Street Cats YYC

🕯️Honour the Dead 💟
🕯️Fight like Hell for the Living 💟

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OVERDOSE AWARENESS DAY 💟

Join us for the annual awareness event.

WE STAND WITH ONTARIO HARM REDUX
IN THE EFFORTS TO SAVE THEIR SCS’s

Street cats calls for a complete suspension of the Gov. plans to close 10 supervised consumption sites. The Gov. of Ontario is willfuly participating in the political Ex*****on of People Who Use Drugs.

We demand that a concrete plan to implement alternative services and supports be put in place prior to any site closures. We denounce any plans that have only abstinence-based goals as the foundation.

7 people die every day in ontario because of the criminalized unregulated supply. Supervised consumption sites are the only place where people can consume their substances under the supervision of trained overdose responders.

Increasing police & abstinence-based options of support will never abolish substance use. This decision will cause harm to people who use drugs and their Communities at large. Any changes or decisions around service providing must include the drug using community.

This is Necropolitics
By closing SCS, the Government exerts control over marginalized communities, particularly those Who Use Drugs. This further systemically disenfranchise communities creating conditions that limits access to safer consumption environments, increasing risks of Overdose, Death and Disease.

SCS are designed to reduce harm associated with Drug Use. Their closure will also limit access to relationship building, social support, and health care; showcasing how the Gov’s decision directly impacts survival.

The decision to close these Services stems from Political motivations rather than Public Health considerations. This Prioritization of Politics over Health exacerbates the conditions under which marginalized populations are further oppressed.

PCHS Calgary is in partnership with and for International Overdose Awareness Day educational activities at the Central Memorial Park. This will take place between 11am - 3PM on August 30th, 2024.

The event will consist of:
- Community resources and health services tables
- Free backpacks
- Free haircuts and manicures
- Food truck vouchers
- Raffle prizes
- STBBI testing
- Harm reduction supplies
- Nasal and injectable naloxone kits

This is in partnership with , , , , , , Safelink Alberta, , , Sorce, , Stop the Harm, AAWEAR (Alberta Alliance Who Educate and Advocate Responsibly), Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary, Neon Taco, MC College, Your Journey, .cats.yyc, Berta Bergers, and

WE KNOW OUR DOSE
WE NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S IN OUR DOSE

We need access to drug testing and regulated supply.
Decriminalization of safer regulated supply through compassion clubs is the only way we will see reduced drug-related deaths.

No deserves to die because they use drugs.

🩸 WORLD HEPATITIS DAY 🩸

Hepatitis C is an infection in the liver caused by the hepatitis C virus. if left untreated Over time, the virus can cause liver injury and scarring and can make you very sick.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis B can also affect the liver. These viruses can be confused with the hepatitis C virus, but they are not the same.

You can have hep C for many years without having symptoms or feeling sick, even though the virus may be injuring your liver. The only way to know is to get tested!

Approx. 1/4 folks clear hep C on their own, but most need treatment to cure it. If someone doesn’t clear the virus after 6 months, they have a chronic hepatitis C infection.
Remember that the only way to know if you have hepatitis C is to get tested.

Treatment comes in pill form, has few side effects and is usually taken for 8-12 weeks. The cost of treatment is typically covered through public health insurance plans -(provincial, territorial or federal)

🔥 EXTREME HEAT 🔥 & PWUD

A lot of this information can apply to all members of the community, we wanted to provide additional information outside of the basic awareness, related to impacts of substance use during extreme heat.

Go slow, use with someone you trust, carry naloxone and drink plenty of water!

We love you.
Stay cool & Keep Six

We are collecting donations for Street Cats YYC this month ☀️ Please bring any donations of bottled water, bug spray, reusable water bottles or sunscreen to the store throughout July!

-2024-
SECOND QUARTERLY

Spring came as a huge relief.

Over the past three months we have:
•Engaged with 3976 folks
•Provided 349 referrals to services
•Preformed 23 wound care/ dressing changes
•Responded to 5 poisonings
And 24 soft poisonings with coaching
•Distributed 310 Naloxone Kits, 101 kits were used in the streets that we replaced
•Responded to 93 wellness checks & de-escalations, including grief supports
•Intervened with potentially punitive authoritative interactions 3 times
•Institutional support (hospital/prison) 35
•Provided Camp Support 38 times
•Detox/Treatment/O.A.T support 11 times
•16 folks were provided Post Prison Supports
•Legal/Lawyer supports connected 14 times

“EVERYBODY IS IMPACTED
EVERYBODY’s HURTING”:
Grief, loss and the emotional impacts of overdose on harm reduction workers.

