Safe Injection Sites approved for edm, Cgy announcement tba

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Originally Posted by peter12

Some real horrifying NIMBY garbage on here.

Turns out people don't like getting stabbed with needles in their backyard.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

I was being sarcastic, but yeah I feel you. I guess it's easy to say "out of sight, out of mind" which does nothing for these people, but I fail to see how for example Lethbridges current safe injection site is anything but a free for all. I'd love to see some stats on exactly how many lives it has saved. If we are interested in measuring positive impact, then surely we can look at the negative impacts, such as businesses threatening to close shop, and the sharp rise in crime.

https://lethbridgenewsnow.com/2019/0...n-crime-index/

"We're number 1! We're number 1!"

Violent crime has held steady or even declined, but property crime has went ballistic. Considering the amount of chain link fence that has been put up at a cost to business owners, it's easy to figure out why.

Not in my backyard is cop out argument to take when one considers the impact the entire city feels.

A city doesn't feel the impact of an out of control opioid crisis?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Handsome B. Wonderful

Turns out people don't like getting stabbed with needles in their backyard.

Has that happened to anyone? Seems like more NIMBY garbage to me.

[jayswin]

It's not horrifying, it's human nature. There's very few non-NIMBY's in the entire world, but everyone points to NIMBY's and goes "You NIMBY!".

Is the overall negative reaction in this thread coming from people that live close and affected by it? It certainly feels that way a little and it's important to take that into consideration when evaluating their feelings on the issue.

I'm not judging or calling them out however, because I know exactly how quickly my feelings would change if they suddenly announced the daycare on the corner of our street was being converted to a safe injection site.

I'd be exactly like the posters in this thread that live close to the current one - Posting every article I could find, angrily stating how horrible it's been and calling for change.

[2Stonedbirds]

Originally Posted by Handsome B. Wonderful

Turns out people don't like getting stabbed with needles in their backyard.

Or at Henderson swimming pool.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by peter12

Some real horrifying NIMBY garbage on here.

Classic Calgary quagmire of these situations:
Downtown: can't walk around, it's unsafe.
Suburbs: My house will be broken into, think of the children.

Maybe the Saddledome can be converted into a secured rehabilitation facility with private residences and therapy programs, including safe injection sites

[peter12]

Originally Posted by jayswin

It's not horrifying, it's human nature. There's very few non-NIMBY's in the entire world, but everyone points to NIMBY's and goes "You NIMBY!".

Is the overall negative reaction in this thread coming from people that live close and affected by it? It certainly feels that way a little and it's important to take that into consideration when evaluating their feelings on the issue.

I'm not judging or calling them out however, because I know exactly how quickly my feelings would change if they suddenly announced the daycare on the corner of our street was being converted to a safe injection site.

I'd be exactly like the posters in this thread that live close to the current one - Posting every article I could find, angrily stating how horrible it's been and calling for change.

Maybe. I lived close to the DTES in Vancouver for a couple of years, and yes, it is stressful, but people need to look at the opioids crisis for what it is - a huge public health disaster.

The supervised injection sites actually take needles off the street and reduce infections and overdoses. It's a drop in the ocean to what needs to be done, but this is all representative of much larger socio-economic issues which a lot of the posters in this thread could spend a bit more time learning about.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Classic Calgary quagmire of these situations:
Downtown: can't walk around, it's unsafe.
Suburbs: My house will be broken into, think of the children.

Maybe the Saddledome can be converted into a secured rehabilitation facility with private residences and therapy programs, including safe injection sites

The last thing most NIMBYs want is for street-entrenched and vulnerable people to actually receive dignified care.

[2Stonedbirds]

Originally Posted by peter12

A city doesn't feel the impact of an out of control opioid crisis?

If they weren't before, they sure are now.
I guess if everyone feels the misery, then we are all in the same boat and it's cool?
Are there any stats that show how many lives such places save, or provide a path to rehabilitation? Because it just looks like a path to enabling, at the expense of everyone.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by peter12

Maybe. I lived close to the DTES in Vancouver for a couple of years, and yes, it is stressful, but people need to look at the opioids crisis for what it is - a huge public health disaster.

The supervised injection sites actually take needles off the street and reduce infections and overdoses. It's a drop in the ocean to what needs to be done, but this is all representative of much larger socio-economic issues which a lot of the posters in this thread could spend a bit more time learning about.

Oh yeah, I think the average citizen forgets that the main point of safe injection sites is to decrease the spread of disease and death and to help people in a centralized area when overdoses occur.

