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Addiction and mental illness in Victoria


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#261 Citified.ca

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Posted 09 August 2017 - 09:15 AM

This facility is coming to two levels above the Noodle Box restaurant along the 800-block of Douglas Street.

 

Integrated mental health 'hub' for south Island youth coming to downtown Victoria


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#262 Nparker

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Posted 21 August 2017 - 08:30 AM

A very common sense letter in today's TC

...Supervised drug-injection sites: 1) continue demand for and production of drugs, 2) reward addicts for using, 3) facilitate downtown drug culture, and 4) drain limited government resources...Preventing deaths from drug overdose is admirable and compassionate, but has nothing to do with health or wellness...


http://www.timescolo...ness-1.22012373

I bet there will be a flurry of angry responses now.


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#263 aastra

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Posted 21 August 2017 - 08:52 AM

 

This facility is coming to two levels above the Noodle Box restaurant along the 800-block of Douglas Street.

 

I hate to be a stinker but the Victoria Youth Clinic, NEED2 Suicide Prevention Education and Support, and Island Health’s Early Psychosis Intervention team do know that the rest of Greater Victoria exists, right? Is Douglas at Courtney in the heart of downtown really such a practical location? Maybe the rent there was just too good to pass up or something?


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#264 Kungsberg

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Posted 21 August 2017 - 09:35 PM

Part of an interview with VicPD chief Del Manek, published Aug. 17:

http://www.douglasma...talks-business/

 

What issues are you hearing about from business owners?

What we’re hearing from the business community is: “Could you be more visible, could you be around in our community?

 

Are there enough officers patrolling city streets?


That’s a discussion we’re having at the board. We just had an efficiency review that was done earlier this year. Several key findings really highlighted for us the shortage in staffing. The efficiency review came out and said you need more officers, “You definitely need to have a staffing plan put together.” The challenge is: how do we put together a staffing plan when it’s an election year coming up again and councils tend to set budgets arbitrarily?

 

Numerous local businesses have voiced concerns about needles on their properties, people sleeping on their properties or using their properties as bathrooms. How will you deal with these increasing tensions between the business community and street-involved people?


In our community business survey, the number one issue the public told us about was that they wanted the police to deal with drug activity. I think police are community leaders, but we cannot fix everything, and a lot of times people look to the police to fix everything. What we can do is bring the right people to the table, and that’s what we’re doing.

 

One of the things I’ll be pushing for further is more emphasis on building stronger partnerships and adding capacity from BC Housing, from Island Health and from downtown service providers on how can we better work together to try to make sure our streets and our community feel safe. We have to stabilize people, and there are major doubts, in my opinion, when it comes to services for treatment and addictions care. You don’t have to look far to see there are not many services.

In September and October, we’ll be coming out with a plan about how we’re going to work with the business community a little better, be more engaged and make sure that their businesses are successful.



#265 lanforod

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Posted 21 August 2017 - 10:01 PM

^ yeah, no. Seems like he may be part of the problem. Services are only one part of the solution. Do your job and uphold the law, man.


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#266 Nparker

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Posted 22 August 2017 - 05:09 AM

He didn't get to be chief without espousing the SJW party line.
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#267 Sparky

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Posted 22 August 2017 - 05:10 AM

We have to stabilize people, and there are major doubts, in my opinion, when it comes to services for treatment and addictions care. You don’t have to look far to see there are not many services.

 

So here lies the problem that Victoria is facing. Is there a lack of services..... or is there too many users who come here because of the enhanced hobo lifestyle that politics has provided for them?

 

When we fail to uphold the law, anarchy appears. (slap a "goog" on that and refresh your memory on what anarchy means)

 

When anarchy appears, law abiding citizens get nervous and ask their law enforcement people to perform their duties.

 

When law enforcement suggests that the root cause of the problem is political and seek to divert our attention towards politics instead of performing their duties.....then there can be a perception of law enforcement being infected by politics.

 

A law without a penalty is only a suggestion.

 

Unless we enforce the laws that our society has placed upon us all .......standby for some more anarchy.


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#268 A Girl is No one

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Posted 22 August 2017 - 07:59 PM

^^^^amen to this!!! You captured the issue bang on! Thanks.

#269 Kungsberg

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Posted 20 October 2017 - 09:54 PM

Clinic brings opioid addiction treatment to Victoria suburbs

http://www.cbc.ca/ne...linic-1.4365211

 

A new clinic is bringing addiction treatment options to the fast-growing suburb of Langford outside Victoria. Until now, the treatment had only been available downtown.

 

The main focus of Westshore AVI Health Centre's services will be providing opioid substitution therapies, including methadone and Suboxone. 

…..

AVI's non-profit board of directors decided to fund a clinic in Langford based on data showing about 40 per cent of the people who use existing opioid substitution treatment services come from the West Shore communities, including Sooke and Colwood.

 

Those services have been concentrated in downtown Victoria, where the opioid addiction and overdose crisis has been most visible because of homelessness and open drug use.  

 

While opioid substitution therapies are very effective at treating substance use disorder, Mason said, "a lot of people fall off their treatment at some point and part of that is due to barriers that are in place."

