Physician caring for people marginalized from healthcare & community. Substance use health & harm reduction expert. Often feel like Dr. McCoy. All views my own
Thank you
@bruce_arthur
and
@TorontoStar
for writing about the harassment and defamation directed at me by the Federal Conservative Party, fuelled by fact-less right wing media
As I said in the article: yes, I am afraid
They have been escalating against me for 14 months.
A safe supply doctor effectively being threatened with jail; economists attacked. Under Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party's attacks on experts have accelerated: blunter, nastier, and more personal. Is this the future in Canadian governance?
I’m sorry that
@CharlieAngusNDP
received this threat after calling out the
@CPC_HQ
for their threats to revoke my medical license because I took a stand against them (based on inaccurate and inflammatory reporting by Adam Zivo)
Unfortunately, this is par for the course in my
I called out Pierre Poilievre's disgraceful attack on a medical professional and received this response from the right wing-bot army.
More and more the right are using threats of violence to try and intimidate their political opponents.
Canadian democracy circa 2024.
Thank you
@GlenPearson
for this video of support
@CPC_HQ
has stated my medical license should be revoked because I had the audacity to disagree with them and stand up to them. They have called me a liar. They have slandered and defamed me
This is about more than Safe Supply
Every morning I review my patients who were in Emerg or hospital in
#ldnont
the day before.
Today, I paused at a face sheet to a visit. Written in the diagnosis field (which should contain a diagnosis, not a judgement), it said:
“Here most days”
1/
When this person sleeps inside, has enough to eat, feels safe from violence, has appropriate medical care...... then they won’t need to seek safety in the hospital “most days”
Judge the system
#LdnOnt
, not the person trying to survive with the system “most days”
5/
@LFPress
@RandyRatLFPress
We should all be very concerned about the Federal Conservatives threatening to “revoke” the medical license of a doctor who disagrees with their ideology and speaks against their rhetoric
Take Safe Supply out of the equation
What other fields of medicine will the Federal
Councillor
@StevensonLDN
says:
“If you’re on the street addicted, you’re on a pathway to death. So a sandwich and a bottle of water, even a tent, how is that truly helping people?” questioned Ward 4 Coun. Susan Stevenson”
Well Councillor:
- a sandwich helps people who haven’t
We lost someone today who was so precious, so vibrant, so full of life, so full of fight, so perfectly human
Fuck you homelessness
Fuck you fentanyl
Fuck you politics over people
Cheers to my friend who taught me so much about this world.
Rest in power
I’m going to post more of Adam Zivo’s statements about me
This isn’t because I want to be in a time consuming & emotionally draining altercation w an aggressive journalist
It’s bc Mr. Zivo is trying to discredit Safe Supply by trying to discredit me
This is their tactics
This morning an anti Safe Supply critic posted the location of my home on this platform. In the same post, this person made a reference to my child
As a victim of domestic violence, my safety at home is sacrosanct & this person violated that safety by making where I live public
Thank you
@GillianKolla
If the
@CPC_HQ
can threaten my medical license, ability to care for my patients, and livelihood because I present scientific evidence they don't agree with..... who is next?
This should scare all doctors in Canada. How will the
@CPC_HQ
try to control
On Friday, the federal Conservatives launched an attack on the autonomy of all doctors to treat patients - especially vulnerable & stigmatized ones - without government interference.🧵on the increasing politicization of safer supply programs, despite the evidence they save lives.
What if, instead of talking about hard to reach patients, we flip that around & talk about hard to reach doctors?
Or hard to reach services?
Or services w dumb barriers or restrictions on access?
Or a system with shitty attitudes?
