POWW

<3 (via @ncurbansurvivorsunion)

Y'all our online store is up and running! Grab some merch and help support our various programs like the van!

If you have a a couple minutes please read through and see how double cooking your wash can protect you. #cookyourwash #DoubleCookYourWash

<3 (via @ncurbansurvivorsunion)

Moving forward folks!

Please be as safe as possible friends;

A STATEMENT ON A KITCHENER CONSUMPTION & TREATMENT SITE FROM MAYOR Berry Vrbanovic & WARD 10 COUNCILLOR Sarah Marsh IN SUPPORT OF A CTS AT 150 DUKE STREET WEST ...The City of Kitchener has a long history of taking a leadership role to support the provision of important social services to residents of our region. From the very beginning, our city council has been the only local municipality to actively support the placement of a consumption and treatment services site within our community. The city has participated in the Region of Waterloo’s site selection process in good faith and has been advised on several occasions by Regional staff that all three Kitchener sites under consideration by the Region (115 Water St N, 150 Duke St W, and 105 Victoria St N) are viable. Throughout that process we have tried to work with the Region and articulate our concerns about the Duke Street site in terms of its close proximity to sensitive uses and residential neighbourhoods. The Region was aware of our concerns well before last week and we were disappointed that those concerns were not taken fully into account. We continue to believe there is a way to build a suitable consumption and treatment service on the Victoria Street location in a timely manner, but that would require a committed and engaged partner. Since the vote at Regional committee it has become clear that there is not a political will at the Region to pursue a creative and collaborative solution for the Victoria Street property. While we continue to have significant concerns with the Duke Street site, we know that a worse outcome than choosing this site, is ending up with no site at all. For that reason, I (Councillor Marsh) will be withdrawing my notice of motion to support an application for 105 Victoria St N. In its place, I will introduce a motion at the special council on Monday afternoon to support an application for a consumption and treatment services site at the Region’s preferred Duke Street site. If approved, this would allow the Region to proceed immediately with an application to the Province after Regional Council ratifies the matter this Wednesday. The Region has stated that it will work with local municipalities to mitigate the impacts of these sites. We will look to the Region to make good on this promise and commit considerable resources and attention to this work given the challenges that we anticipate will result from the selection of Duke St W as a consumption and treatment services site. The decision to change course was informed to a large extent by input and discussions we had throughout the day on Saturday with multiple informed and engaged stakeholders, including Jenny Kirby and Rev. Preston Parsons. We are grateful for the time they took to meet with us and share from their knowledge and insights. We take great encouragement from the many voices we have heard on this issue that have spoken strongly in support of taking action to once again demonstrate that Kitchener is a caring and compassionate community.

"Frontline workers in the opioid crisis are sounding the alarm over a new type of overdose happening on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside that leaves drug users unconscious for hours, even if they’ve received a shot of naloxone to reverse the effects of the opioids in their system."

Heads up: we've had reports of multiple overdoses locally (Kitchener) today from a purple substance that people are being told is fentanyl. 1. Please don't use... alone. Make sure someone can keep an eye on you or check on you. Take care of your friends. 2. Start low and go slow - whether you're injecting, smoking, snorting, or swallowing, the risk for overdose is the same. 3. Please have naloxone. You can get it TODAY at the harm reduction cabinet at St John's Kitchen until 1pm, at Public Health (99 Regina St), or at most pharmacies (you do NOT need a health card and the kit is free). Stay safe. <3

Overdose alert: Tainted Xanax found in Waterloo Region. Counterfeit substances can look similar to a real prescription. Substances not obtained from a pharmacy... may contain other drugs and increase risk of overdose. Visit https://bit.ly/2PDoocA for more information and to subscribe to alerts.

"People worry 'Oh, you are going to cause this massive drug problem.' Well, no actually, we have a massive drug problem,"