 

"It could be financial. It could be transportation," he said. "One of the things we're seeking to do is reduce that a little bit by placing the clinic in an area where we know services are lacking."

….

 

http://avi.org/newse...centre-now-open

 

 

https://sooke.pocket...shore-presence/

 

“…More than 250 people on Vancouver Island have died of drug overdoses since the beginning of 2016 and many, many more have overdosed and survived, some with long term impacts to their health.  At the same time there are limited addiction services, very few doctors taking new patients, and people seeking OST [opiate substitution treatment] … from Port Renfrew, Sooke or other areas in the West Shore have to travel to downtown Victoria for care.  These areas are growing rapidly and healthcare services are struggling to keep up…”



#270 North Shore

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Posted 21 October 2017 - 07:26 AM

A very common sense letter in today's TC

I bet there will be a flurry of angry responses now.

 

Sure, but if just one of those users is prevented from getting HIV or Hep C by use of a clean needle, then we'll probably save enough on medical bills to pay for a few years of clinic operating costs...

 

Trouble is, it's a Four Pillars approach, not a Two-and-a-half-to-Three pillars.  As noted above, we are missing out on the enforcement end of things.  [That's why I never get too arsed when one of those hooligans connected to the drug trade gets lead poisoning over on the mainland...]


Say, what's that mountain goat doing up here in the mist?

#271 Bingo

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 04:30 PM

One in five. I find that hard to believe.

 

The Victoria Youth Clinic just moved to a brand new space in downtown Victoria where it's expanded thanks to a $3 million investment from the Children's Health Foundation of Vancouver Island.

Since one in five youth have a mental health or substance abuse issue but as few as 20 per cent of those struggling seek help, stakeholders are hoping the new and improved centre will help change that.

"In Victoria, there are many youth and families who are really struggling here," says Dr. Jennifer Lee of the Victoria Youth Clinic. "We're seeing a high instance of mental health issues — anxiety and depression, as well as many youth who struggle with substance abuse issues and we also know youth, find it difficult to access health care."

That's why the provincial government is giving the facility funding to become the newest Foundry centre — a centralized wellness hub with suicide prevention, Island Health, counselling and other partners on site.

"Having it as a one-stop shop for youth is really important," says Victoria Youth Centre executive director Barb Thompson. "Youth don't want to go to different areas of the city to get their care.

https://www.cheknews...ocation-379735/

 



#272 Nparker

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 04:41 PM

One in five. I find that hard to believe.

I don't. Mental illness has such a stigma attached to it, that it goes highly under-reported and even worse, under-treated.


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#273 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 04:46 PM

I don't. Mental illness has such a stigma attached to it, that it goes highly under-reported and even worse, under-treated.

 

I used to be 1 in 5 people overall.  ie. it would be lower for youth with an overall shorter life so far.  But it's typical victim-creep.

 

Like how we have 2,000 sex trade workers here.  200 work Rock Bay.


Edited by VicHockeyFan, 24 October 2017 - 04:48 PM.

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#274 Sparky

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Posted 24 October 2017 - 10:20 PM

Personal derogatory comments about other members of our forum (or anyone else for that matter) do not belong here.



#275 Nparker

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Posted 25 October 2017 - 05:58 AM

I used to be 1 in 5 people overall.  ie. it would be lower for youth with an overall shorter life so far.  But it's typical victim-creep.

Clearly you've never experienced ongoing mental health issues or you wouldn't be so flippant as to suggest it's "victim-creep"



#276 Midnightly

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Posted 25 October 2017 - 07:56 PM

i do think when it comes to mental health there is a very wide scope of mental health needs, i can see the numbers being 1 in 5, some situations are relatively minor (and with the right treatment you can learn ways to cope and get past in a fairly short time frame) while others can be on the extreme to the point where you are hurting yourself and others around you..



#277 Nparker

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Posted 26 October 2017 - 02:15 PM

For the second day in a row at around the same time, there's been a significant light show (ambulances etc.) at Our Place.



#278 Mike K.

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Posted 27 October 2017 - 11:42 AM

Last night I was heading home from the ferries via bus and we had to stop at Uptown because an intoxicated man couldn't be awoken and the driver couldn't tell if he was conscious. Medics and police arrived and got the man off. He was eventually revived and found to be very drunk.

 

A girl on the bus remarked that this was the second such incident she experienced on a BCT bus within the last two weeks.


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#279 Nparker

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Posted 27 October 2017 - 01:16 PM

It seems the more information that gets out about illicit drug use, the worse things get

Island Health issues warning after spike in overdoses in 24-hour period...Both Island Health and AVI are urging the community to take safety measures when using drugs or in the presence of people using drugs. For users, these include:

• Test drugs before doing a regular hit

• Fix with a friend

• If you are using alone, go to an Overdose Prevention Site (AVI, Our Place, Rock Bay Landing). More listed at: viha.ca/mho/overdose

• Carry Naloxone and have an overdose response plan

http://www.timescolo...riod-1.23077419

Why is no one ever told to stop using or seek treatment? Are abstinence and getting clean never part of the message?


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#280 VicHockeyFan

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Posted 27 October 2017 - 01:27 PM

Ya, I'm not sure why it's not part of the message at least.  Everyone agrees there are few poor health effects from abstinence.


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