1/
Right now DULF (Drug User Liberation Front) is practicing civil disobedience in order to save lives
DULF is handing out clean heroin, cocaine & methamphetamine
Why? Bc the history of harm reduction is that all life saving harm reduction interventions have begun w drug users
1/
Happening now: The Drug User Liberation Front (umbrella org of several drug user activist groups) again handing out free tested heroin, cocaine and meth in Vancouver on this grim 5 year anniversary of public health emergency to call for a safer drug supply
This is an excellent summary of my experience testifying for parliament, the insincerity of
@LailaGoodridge
and
@ToddDohertyMP
in seeking answers , and a certain National Post reporter with an unhealthy obsession with myself and my work
I went to HESA as an expert witness. I
i wrote about the health committee hearing in parliament in late February with
@andreasereda
that has come up again in a certain somebody's writing and how our politics aren't about governance but about entertainment and point-scoring
Today I had a powerful moment with a safer supply patient who started on the program homeless & street entrenched. In 2 years they are housed, reconnecting w family, parenting & working as a peer.
The “therapeutic” difference here? Their substance use is no longer criminalized
Participating in a talk with
@NaheedD
who just gave us a great 🎤 drop
“RACE isn’t what is causing a disparity in health outcomes. RACISM is what causes the difference in outcomes”
Dr. Sereda is on the front lines of the opioid epidemic. She represents the best of public medicine.
Pierre Poilievre is a cynical shit bird who will say anything to score a cheap point.
His MPs are even lower on the rung.
We need to defend our doctors.
“Here most days”
We don’t have a moral leg to stand on criticizing this persons emergency service use, until this person no longer faces life-threatening health emergencies “most days”
4/
Do you need a positive vibe right now?
I’ve got a video for you….
I have run a sanctuary for farm animals for the past 10 years. We made the difficult decision to wind down the sanctuary due to life being too ….big
We have re-homed our beautiful animals to loving
A suggestion for MDs & NPs taking care of PWUD
When our patients die bc of govt inaction, local hospital or city policies, stigma, lack of care, inaccessible services, or bc no level of govt will house them....
Let’s put THOSE as causes of death on their death certificates
It’s oct 7. It’s 12 degrees and raining.
2 pregnant women I care for are sleeping on the street in this rain in
#ldnont
Homelessness perpetuates trauma. Personal, Intergenerational, lasting. These babies are starting their lives with the trauma of homelessness
@IrfanDhalla
@cpso_ca
As physicians we should be very concerned about the Federal Conservatives threatening to “revoke” the medical license of a doctor who disagrees with their ideology and speaks against them
Take Safe Supply out of the equation
What other fields of medicine will they be willing
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police remains supportive of Consumption and Treatment Services
#CTS
- including accommodation for inhalation. Thank you
@OACPOfficial
!
I am shocked to hear some
#ldnont
politicians say providing food, water & hygiene to encampment residents is “enabling” homelessness
The alternative is death due to starvation, dehydration & infection. Which I see the effects of EVERY DAY as a doc caring for these folks
1/
Several politicians who represent wards in central London discussed the flood of backlash they’ve received since city staff proposed a $414,000 update to London’s homeless encampment strategy.
@NaheedD
I now use the phrase “ppl deprived of housing”, instead of “ppl living in homelessness”
This isn’t a passive problem. It’s an active & ongoing deprivation of the human right to shelter, facilitated directly by govt who doesn’t treat housing deprivation like the emergency it is
I cannot believe you posted this about human beings Councillor
@StevensonLDN
“Zombie-like people”
No. People who use drugs are people. Real human beings
People forced to live outside due to decades of housing neglect
People largely without healthcare or supports
This is
“Not that anybody not hooked on drugs would ever dare to go there. It should be called Crystal Meth Park. Or Fentanyl Gardens. The tents, the garbage, the syringes, the zombie-like people who hang out there, the unexplained fires and blasts make it a no-go zone for families. It’s
I found out last night that when my team asks me to get involved in a piece of advocacy work, they call it “unleashing the Kraken”
And that might possibly be the nicest thing I’ve heard in awhile
🐙
I am giving a lecture to first year medical students about harm reduction. I have the usual topics... history, gear, drugs, sites, advocacy.
