Taking Action in Toronto’s Drug Addiction Crisis: Updated
Photo by iStock/Jacob Wackerhausen.
In a virtual workshop I attended earlier this month facilitated by Robin Lennox, a Hamilton-based doctor and MPP, this statistic was shared:
I need someone to explain to me how this is acceptable?
Like many others, I’ve been increasingly underwhelmed in the City’s response to our drug abuse crisis. In tandem with persistent housing issues, these tragedies have been compounded by years of underfunding and lack of vigorous outreach and community integration from all levels of government; and more recently, gross provincial overreach in the closing of Safe Consumption Sites here and across Ontario. I cannot understand how I’ve come to live in a place where seeing vulnerable people in distress has become normalized, and a point of contention between community members.
Additionally, I’ve long wondered why the City isn’t doing the most it can to end the stigmas around drug use and addiction – most urgently, by coming down on content creators who document our marginalized communities, doing nothing but adding further injury to the situation by dehumanizing these folks and acting as if they are merely a problem to solve and not people “like us”.
To wit, after announcing my campaign, I received an email from a concerned citizen about a shelter being built in their neighbourhood. While I don’t agree with their attitude towards the project and harm reduction policies offered there that are mandatory for the City to provide, I was flabbergasted to hear that no one from the City showed up to a set community meeting about the development. This in no way engenders trust between the public and the City, nor does it do anything to properly prevent and respond to these issues. There’s a great cognitive dissonance happening in Toronto, exacerbated by rampant NIMBYism, bigotry and fear, that involves us all being aware of and frustrated by these disgraceful circumstances – yet solutions have felt further and further away while embittered attitudes grow.
This Summer, I had the privilege of speaking with Vicky Sanderson, who is a member of the Willdowdale-based mutual aid group called WINC – Willowdale in Neighbourly Community. In my meetings and communications with Vicky, she’s mentioned the phrase “spectrum of acceptance” amongst citizens when it comes to combatting drug use and abuse, and I want to talk about that idea here and how I will address it if elected as Mayor on October 26th.
Given my experience educating against stigma during my work in the cannabis industry, as well as my design knowledge with particular attention to accessibility and mental health support, I believe I’m a mayoral candidate who can lead Toronto through this crisis to create a city that allows everyone to prosper. Below are my thoughts and ideas on how to take a compassionate and thoughtful approach to addressing overdose awareness and prevention in Toronto. Please get in touch to share your own thoughts, ideas and experiences here!
BUILD WITH INTENTION
If the emails entering my inbox currently tell me anything, it’s that people don’t want shelters in their neighbourhoods. They don’t want people using drugs on the TTC. And I totally understand that. What I don’t understand is the growing amount of animus towards our vulnerable citizens, as well as the lack of vigorous action by the City for decades when it comes to funding and designing temporary, social and urgent care spaces.
If elected Mayor, I would act on the following immediately:
Budget review to reallocate funds for building more shelters and temporary housing, *as well as supporting the creation of needed wrap-around services [added on September 11th after consultation from a social work student]; introduction of a property tax on luxury residences to support more temporary and affordable housing development
Facility design review to ensure these spaces are conducive to improving mental and bodily health, as well as promoting financial empowerment (i.e. including art rooms in shelters for art therapy sessions, and to allow residents to have art sales to foster a sense of financial independence – this is an idea Vicky and I spoke about!)
Shelter intake and management upgrade (i.e. one precariously housed person I spoke to this Summer said they are afraid to stay in a shelter, and this is not an uncommon notion – it’s something that needs to be reviewed and remedied ASAP)
END THE OTHERING
I believe it’s the City’s obligation to do the following:
Create and support strong communications and community engagement around marginalized and vulnerable people in every ward in collaboration with social aid and outreach organizations across Toronto – this includes sharing information related to toxic drug supply in a way that is easy and accessible for the public, as well as encouraging more mutual aid and street outreach activity
Provide thorough, contemporary examples of harm reduction and overdose prevention/awareness measures and access; I recommend these videos by Harm Reduction Advocacy Collective Toronto. I also appreciate the work of Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, and I strongly suggest you follow their social media if you’re interested in correcting years of damaging systemic civic health and safety actions
Destigmatize drug use and addiction through community event programming that integrates people experiencing homelessness or drug addiction in a way that encourages conversation and connection through shared human experience, while also highlighting that not everyone who is unhoused uses drugs and the issue of “less visible” addiction
End the normalization of cruelty by speaking out against the politicization and bigotry related to drug abuse, including “content creators” who film and photograph people in distress on the streets of Toronto
START AND MAINTAIN CONVERSATIONS
Regarding the above points, I and many others – including people in the mutual aid sector – believe the City can be doing much better, and much more, around communications related to public health and safety actions from shelter developments to dealing with an overdose situation. Here’s what I would do if elected Mayor:
Schedule mandatory meetings in every ward between myself, the applicable Councillor and community stakeholders, including marginalized citizens, to discuss the state of affairs and responses related to the above points
Create more City-led communications related to overdose prevention and awareness including programming at City Hall on International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31st
Ensure that every health and safety-related project has the appropriate public engagement mechanisms to promote shared community responsibility and care, as well as transparency and accountability
Further educate and support around the on-ramps to addiction to prevent it before it begins
