Come join us in building an anti-poverty movement in Victoria.  VCAP is now holding organizing meetings every other Monday at 7 pm at Camas Books, 2590 Quadra (@ Kings).  Our next meetings are February 28th and March 14th, 2011. All are welcome!

Pot-luck contributions and snacks are always welcome. Camas is a wheelchair-accessible space, but the washroom regrettably is not. Bus tickets will be available for those who need them. A children’s play area is available.

Organizing the Anti-Poverty Teach-In

The Anti-Poverty Teach-In subcommittee is holding meetings on a regular basis. To find out when the next one is, email us at Vcap.victoria@gmail.com.

Pot-luck contributions and snacks are always welcome. Camas is a wheelchair-accessible space, but the washroom regrettably is not. Bus tickets will be available for those who need them. A children’s play area is available.

The Anti-Poverty Teach-In subcommittee is also holding meetings on a regular basis. To find out when the next one is, email us at vcap.victoria@gmail.com.

VCAP has published the Peoples’ Plan for Pandora Survey Results in a new report. Turn to the “Peoples’ Plan” tab on our blog, or check it out here: Peoples Plan Survey Results Report.

Date: Tuesday, December 14
Time: 3:30pm – 5:30pm
Place: Victoria Police Department, 850 Caledonia

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Members of SOLID (Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users) and Harm Reduction Victoria (HRV) will be addressing the Victoria Police Board on Tuesday, December 14, 2010.

Join us to make sure the Police Board hears us loud and clear:
POLICE OUT OF HEALTH CARE!!

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HRV is attending Victoria Police Board meeting to demand that the Victoria Police Department (VPD) retract its position of excluding harm reduction health services from certain areas of the city, particularly those where people who use drugs are at higher risk.

Recently, the VPD has increased its efforts to prevent people who use illicit drugs from accessing safer drug use supplies in the 900 block of Pandora. Many people who use this area are impacted by the failure of coordinated leadership by the City of Victoria, Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA) and Provincial authorities to adequately address homelessness, poverty and the devastating impacts of stigma, discrimination, and poor-bashing.

Last week, we learned that members of the VPD had successfully pressured the Pandora Pharmacy to cease their distribution of safer drug use supplies, despite support for the practice from the BC Centre for Disease Control and Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Perry Kendall.

The VPD did not intervene through any application of law; there is no law or bylaw preventing the distribution of clean supplies in the 900 block of Pandora, or anywhere else in the city. The Police continue to incorrectly refer to the so-called ‘no-go zone’ as an area where harm reduction supplies must not be distributed. In reality, the zone is a confusing public relations mess with real health consequences for our society’s most marginalized residents.

VIHA Chief Medial Officer, Dr. Richard Stanwick, and Medical Health Officer, Dr. Murray Fyfe, have both publicly confirmed that the so-called ‘no-go zone’ is a non-existent policy, while the ranks of VIHA Public Health continue to require only 1 of the 3 primary needle exchange service providers in the city to abide by it, with the strong support of the VPD.

The VPD have stopped the legitimate distribution of the critical harm reduction health services once provided by Pandora Pharmacy through bullying, harassment and intimidation. Through the misguided and ignorant assumption that “harm reduction” is a synonym for disorder, crime, and chaos, the police have usurped powers rightly belonging to agencies legitimately entrusted with delivering health care services.

The VPD cling to the non-existent no-go zone to support their campaign of social cleansing in the 900 block of Pandora. Current VPD Chief Graham led an intensified policing initiative in the Downtown Eastside when he served as Vancouver Police Chief, the results of which were shown to be a reinforced and exacerbated ‘risk environment’ for people who use drugs and the larger community, including discouraged safer injection practices, increased unsafe disposal of syringes, and increased displacement of people who use drugs. Comprehensive harm reduction programs, including dedicated fixed site needle exchange and supervised consumption services, successfully engage and support people who use drugs, provide private space for drug consumption, remove used supplies from our streets, and provide an effective and human-rights based alternative to the exacerbation of stigma, marginalization and fear perpetuated by intensified policing.

The VPD must cease their active exclusion of harm reduction services where they are needed, and cease their tactics of harassment, intimidation and bullying towards harm reduction health care providers.

Links to background info:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/victorias-pandora-pharmacy-stops-needle-distribution-service/article1815941/?cmpid=rss1

Police Board Minutes (July 2010)

http://www.harmreductionvictoria.ca/?q=node%2F93

Support essential services in 900-block Pandora

http://www.harmreductionvictoria.ca/?q=node%2F92

VIHA Chief Medical Health Office Murray Fyfe on ‘no-service zone’

http://www.cfax1070.com/newsstory.php?newsId=16067

http://www.harmreductionvictoria.ca/?q=node%2F91

Pot-luck contributions and snacks are always welcome. Camas is a wheelchair-accessible space, but the washroom regrettably is not. Bus tickets will be available for those who need them. A children’s play area is available.