What systems level issues, and practical harm reduction skills do you think the doctors of tomorrow need to know about?
Prescribed Safe Supply is about so much more than drugs
It’s about reaching out a hand to people who have been completely marginalized from our healthcare system & our communities, it’s about listening & hope
It can be really hard & heart breaking … and JOYFUL work ♥️♥️♥️
I wish I had an inspirational comment to add on International Overdose Awareness Day but
@RyanMarino
says it best
We don’t have an overdose awareness problem
We have an overdose inaction problem
An overdose blame and stigma problem
An overdose apathy problem
On this Overdose Awareness Day all I have to say is that “awareness” can’t bring back the people I care about, and it feels perverse to keep asking for “awareness” when epidemic overdose deaths have dominated news for years. Be aware of our failure to do anything decent or right.
I lost a patient recently to the ravages of street life. At the beginning of the pandemic in
#ldnont
they begged me for housing... I had nothing
Their face & hands got more ruddy, although they were young... I still had nothing...
/1
Yesterday a patient broke down in sobs in my office
@HealthCentre
in
#ldnont
They had met with their lawyer & realized they had no charges or been to jail in over 6 yrs since starting
#safesupply
It was a powerful example of how Safe Supply saves lives… not just from ODs
Assistant RCMP Commissioner Brewer: “there is currently no evidence to support widespread diversion of Safer Supply drugs in the illicit market in BC or in Canada”
Multiple claims made by Mr. Poilievre & Prem Danielle Smith have been shown to be false
“Here most days”
#LdnOnt
, where, exactly should this person “go most days”?
They are cold, sick, scared, overwhelmed.
Maybe they visit Emerg to make at least some of those things bearable. Maybe they feel safer when they go there “most days”.
3/
“ It’s fine for politicians to debate the merits of safe supply and risks of diverting the drugs,
@pfragiskatos
said. But personal attacks on a doctor and a program backed by evidence make no progress in battling the opioid crisis, he said.
“It’s deeply unfortunate she’s had to
The federal Conservatives' attack on a London doctor and a drug harm-reduction program are "inappropriate and unacceptable," a city Liberal MP says.
@RandyRatLFPress
has more:
#ldnont
#cdnpoli
@CarsonJerema
I declined to write a rebuttal in the
@nationalpost
last year because I did not trust how it would be edited or used. In an email to you
@CarsonJerema
I explained this. I explained that Adam Zivo’s articles were so full of misinformation I did not wish to engage with a
.
@ZivoAdam
has doubled down on making sure the location of my home is known. He has made it clear to his followers how easy it would be to find my exact address
For those in my network, I would ask that if you agree with what I have written & my experience that you please
@ZivoAdam
My home address has absolutely nothing to do with this debate
Your misogyny is showing here, thinking you get to decide what is safe for me and what isn’t
That kind of arrogance and misogyny is behind the dead bodies of many women over the years
Your last paragraph
Today we had another patient achieve HIV viral load suppression with the help of Safe Supply. In addition to being the morally right thing to do during the overdose epidemic, Safe Supply helps achieve important medical outcomes for patients who have been excluded from healthcare
I think it’s pretty darn telling when critics lead their commentaries with insults or name calling
Some seem to enjoy suggesting I’m not a doctor. “Supposed Dr”, “so-called Dr”….. my personal favourite is just the simple “Dr” with air quotes
Whatever fills your boots guys
It is with heartbreak that I share the conclusion of this story
This young man has died after years of his young life spent on the streets of
#ldnont
How do you process something that is no surprise, and yet utterly shocking?
