Letter from the Toronto Drug Users Union on harm reduction and the police

Haven't been posting here for a long while, and just checking in occasionally. I think this is the right forum.

Letter to the Works and John Howard Society Re: Partnership with the Police.

Disclaimer: We encourage all those opposed to this partnership to contact the Works, and John Howard directly. Please voice your opposition. This pilot project needs to end.
December 21, 2015

Atten: Shaun Hopkins
Manager, The Works

Toronto Public Health

Amber Kellen
Director of Community Initiatives, Policy and Research

The John Howard Society of Toronto


We are writing you regarding the current pilot “Street Outreach” project with the John Howard Society, The Works and the Toronto Police Services. After discussions with Shaun, it is our impression that this is a referral based outreach pilot project in partnership with plain clothes police officers. We are disappointed and dismayed by this project and are fearful of its ramifications and are asking for its immediate discontinuation.


Decades of trust has been built in this city between people who use drugs and front line harm reduction workers. This trust is being broken every day that this project continues. We do not need to explain why bringing undercover officers on outreach is problematic. The police is the most comprehensive tool in reinforcing prohibition and we know you comprehend the magnitude of the negative role the police play in the lives of people who use drugs. As professionals working in harm reduction, you should already be aware of these problematic dynamics.

We would like to see an end to this project. It was never an appropriate partnership and we are incredibly concerned by the damage this is causing. We do not want people to be fearful of calling the Works to access harm reduction supplies and or overdose prevention. We have heard claims that this project has had a few meaningful responses. Those small meaningful responses cannot be measured against the large negative impacts this project is having. And these impacts are not limited to The Works and the harm reduction programs it sponsors. There is real danger that people who use drugs will generalize their distrust to all harm reduction and needle & syringe distribution programs in Toronto and beyond, increasing the risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other BBI among this vulnerable community.


We would like to offer ourselves as a source for consultation for future projects. It is obvious that the implications and ramifications a project like this could have were not thought through. We would like to help you think these through in the future so that we do not find ourselves in an adversarial role. We want to work in solidarity with TPH, towards a common goal.. In the meantime we ask that this project is terminated immediately and that both the Works and the John Howard Society act quickly to repair the damage that has been created by this partnership with the most coercive tool of prohibition. This project has to stop before people who use drugs in this city become more fearful of accessing any of the needle and syringe distribution programs in Toronto and beyond.

On behalf of the Toronto Drug Users Union

http://tduu.blogspot.ca/2015/12/letter-to-works-and-john-howard-society.html

wow! Finally someone standing up and saying if you can't do harm reduction right we are taking our toys and leaving!

They don't really explain the basis of the program? Is just police officers encouraging addicts on the street to seek treatment instead of giving them a citation? If so, that doesn't seem unreasonable--as far as I know drug possession is still illegal in Canada..

There's a program in Seattle that's kind of similar. If you get caught with a personal amount of heroin/cocaine/crack/meth by a police officer, you get a mandatory referral to a health officer (not LE) who can help you get treatment, food stamps, or other services--this appointment happens within the same day. After this meeting with the health officer, who is trained in this, that is the END of your obligation. It's just a talk with an objective party because you got caught with an illegal substance. Seems fair to me.

Only program description seems to be from Toronto Police Services.

Objective

Police officers regularly deal with members of our society who suffer from a variety of chronic issues including addiction, homelessness, poverty, and mental health. Often, the challenges these individuals face are compounded by the fact that they suffer from all or a combination of these issues simultaneously. As their needs are complex, many of these people simply “fall through the cracks” of our local social services and they end up in situations where their behaviour negatively impacts the quality of life of others in the neighbourhoods in which they live.
In an attempt to better serve these individuals improving both their quality of life and the quality of life of those around them, Toronto Police is partnering with the John Howard Society – Toronto and Toronto Public Health “The Works” Program, to provide street outreach services. These outreach services will work to build trust with those individuals experiencing these challenges in an attempt to direct them through referral and appropriate support to treatment and/or programs that might be able to assist them in addressing their needs.

WHAT is Street Outreach?

The Street Outreach Program is a partnership between the Toronto Police Service, the John Howard Society, Toronto Public Health, and the community. It provides immediate assistance and community service referrals for vulnerable people in our community, people who are dealing with substance abuse, poverty, homelessness and mental illness. Eight Toronto police officers and two street outreach workers from Toronto Public Health and the John Howard Society will approach community members who appear to need help. Team members will assist these community members through referral to one or more of the dozens of service providers associated to the program.

Source: http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/streetoutreach/

It is not clear if they are approaching poeple with any of the issues mentioned or only approaching when there is drug use.

"syringe distribution programs"

Is it even an exchange anymore or are these the people to blame when a kid steps on a needle in a park? My attitude attitude is changing very fucking quick on this issue after almost stepping on one myself recently. To point where I almost think fuck addicts, lets put a 20 dollar deposit on the things and see how many they toss out.

It's hard to tell what exactly is going here. If cops are hanging out in plain clothes at the needle exchange, then yeah, it's a problem.

S.J.B. said:

It's hard to tell what exactly is going here. If cops are hanging out in plain clothes at the needle exchange, then yeah, it's a problem.

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I think that originally it was meant to create a more healthy/ harm reduction based interaction between police and addicts, however it has become cops pretty much doing their cop thing and pushing addicts away from getting life saving clean needles and water.

Is it even an exchange anymore or are these the people to blame when a kid steps on a needle in a park? My attitude attitude is changing very fucking quick on this issue after almost stepping on one myself recently. To point where I almost think fuck addicts, lets put a 20 dollar deposit on the things and see how many they toss out.

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It would appear you don't understand how these work. The ones I have been to in the states you bring in used needles, and "exchange" them for clean needles. They also give you a red biohazard bucket to keep with you. Do not shun a group of people because one or two are retarded and don't understand the danger.

my3rdeye said:

"syringe distribution programs"

Is it even an exchange anymore or are these the people to blame when a kid steps on a needle in a park? My attitude attitude is changing very fucking quick on this issue after almost stepping on one myself recently. To point where I almost think fuck addicts, lets put a 20 dollar deposit on the things and see how many they toss out.

Click to expand...

That's like almost getting hit by a car and then saying "Fuck all car drivers"

Apologies for the lack of context. It appears to be some well intentioned thing by some middle management in the city and a total disaster for people on the bottom. It's not clear where the police in plain clothes are going! A lot of users are already so reluctant to access services now they have to worry that that next public health worker or prisoners rights advocate they talk to is a cop.

If users can't trust that, they're just going to use dirty needles and avoid other services.

wow! Toronto has a Drug Users Union??