site could be open
in April or May if proper funding is secured, said Adams.

Evans, meanwhile, can't wait to open In-Site's doors. "We just hope it will
be used."