1/
I’m thrilled to say that this young man is now inside, eating 3 meals a day & his health is already stabilizing
Thank you to the
#ldnont
agency that stepped up hard to bring this young man inside
I cannot name the agency to preserve this man’s confidentiality, but 🙏 🙏🙏🙏🙏
“People can’t isolate, they can’t wash their hands. 40% of the population has COPD”
NOW is the time to put every Canadian who is experiencing homelessness in an empty hotel room
Every time my knees are on the pavement doing CPR on someone who has overdosed due to fentanyl, I think about how that overdose could have been prevented with a safe supply
Adam Zivo could not be more wrong with this statement
The team
@healthcentre
have received numerous reports from Safer Supply patients alleging encounters w a person purporting to be a journalist, who has been attempting to solicit the purchase of Dilaudid pills in the vicinity of our Health Centre & the adjacent Chapman’s Pharmacy
This is such a funny way of seeing things
#ldnont
“If we do good work that saves lives, people might come here hoping they can have their life saved too”
How about instead of chastising other cities, we become a beacon of light & hope & proudly show other cities how it’s done
As London prepares to launch its quarter-billion dollar plan to address homelessness, concern has been raised at city hall that its success might draw people from other Ontario communities.
Yesterday I wrote about how an anti-Safe Supply critic revealed where I lived on X
Today, people who are supportive of that person are tagging me & saying it wasn’t that bad, I can just call a crisis line if I am scared. They suggested it was my fault my info was easy to find.
“The judge borrowed language from another case, Bedford v. Canada, saying the law loses "sight of its purpose" when it "prevents the homeless from avoiding a serious risk of injury or death by erecting shelter overnight when there is nowhere else to go."
@StevensonLDN
As I have also previously explained to you Councillor
@StevensonLDN
, a majority of Indigenous people who are homeless in Edmonton have experiences w the 60s scoop & residential schools. Faith based shelters are inappropriate & traumatizing for those w this history
/3
Just heard
@fordnation
on
@cbcradio
“we need to do everything we can to stop this in its tracks. So we are no longer allowing food & drink at concerts & sporting events”
Until this pandemic I was able to hold onto the illusion that the ppl in charge knew what they were doing
Thank you
@KayabagaArielle
for standing up for me in the wake of Conservative Party attacks on myself
Policy and programs should always be up for debate and scrutiny. But what the
@CPC_HQ
has done is threaten my medical and license and livelihood that supports my family because
The personal attacks on Dr. Andrea Sereda have gone too far. It’s shameful that she is being unfairly targeted by the Conservatives. Their twisting of truths, and spreading disinformation about evidence-based harm reduction practices, which are saving lives, is unacceptable.
Fact check
@StevensonLDN
!
As I’ve reviewed before in response to your posts about Edmonton encampments, the info you present in your post is inaccurate & incomplete
The vast majority of shelter beds in Edmonton are faith & abstinence based…. /1
The people with the most to lose are people who’s lives have been saved by Safe Supply. Does
@ZivoAdam
find their lives funny? Would he chuckle at their deaths?
Funny how “research” and “evidence” are something to be mocked by this group.
Today was the 12th anniversary of the first time my ex husband tried to kill me
It’s been a long & winding road back to myself since then
For every woman out there asking “should I go”… we are women who see you
Please reach out
@endwomanabuse
♥️
Our team is caring for pregnant women sleeping on the concrete in Dundas corridor. They are cold, exposed, desperate
These women will lose their babies because we don’t care enough to house them.
@CityofLdnOnt
@ldnontmayor
@jessehelmer
@CBCLondon
reach out. We need solutions.
Tonight I got a “yes bitch!!” From the audience. That was, hands-down, the best feedback ever to give to an aging wanna be riot grrrrl.
#girlstothefront
@LailaGoodridge
Hi
@LailaGoodridge
I encourage you to watch the full keynote address I gave for
@momsstoptheharm
.
Quotes from Mr. Zivo’s article are cherry picked and misrepresented in the articles you have been posting so I encourage you to go to the source!
Contrary to Mr. Zivo’s
COVID is amplifying inequities faced by my patients every day
You can’t stay home if you don’t have a home, or if you don’t have enough to eat, or if drug policies say you need to rely on the illegal drug market.