It's about saving human lives, while I feel too many are falsely looking for drug crime/use to decrease as a result. That change would mostly have to come from better access and quality to mental health care. Which I don't think we'll be seeing any time soon.

[Handsome B. Wonderful]

Originally Posted by peter12

Has that happened to anyone? Seems like more NIMBY garbage to me.

Did you bother to read recent posts, or did you just feel an urgent need to ride a high horse in to here?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

If they weren't before, they sure are now.
I guess if everyone feels the misery, then we are all in the same boat and it's cool?
Are there any stats that show how many lives such places save, or provide a path to rehabilitation? Because it just looks like a path to enabling, at the expense of everyone.

First off, what do you mean by work? If you mean reduce deaths, overdoses, and disease, yes they work.

Second, a lot of these sites are incredibly under-resourced and over-stretched, so as I said before, they can only do so much with what they have managed to eke out from city and provincial budgets, plus what concessions they have managed to get from NIMBYs and other locals opposed to their existence on principle.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by jayswin

Oh yeah, I think the average citizen forgets that the main point of safe injection sites is to decrease the spread of disease and death and to help people in a centralized area when overdoses occur.

It's about saving human lives, while I feel too many are falsely looking for drug crime/use to decrease as a result. That change would mostly have to come from better access and quality mental health care. Which I don't think we'll be seeing any time soon.

I think what actually needs to be done is build affordable housing with low-barrier access to healthcare and treatment options.

We could solve this problem tomorrow if we were willing to devote even a small percentage of health budgets to it, but we aren't.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by peter12

I think what actually needs to be done is build affordable housing with low-barrier access to healthcare and treatment options.

We could solve this problem tomorrow if we were willing to devote even a small percentage of health budgets to it, but we aren't.

100% right on all accounts.

[2Stonedbirds]

Originally Posted by peter12

First off, what do you mean by work? If you mean reduce deaths, overdoses, and disease, yes they work.

I have heard that, and would love some citation and actual numbers if its available please.

Second, a lot of these sites are incredibly under-resourced and over-stretched, so as I said before, they can only do so much with what they have managed to eke out from city and provincial budgets, plus what concessions they have managed to get from NIMBYs and other locals opposed to their existence on principle.

In Lethbridges case, all opposition was directed to scream at AHS, as the city claims they have nothing to do with the implementation of the site. So Hamiltons Carpet can (and have) cried all they want, they got told its here to stay. So NIMBYism be damned.

[peter12]

I have heard that, and would love some citation and actual numbers if its available please.

NIMBYs can't google?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...76871614018754

In Lethbridges case, all opposition was directed to scream at AHS, as the city claims they have nothing to do with the implementation of the site. So Hamiltons Carpet can (and have) cried all they want, they got told its here to stay. So NIMBYism be damned.

Thank god. Local businesses and property owners shouldn't have much of a say when it comes to creating accessible public health programs.

[Shawn_Cronin44]

Living in the beltline has changed for the worse in the last couple of years. Because of the SIS property value has dropped and insurance rates have gone up. An evening stroll around the neighborhood is sketchy at best and sometimes downright terrifying.

In the last two weeks alone my condo building has had 2 parkade break-ins with substantial theft, multiple passed out individuals in doorways that have stumbled over from the Sheldon, constant new graffiti, and several reported car prowlings. In my time living in this area I haven't seen as bad as it has been this summer. I used to be in favor of these sites to help the misguided souls but after constantly feeling like the neighborhood is under assault, I don't see the upside of an SIS. Call it NIMBY-ism if you want but until you've lived inside the 250m radius of an SIS you have no idea how bad it is for the residents of the area.

[Oling_Roachinen]

Originally Posted by 2Stonedbirds

I have heard that, and would love some citation and actual numbers if its available please.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5685449/

[you&me]

Originally Posted by peter12

The last thing most NIMBYs want is for street-entrenched and vulnerable people to actually receive dignified care.

I don't think that's fair.

I would guess the vast, vast (vast) majority of people are in favour of "street-entrenched and vulnerable people to actually receive dignified care"... What they're not in favour of is increased property crimes & thefts and littered needles not being properly disposed of... I don't understand why it's not acceptable for someone to be opposed to those things without being considered a heartless monster nimby.

[2Stonedbirds]

[QUOTE=peter12;7181469]NIMBYs can't google?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...76871614018754
[QUOTE]

Thanks.
It says things are better but not by what margin.

Thank god. Local businesses and property owners shouldn't have much of a say when it comes to creating accessible public health programs.

Wait, so those opposed to safe injection sites are nimbys, who also fund such sites, who dont care about people and then you drop this gem? Sounds like some good ol fashioned NIMBYism to me.