Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

KAMLOOPS to receive grant from the Mental Health and Addictions Ministry for what Mayor Ken Christian says will be an initiative to ‘focus on sharps management’



Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian
This morning the Ministry for Mental Health and Addictions Ministry, announced a number of BC communities would be receiving a share of nearly a million dollars ($900,000) in grants for local community wellness, safety and harm-reduction projects.

The announcement stated there were a total of twenty-four municipalities, along with community partners, who would be receiving up to $50,000 in funding for ... initiatives that build on community wellness, safety and harm-reduction efforts related to the overdose crisis and saving lives.

Projects being funded include:

  • a business engagement and ambassador project in Abbotsford;
  • a needle recovery program in Vancouver;
  • youth harm reduction and wellness efforts in Port Alberni;
  • a drop-in harm reduction and meal program in Houston ... and ...
  • an employment program in Penticton and Kelowna.


Additional projects aim to reduce stigma, while engaging and empowering people with lived and living experience of substance use.

In my own community of Kamloops, I was informed by Mayor Ken Christian that the local initiative would be receiving a grant of $44,000 dollars, and that it would be focusing on sharps management.

“We intend to (have) contact with lived experience folks, to coordinate safe sharps collection and disposal”.

Mayor Christian went on to say, “This will significantly reduce the risk of inadvertent needle stick injury in our community”. 

Kamloops residents Dennis Giesbrecht and Caroline King made news a couple of years back, during what appeared to be an epidemic of discarded needles (sharps) left in areas of the city where residents were likely to come into contact with them.

At the time they spearheaded a very successful needle buy-back campaign which saw several thousand sharps collected, many of them by the street addicts themselves.
Giesbrecht showing just a
small sample of discarded
needles collected

On hearing news of the grant being allocated to Kamloops, Giesbrecht stated, “Kamloops, as you have already noted, had a group doing needle collection for free. We just needed a location from the city so that we could continue.  Unfortunately, the City of Kamloops resisted that at every turn”.

“Don’t get me wrong”, Giesbrecht continued, “I’m glad to see this initiative will be getting underway, however it is regrettable that funding such as was announced this morning -- even just a small portion of it – wasn’t available two years ago to allow us to continue the grassroots program we already had in place.”

The one-time grants are supported by the Community Crisis Innovation Fund through the Ministry of Health and will be administered by the Community Action Initiative.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PECKFORD -- Authoritarian governments in our own time, from the Nazi period to the USSR, have crippled democracy and freedom and yet we have not learned

Just come right out and say it ... it’s China ... and it’s communist. So there ... I said it! And its a virus, the corona virus, that came from China — the China Virus. Oh, yah it has a fancy name —but this keeps it simple and identifies its origin. Imagine that!!! Of course, now that Trump has said it, he, being a virus to most China sensitive people (and that’ s just about everyone) none will say it now —- And the political correctness and hypocrisy of it all. The World Health Organization changed all that a few years ago and like sheep we all followed along. No more geographic naming —that’s an order —-George Orwell is turning over in his grave. Of course, this WHO is part of the UN that has a Human Rights Council full of human rights violators whose sole purpose in life is to bring resolutions against the only democracy in the Middle East. Nice civilized crowd don’t you think?? We all put up with this charade every day and conti...
Post a Comment
Read more

Okanagan Farmers Face NDP-Created Water Crisis ~~ BC Conservatives

Okanagan farmers are facing a water crisis as government-imposed restrictions threaten to kill their crops and destroy one of B.C.’s most important agricultural industries. In perhaps the most water-rich province in the country, our farmers have been left high and dry by the NDP government. For nine weeks, Okanagan and Shuswap farmers have proposed solutions, only to be met with NDP foot-dragging. Now forest fires have come to these regions as they are simultaneously reckoning with a water crisis that has been made worse through years of government inaction. Vernon-area farms have lost 70 percent of their water, while Kelowna and Summerland growers face severe restrictions. This situation is unacceptable and cannot continue. Ian Paton, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, said the NDP is once again forcing farmers to pay for its own failure to plan. "Farmers and ranchers must be listened to when decisions affecting their livelihoods are made, and under the NDP, they aren’t," said...
Post a Comment
Read more

Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper to step down for Conservative Leader Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay to run in a by-election

Deputy Whip and MLA Reann Gasper has informed the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia of her decision to step down as MLA for Abbotsford-Mission, creating an opportunity for Conservative Party of British Columbia Leader Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay to seek the seat in a forthcoming by-election. Gasper said the decision was made carefully and deliberately, with the future of British Columbia firmly in mind. Abbotsford-Mission MLA Reann Gasper “This is a decision I have made after a great deal of careful consideration, and I believe it is the right decision for me, for our Party, and for the work ahead,” said MLA Gasper. “It has been a privilege to represent the people of Abbotsford-Mission, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who placed their trust in me. I am also grateful for the opportunity to serve alongside my colleagues in the Conservative Caucus and to contribute to our leadership team.” “I have confidence in Kerry-Lynne, in her leadership, and in her ability to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more