Today is the first in a series of threads where I will talk about the reality of ppl living in homelessness on the streets of
#ldnont
These threads will share facts about the reality of homelessness & share ppl’s stories of housing success & housing deprivation
1/
A long post. But I’m filled with sadness, despair at some politicians and deep disappointment in
@CityofLdnOnt
Councillors who would not even vote to give
@SafeSpaceLondon
a chance to speak on May 28 (because that’s all this vote was… a vote on whether Safe Space could speak to
#LdnOnt
City Council voted NOT to refer an extension for funding
@SafeSpaceLondon
beyond May 31/24
The motion failed 7-7
Looking forward to seeing this important commercial corner with an exciting business venture attracting customers to this amazing business district
#OEV
Across Canada, 24 Safe Supply programs have yet to hear about funding that runs out in March 2024
In only 3 months, approx 7000 Safe supply patients may have no care & may return to the toxic unregulated fentanyl street supply
/1 🧵
COVID is indeed a catastrophic failure of moving evidence into practice
But the exact same thing can be said of the almost 19000 dead from the fentanyl crisis.
Except with COVID, the people dying are people the average person actually cares about.
It is hard to believe that today is the deadliest day of the pandemic in Ontario. 89 deaths.
This is the most catastrophic failure of moving evidence into practice and policy that I have ever seen in my career.
We have known what to do for so long. We just haven't done it.
I paused & reflected
“Here most days”. The tone behind those 3 words was palpable
This person faces many of the challenges common to my patients
Sleeping rough on a cold Dec night
Uses drugs to stay awake, warm, safe. MH exacerbated by the survival choice to use drugs
2/
@StevensonLDN
Most of these pipes will actually be used for smoking fentanyl, instead of injecting fentanyl
Smoking fentanyl decreases the risk of HIV transmission from fentanyl to almost 0 (as compared to injecting fentanyl)
An HIV infection costs, on average,
$ 1 million per person over
@sheldonbailey
@YaaraSaks
Lots of things that are incorrect here Mr. Bailey
The “child” I spoke of at the
@momsstoptheharm
AGM was an adult child. I have NEVER seen or been made aware of a child accessing diverted safe supply from my program. Categorically never
All of our program evaluations include
4 people lost in 4 days
4 vibrant souls gone
When my patients die, they die on the concrete of
#ldnont
They get more attention from the “community” when they are dead, now there’s a body to clear
I guess they’re not high acuity anymore, I guess the numbers look better now
Yesterday I was joined by another doc during Safe Supply clinic . She used to work in our (primarily street outreach) practice 4 years ago. Her comment “people are so WELL”. She couldn’t believe the transformation that had happened in individual patients lives due to Safe Supply
There are more drugs on Toronto’s Bay St than in any
#ldnont
encampment
When u are unhoused your drug use & struggles are on full public display & open to judgement
Pls ask yourself. If the hardest moments of your life happened in full public view, how would ppl judge YOU?
The majority of Canadians who use drugs are housed and do so in the privacy of their homes, including: your neighbours, family members, and friends…People deprived of housing should be given the same rights to safety and privacy while building stability in their lives.
A patient yesterday “what if they called us IV medication users instead of addicts?”... same patient: “emerg told me I had an acute case of
Junkie-itis”. I try to imagine how exhausting it must be to be treated like this every day, everywhere you go....
People need people to stand up against the harassment and threats that are being stoked against front line medical doctors by Poilievre's hate machine.
This is the state of intimidation politics in Canada today.
@StevensonLDN
Hi Councillor, when you’re ready to review the scientific evidence that shows that this statement by Premier Ford is completely false, please reach out! You have my email
Also, there have been “free alcohol” programs for people with Alcohol Use Disorder for decades across
I was so excited when
@london_cares
@LHSCCanada
announced these 25 housing units
Tears in my eyes yesterday as 1 of my patients told me they are moving in TODAY
The person said “my daughter is the best thing that has ever happened to me. This is the second best thing”
#ldnont
Partnering w/
@london_cares
, we've established 25 long-term supportive housing units for community members experiencing homelessness.
