Insite is a "supervised injection site" located in the downtown Eastside in Vancouver, BC. Though there are multiple sites like these in Europe, Insite is the first (and only) one in North America. Apart from providing addicts with clean injection equipment such as syringes, cookers, filters, water and tourniquets, Insite also supervises those injecting drugs to make sure that they do not overdose and if they do that they receive medical attention immediately. Insite also provides counselling, housing, community support and primary care to treat disease and infection for their users. Since most of these individuals would not have access to health care services, Insite connects them to nurses who can help them and even refer them to Onsite. Just upstairs from Insite, Onsite is where users can pursue detoxification and overcome their addiction.
By working on the "harm reduction model", Insite intends to decrease the negative health, social and economical consequences of drug abuse without requiring users to be drug free. It has been held in high regard by those in the community for multiple reasons:
-overdoses have decreased from 35% on site, and 9% in the city overall
-since opening, there has been a decrease in needle-sharing, public injections and publicly discarded syringes
-an increased number of people are seeking treatment services due to Insite.
Insite is a great benefit to the community in the downtown Eastside. Overcoming legal and political obstacles, it continues to provide services to those who need it.
If you want to continue reading about Insite, check out their official website!
Or, if reading isn't your thing, this video provides some excellent information.
Great topic choice. I clearly understood the purpose and philosophy of Insite. I am intrigued to see how you will relate this topic to human rights and social justice. I am especially interested in the reasons for opposition to Insite and who the stake holders in that conflict are. The video was very informative. The addict who spoke in the beginning made the issue easier to understand and relate to. I look forward to reading more posts about this issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks Emma!
DeleteI thought Insite would be a really good topic because it's local and ties in issues about drug addiction, poverty, and those marginalized in our own city. As for the opposition, they don't have a solid argument at all (which is why Insite is still operating) and I will go over thatin greater detail. There's a lot of information I wanted to post but didn't want to pack it into one post so on the weekend I'll be putting up more background information about Insite. As for the video, I find anything compelling if described firsthand by those affected by it. I was horrified at how the people used puddle water to shoot up.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks Neena for the update.I never heard of this before,but thanks for the educating about this,at least this will benefit those people who want to make a change in their lives, rather than affecting them like the one on hasting.
ReplyDeleteHi Neena,
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely interesting topic! I've heard about Insite on the news, but the stories seemed slightly biased, and did not go too in depth. After reading your blog and watching the video, I see the importance of this clinic, and how it positively affects its members. Thanks for shedding some light on a topic that is not usually discussed!