Community organizations say they are ignored

Photo Camille Garnier
Jean-François Mary
Community manager

Camille Garnier

Tuesday, 17 October 2017 23:16

UPDATE
Tuesday, 17 October 2017 23:16

Look at this article

Community-based organizations specialized in the accompaniment of drug addicts complain of being sidelined by the authorities in the issue of the fight against opioids as the crisis of fentanyl is reported at Montreal.

“We’re not quite consulted, but most importantly, we’re not quite heard, regretted on Tuesday the director of the quebec Association for the promotion of the health of people who use drugs, Jean-François Mary. The solution to the crisis of opioid depends not only on the firefighters, police officers and pharmacists, but also on the community organizations and the users themselves. “

In Montreal, 64 cases of overdose have been reported between 18 August and 16 October, according to latest distribution data of Emergency Health.

It is to bring this message to the Coalition harm reduction in Montreal, that brings together organizations specialized in the accompaniment of drug users, organized on Tuesday a press conference.

Response to the mayor

“This is also a response to the press conference on opioids being held by the mayor Coderre at the beginning of September, and to which none of us was invited,” says Mr. Mary. It is not logical that the field actors who have real expertise are informed by the media. “

Contacted by The Newspaper about this, the press attaché of Denis Coderre said that the news item in question has been decided in a spontaneous way, and that it is for this reason that the community leaders were not invited.

The director of the organization Cactus, which manages, in particular an injection site supervised, Sandhia Vadlamudy, feels it also in the gap.

“We know that the provincial government discusses the possibility of prescribing heroin more easily, as we have been calling for for a long time. And yet we have never been included in these discussions. “

Ms. Vadlamudy is concerned about the lack of resources faced by organizations like hers.

“We have a lot of requests, but our team has less funding, is concerned about it. It is all the more problematic as the crisis of opioids strikes and people really need our help. “