Using existing apartments at 362 Dundas St., our orgs will offer 24/7 health & social support services to residents.
Safe Supply, harm reduction is also a gendered issue. Women are safer when they have their own drugs, are able to use them independently and have somewhere safe to be after using.
Our drug supply is terrifying. Ppl who have ingested fentanyl/benzo mix can be out for hours at a time (). Women have reported being sexually assaulted during this time. Anecdotally, hearing more women getting their drugs checked for benzos lately.
Adam Zivo continues to slander research done by myself and colleagues. Right wing politicians who have taken zero action on the 40k fatal overdoses in this country use his propaganda to let more people die.
Come hear about what we actually do:
Gentle reminder that most of the research Dr. Sereda refers to falls into two buckets:
(1) "We asked drug users if they liked getting free drugs and they said yes and promised they weren't abusing the system to make money, so I guess we objectively know safer supply works."
(2)
This is a deeply offensive statement from Adam Zivo
It assumes Safe Supply supporters don’t have lived experience with addiction & loss?
As a person who lost a husband to drugs, I can viscerally tell Mr. Zivo how wrong he is
Also, tell that to
@momsstoptheharm
@MsthPetra
Mr. Zivo “has heard” that I make a large salary being a “safer supply evangelist”
I make the same salary as every other Community Health Centre doctor in Ontario
This is an easily checked fact if Mr. Zivo was interested in checking facts
/1
The
@nationalpost
likes to use the line “supervised injection sites are saving some lives, but they are not saving enough lives”
Do you know how you make an intervention that is proven to save lives, save MORE lives?
You expand the intervention
Andrew Scheer ignores all accumulated scientific evidence about harm reduction and chooses “morality” and community stigma instead. A Scheer government will lead to the deaths of my patients
“The analysis found the cohort of people who were prescribed Safe Supply had a 61% lower risk of death from any cause the following week, & was also 55 % less likely to die of an overdose the following week”
@GovCanHealth
Safe Supply saves lives
This is the 2nd in a series of threads where I talk about the reality of ppl living in homelessness on the streets of
#ldnont
Today I will tell the story of a young man who is literally dying of starvation
1/
… this makes these beds physically unsafe for people who use fentanyl, as they would be forced through a profound & dangerous physical opioid withdrawal if they used these abstinence based beds
@StevensonLDN
happy to review the physiology of withdrawal with you
/2
@sheldonbailey
Hi Sheldon, this post is defamation. Please remove it or I will consider legal action
By the way, I’m 43 and I’m still my parents child.
People who use drugs have a right to survive this overdose epidemic. Prescribers have the power to help keep them alive.
@gilliankolla
@NankyRai
and I write about how we can do that
#ldnont
@strosow
has my mad respect
Another Councillor tried to delay Hubs AGAIN & said “u don’t just run into a burning building”
Sam answers “yes, you do run into a burning house to save people”
Thank u Councillor for being brave on behalf of ppl sleeping outside tonight
I shared this article today about the terrifying surge in ODs in Belleville. 23 ODs in 2 days
I left the comments open. Within hours the comments were full of statements like “let the j**kies die”
No, we will NOT let humans die preventable deaths
“Harm reduction workers described physical, social & emotional impacts from their work on the front-lines of this crisis, as well as tremendous grief due to so many losses. Many described feeling completely abandoned by government decision makers & the healthcare system”
An overlooked aspects of the drug toxicity overdose crisis has been the emotional impacts of overdose on front-line harm reduction workers. Our new paper in
@ijdrugpolicy
explores the devastating toll from overdose on the wellbeing of workers, and strategies to support them 🧵
Safe Supply has been building a published evidence base showing that it saves lives, improves health, improves social well being
This most recent study shows the profound decrease in fatal ODs when people are prescribed Safe Supply
@CBCLondon
I can’t overstate the importance of this BC Supreme Court ruling
“The injunction was granted on grounds that by severely restricting public drug consumption, the Act would cause irreparable harm to ppl @ risk of injury & death amid a public health crisis”
Today over 130 substance use experts from across Canada call on govt to rely on Safe Supply evidence, not misinformation
Over 20 published research studies & program evaluations have documented how safer supply saves lives & improves the health of people accessing it
Link ⬇️
Amidst worsening drug poisoning crisis, Canada must show leadership to stop the deaths.
