ONE DAY to make SCS a priority and next "I support" photo day!

Details: Published on Wednesday, 08 April 2015 15:17; Written by editor

On April 9th, Council will make its final decisions about priorities for action and budget allocation for the Strategic Plan 2015-2018.

That gives us 1 DAY to email the City Councillors [This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.] to remind them that SCS is an important priority for our community!!!

We need YOUR HELP to send as many letters as possible by end of day April 8. Please 'cc' This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can compile and share the letters we receive.

See the letter template and details about the Strategic Plan below.

THIS Saturday, April 11th will be your next chance to get an "I support" photo taken for the YES2SCS campaign.

We will be in Centennial Square from 12-2pm.

Interested in volunteering with the campaign? There will be information about volunteer activities at our booth.

See you there!

Letter Template:

Dear City of Victoria Councillors:

The establishment of supervised consumption services (SCS) in Victoria is important to me.

I support SCS in Victoria because [*add in your personalized reasons for supporting SCS!]

For over a decade, people who use drugs, researchers, politicians, health care workers and other community leaders have been calling for SCS in our city (see: http://www.yes2scs.ca/background/10-years-of-recommendations-for-scs/). Our community is ready and we must take action.

The City of Victoria has an opportunity to re-prioritize these essential health services and show leadership by facilitating a collaboration between City Hall, the Island Health Authority, the Victoria Police Department, and YES2SCS to develop SCS within our existing continuum of health care services.

YES2SCS is a community-based coalition that includes participation of members of SOLID and other people who use drugs, and their voices are critical in relation to social inclusion and effectiveness of health service provision. A Councillor-facilitated process would strengthen community collaboration on these issues and provide access to City resources such as information and advice on land use, zoning, maintenance, etc.

I urge you to make the establishment of SCS a priority by including the above process in the City of Victoria 2015-2018 Strategic Plan.

The Details:
The establishment of SCS and support of YES2SCS is listed in Objective 7: Facilitate Social Inclusion and Community Wellness on page 8 of the Draft Strategic Plan.

▪ 2015 ACTIONS: • The City facilitates a collaboration among Island Health, VicPD, YES2SCS, and City of Victoria to create supervised consumption services embedded in a continuum of health care services, including harm reduction.
▪ 2016 ACTIONS: • Establish a Councillor-facilitated process with regard to supervised consumption services, with occasional staff contributions as required, for specific issue-based advice; e.g. land use, zoning, maintenance, etc.
▪ 2017 OUTCOMES: • Created accessible health services for Victoria’s most marginalized people.

As Always:
* Sign our petition for SCS in Victoria
* Visit our website for resources about SCS (under the 'resources' tab)
* Like and share content from our Facebook Page
* Follow us and re-tweet us on Twitter
* Email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.