Organizing the Anti-Poverty Teach-In

The Anti-Poverty Teach-In subcommittee is holding meetings on a regular basis. To find out when the next one is, email us at Vcap.victoria@gmail.com.

Outraged Community Members Protest Anti-Camping Bylaw Amendment
Residents defy streets and traffic bylaw amendment on Pandora Green

(Coast Salish Territories, Victoria, BC)  Over 50 Victoria residents gathered on Pandora Green to protest the impact that the City’s streets and traffic bylaw amendment will have on the homeless community that lives in the area.  The amendment, which was approved by Council today, prohibits kneeling, sitting or laying down on boulevards and medians from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am.

Members of four local anti-poverty groups sat on Pandora Green to show their opposition to the bylaw that they say will further marginalize the city’s most vulnerable population.  Although Victoria Police were observed hassling members of the street community who were sitting on the sidewalk directly on Pandora, none approached the anti-poverty groups on the boulevard.

“Homelessness and poverty rates have reached crisis levels in the city of Victoria,” said Victoria Coalition Against Poverty spokesperson Nick Montgomery.  “Authorizing police to chase people out of well-lit areas where they feel safe, into invisible corners and dark alleys, is only going to make the situation worse.”

In 2009, a Supreme Court decision recognized homeless peoples’ right to camp on public land.  Since that time, a community of people has been sleeping on the boulevard in front of Our Place, a popular daytime drop-in centre. Under pressure from local businesses and home-owners, the City passed the bylaw by suggesting that the tenters create traffic safety problems.

“This decision has nothing to do with traffic safety.  It is an obvious attempt to sweep homeless people into less visible locations” said Montgomery. “Common sense and best practices from every other city in North America demonstrate that you can’t end poverty by using police to chase people out of sight.”

The Victoria Coalition Against Poverty (VCAP) conducted research in the area, interviewing almost 100 members of the street community about their ideas and visions for the neighbourhood.  When asked about actions that the city could take to solve the homelessness problem people consistently mentioned the need for supported housing, harm reduction services and an end to police violence.  VCAP has posted the preliminary results of this survey (http://vcapvictoria.wordpress.com/83-2/) and will be facilitating discussions with the street community to draft a Peoples’ Plan for Pandora Green in the coming weeks.

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This Thursday City Council will be enacting a bylaw to criminalize homeless people for camping on Pandora Green.

Two weeks ago more than 100 people came to a public hearing and spoke almost unanimously against this initiative.  People lined up for hours to patiently explain that authorizing domestic military forces to chase poor people away from their community is morally atrocious and it will amplify the crisis of homelessness in our region.  The city refused to listen to words, so now its time for action.

Join VCAP on Pandora Green this Thursday at 7:00 PM for a potluck gathering.  If the city wants to send in Police to chase us away, they’ll be on TV for breaking up a picnic, but if they let us stay then they will be famous for letting (mostly) privileged activists get away with the same thing that homeless people could be fined for.  We win either way!

Call your friends, family and neighbors and tell them that this is a great way to make our point with a very very low risk of anyone being fined.  Bring you instruments, some food to share, a tarp in case it rains and a tent if you want to spend the night.  Semi formal attire would be great if you have it.

For more info visit http://vcapvictoria.wordpress.com

Time: 6:30 pm

Place: City Hall, Pandora entrance

Come out to City Hall and voice your opposition to the streets and traffic bylaw amendment!

The Action Committee of People with Disabilities, the Committee to End Homelessness, Harm Reduction Victoria, the Society of Living Intravenous Drug Users, the Vancouver Island Public Interest Research Group and the Victoria Coalition Against Poverty are united and speaking out at City Hall to show our opposition to the proposed amendment …to the Streets and Traffic Bylaw “To Better Regulate Boulevards and Medians.”

This law would make it illegal to sleep on boulevards such as the green at Pandora Ave. It has become obvious that the intent behind this proposed amendment is to further criminalize poverty and homelessness in our city.

VCAP demands:

1. The City must drop this bylaw amendment as we demand a moratorium until the Pandora campers are consulted!

2. The City must respect the intention behind the City vs. Adams Supreme Court decision that upheld the right to erect shelters in public parks!

JOIN US! SPEAK OUT!

City Council is holding a public hearing on the proposed amendment and speakers will be given air on a “first come first serve” basis.

Join us at 6:30 and flood city hall with our voices! Even if you don’t want to speak join us in support. Let’s outnumber the NIMBY voices and speak our discontent with city halls proposed amendment!

You do not need to sign up to speak, however if you want to send a message to city hall, sign up anyway! Follow the link below.

How to sign up: online @ http://www.victoria.ca/cityhall/meetings_addrs.shtml

Or you can fill out the attached form and send it in yourself. You don’t need to include many details about motivation to speak unless you care to. We also want to encourage people to send emails to the mayor and councilors to let them know that you do not support the proposed amendment to the streets and traffic by-law. http://www.victoria.ca/citymail/index.asp?rec=262&subj=Mayor+and+Council+Contac