Salon Article on InSite

InSite is a government-funded safe injection site in Vancouver’s poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside. It has, by all accounts, been extremely successful in its three years of operation. Richard pointed to an article in Salon (you have to watch a short ad to view entire article) which provides an excellent overview of the project:

Since Insite opened, there has not been a single death inside or connected to the facility among the more than 7,200 individuals who have used it — including at least 453 people who have overdosed. Preventing overdoses from ending in fatalities is a primary objective of the program. “Those were all overdose events that could have been life-threatening without immediate medical intervention,” said Jeff West, a coordinator for Vancouver Coastal Health who has been on staff at Insite since its launch. “These are people who stop breathing, or who suffer seizures or aneurisms. If they pass out in an alley and nobody sees them, they are at risk of death.”

The final section of the article discusses conservative city councilor George Chow. He was originally opposed to InSite, but has apparently come around. Here’s an article from the Tyee discussing that particular change of heart.

Canada’s Conservative government was due in early September to extend InSite’s funding for three years, but essentially copped out.