Read the release here:
Read the letter to government officials and see the list of signatories here:
Join MSTH for our AGM and listen to our keynote speaker
@andreasereda
!
You don’t have to be a mom or a member to join.
See bannen on our website to register
Councillor
@StevensonLDN
can you please comment on:
- where were the humans who lived in these tents forcibly re-located to?
- were these humans asked for consent in their re-location? Was discussion about the safety of the people living in these tents had with the people
THANK YOU
@CityofLdnOnt
@lpsmediaoffice
and everyone else who played a role in the encampment clean-ups that happened this Thursday & Friday in the
#OEV
municipal parking lots and on sidewalks. I received so many messages of gratitude!!
You made a difference & brought hope.
What incredible results from the partnership of
@LHSCCanada
@london_cares
showing the profound successes of their Housing First, highly supportive housing here in
#ldnont
- 30% of people have reconnected with family
- Some tenants have found employment
- several people have
'Astounding' results from London's first highly supportive housing projects, official says
London Cares executive director says wellbeing of tenants is proof the housing model works
****every**** time harm reduction has advanced in Canada, it has been because activists were unwilling to accept official rules and laws that led to the deaths of people who use drugs. Every single thing we take for granted in harm reduction was once illegal
2yrs ago today- 6 wks - 100 ODs reversed. The City wouldn’t allow us to bring in storage containers to store our supplies. we drove a van in everyday. On this day we just went ahead & put them in. 6 wks later we brought in a trailer. Breaking rules is a path to survival
“The funding recipient appears to be ROSC Solutions Group, whose owner and top staff are connected w/ the (Alberta) Premier's chief of staff and were early organizers of YYC Recovery Capital Conference”
Much of the “Alberta model” is turning out to be more or less a pipeline of
Over a year after inking the deal, the AB Ministry of Mental Health & Addiction has yet to announce the recipient of its largest contract.
$20-30 million is going to a 'recovery community' & training centre, plus youth & prison programming based in Gunn.
I am so angry. My week has been spent comforting crying patients in my office as they grieve dead street-family and peers. Doctors, we have the power to stop this death wave. Prescribing Safe Supply keeps people alive while we figure this out.
@StevensonLDN
Hi Councillor
@StevensonLDN
!
I encourage you to watch the full keynote address I gave for
@momsstoptheharm
. Quotes form Mr. Zivo’s article are cherry picked and misrepresented in the article you posted so I encourage you to go to the source! Contrary to Mr. Zivo’s conspiracy
In my office, I hear clinic staff working with people outside my door
I hear “I’m really proud of you for coming in today, we are going to make this better”
Such a simple thing; validating someone’s worth & right to healthcare
@HealthCentre
in
#ldnont
is getting it right
Hi Councillor
@StevensonLDN
You post is completely factually incorrect, so let me help you out!
1. There is no such thing as a “safe supply license”. Does not exist. Prescribing safe supply requires absolutely no special license or exemption from ANY level of government.
I had the privilege of sitting with a group of PWUD in the DTES today. Sure, we talked about
#safesupply
. But what they mostly wanted to tell me about is how profoundly dehumanized, stigmatized, traumatized they have been at the hands of doctors.
Medicine, we need to fix this.
I just sat in a room full of mostly
#pwud
and we all shared how profoundly let down & stigmatized we’d been by the medical establishment. It was great of
@andreasereda
,
@alexiscrabtree
,
@DrMtyndall
& at least one other dr there to listen & really assure us they were making change