Harm reduction site plan nixed
By Tim Kalinowski on February 19, 2021.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDtkalinowski@lethbridgeherald.com
HIV Community Link will not be setting up a harm reduction site on 13th Street North as previously planned, but still plans to open one at a more “suitable location” in the future.
The organization announced on Thursday it had withdrawn its application to establish a sexual health resource centre and clean needle distribution site at 422 13th Street North, the current location of SAAMIS Lethbridge.
“At this time,” a statement from the organization reads, “HIV Community Link and the landlord will be parting ways professionally and amicably. We want to publicly thank those who support our work and the vulnerable residents we serve.
Our team is committed to working with the community to form a collaborative response to rising rates of hepatitis C, HIV, and STBBI in Alberta, and we will continue to look for a suitable location.”
HIV Community Link director of community relations and acting executive director Ana Glavan says there is definite community health need for the services her organization offers in Lethbridge.
“The services are needed,” she confirmed to The Herald in an email exchange late Thursday morning. “In Alberta, a total of 26,056 STI/HIV cases were reported in 2019. The acute hepatitis C incidence rate in the South Zone was 13 per cent. In the same year, the provincial rate was at 3.5 per cent.”
Glavan says her organization is looking for partners in Lethbridge to help do this important harm prevention work going forward.
“Please get in touch at info@hivcl.org if you are interested in supporting these efforts,” her statement to the media reads. “Building on a 37-year legacy, HIV Community Link’s programs focus on prevention, education, and support. Our organization is dedicated to offering wraparound services to achieve long-term health outcomes for people living with or at risk of hepatitis C, HIV, and other sexually transmissible and blood-borne infections.”
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Absolutely not needed in Lethbridge. AHS already has a site set up at the shelter. We don’t need another injection site disguised as a Harm Reduction Site. That just attracts more addicts to a new location (your back yard).