Why I Help Addicts Shoot Up: Interview With Meera Bai, Christian Nurse & Harm Reduction Advocate
Why I help addicts shoot up: Interview with Meera Bai, Christian nurse & harm reduction advocate – Put in simple terms harm reduction is meeting people where they are at. In the homeless service’s space harm reduction also means being sober is not a requirement for services such as housing. My recent visit with Donny in Calgary [bit.ly is a near text book example. Donny was drinking and using on the streets for over 20 years, but when he got into housing and was given some dignity Donny got sober all on his own. But Donny was also lucky. He never really got into very hard drugs, so it was easier for him to get sober. Often this is hard for ‘normal’ people to understand but there is a point where drugs take over a persons life. They lose all reason and self-worth. Their whole existence revolves around getting another fix. Often this path takes a person down an unthinkable path of self-destruction. People end up doing things to survive that are horrible. HIV , Hepatitis C, and drug related deaths become a very serious public safety issue for all of us. One story I heard from a few different people is addicts using puddles of urine to “fix” their heroin. The thought makes me cringe, but I know what drugs did to me when I was heavily addicted. I needed drugs more than I needed air and would do anything to get them. My second city in Canada was Vancouver and I spent a day in Vancouver’s Downtown East side. [bit.ly have always wanted to visit a “wet shelter” (a shelter that provides alcohol) to see for myself. I call myself a ‘liberal redneck’ so although I do lean towards a …
Local students learn about meth prevention
Filed under: drug addiction help websites
We have to be patient and keep spreading the message to this vulnerable age group because we've essentially lost several generations of kids to drug addiction," McQueary said. "We have got to break the cycle." Principal Tatia Fernandez said she was a …
Read more on Farmington Daily Times
Dispatches
Filed under: drug addiction help websites
Finocchiaro printed the images from an internet photo-sharing website and assembled them into the collages. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $ 250,000. Sentencing was … Officials say Karen Lane of Orono was charged with drug …
Read more on Press Herald
SPECIAL REPORT: Prescription addiction
Filed under: drug addiction help websites
It is estimated that nearly 30,000 Americans will die from prescription drug abuse and overdoes this year – cocaine and heroin combined. And it will kill more people than car accidents. The number of deaths from painkillers quadrupled nationwide since …
Read more on KOAM-TV