By: Gillian Kolla, Triti Khorasheh, Zoe Dodd, Sarah Greig, Jason Altenberg, Yvette Perreault, Ahmed M. Bayoumi, Kathleen S. Kenny

The emotional impacts of witnessing and responding to overdose and overdose-related deaths have been largely overlooked during the drug toxicity overdose crisis in North America. Scarce research has analyzed these impacts on the health and well-being of harm reduction workers, and the broader determinants of harm reduction work.

Results revealed that harm reductions workers experienced physical, emotional, and social effects from overdose-related loss and grief. While some effects were due to the toll of overdose response and grief from overdose-related losses, they were exacerbated by the lack of political response to the scale of the drug toxicity overdose crisis and the broader socio-economic-political environment of chronic underfunding for harm reduction services. Harm reduction workers described the lack of appropriate workplace supports for trauma from repeated overdose response and overdose-related loss, alongside non-standard work arrangements that resulted in a lack of adequate compensation or access to benefits.

Our study highlights opportunities for organizational practices that better support harm reduction workers, including formal emotional supports and community-based supportive care services. Improvement to the socio-economic-political determinants of work such as adequate compensation and access to full benefit packages are also needed in the harm reduction sector for all workers.

SUPPORT. DON’T PUNISH.

Punitive drug laws do more harm than help, especially for folks experiencing poverty and racialized people. We are in a drug policy crisis today because of laws created to control Indigenous, racialized and working-class communities. Our laws and policies continue to drive and perpetuate disproportionate harm.

A criminal record can block opportunities for jobs, housing and education. Fear of repercussions can stop people from calling 9-1-1 during an overdose, or seeking supports, healthcare and treatment. Our governments spend billions of dollars every year on criminalizing people who use drugs. that money should be used to invest in safe, just and healthy communities.

We must transform these policies for the collective well-being of our communities.

All people have the right to dignity and health, regardless of their relationship to drug use.

Harm reduction is about reducing the physical harms of drug use and educating ourselves to use drugs as safely as possible.
it is also about creating new ways of responding to harm through a radical rejection of punishment.
It is about equipping ourselves and our communities with the capacity and knowledge of how to protect ourselves from state and interpersonal violence, how to respond to harm and build empathic relationships that allow us to communicate and be ever more resilient and caring as communities.

IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON SUBSTANCE USE

Colonial powers imposed eurocentric worldviews on indigenous communities. Enforcing prohibition of traditional practices involving substances like ceremonial use of to***co and other plants. Banning Indigenous traditional practices involving substances while promoting european alcohol consumption.

Neglecting to provide basic healthcare, affordable housing, substance use supports, and mental health services to Indigenous communities.

Historic colonial policies continue to influence modern substance use regulations and prohibitions in indigenous communities. questions of autonomy, self-governance, and cultural rights intersect with contemporary substance use policies.

Harmful prohibition policies long-lasting effects:
•Suppression of traditional practices related to substance use.
•Increased incarceration and legal penalties for Indigenous peoples.
•Introduction of new, often more harmful substances like industrially produced alcohol.
•Loss of traditional livelihoods and economic practices related to substance use.
•Ongoing social and psychological impacts.

We need to - INDIGENIZE HARM REDUCTION

THE FOUR FIRES MODEL
By centering community wellbeing and the restoration of different Indigenous knowledge systems, life ways, ceremonies, culture and governance structures Indigenous peoples of many Nations and cultures can reduce the harm we experience in our lives.

IMPACT OF COLONIALISM ON THE PRISON SYSTEM

The prison system has always been a colonial tool of control against Indigenous peoples. Biases in policing, sentencing, and incarceration have resulted in disproportionately high rates of Indigenous folks being overrepresented in prisons and facing harsher treatment within the criminal justice system.

CALLS TO JUSTICE

25. We call upon the federal government to establish a written policy that reaffirms the independence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to investigate crimes in which the government has its own interest as a potential or real party in civil litigation.
26. We call upon the federal, provincial, and territorial governments to review and amend their respective statutes of limitations to ensure that they conform to the principle that governments and other entities cannot rely on limitation defences to defend legal actions of historical abuse brought by Aboriginal people.

Indigenous peoples represent approximately 5% of the Canadian population but account for over 30% of the federal incarcerated population. That number is worse in provincial jails, jumping to over 40%, with worse correctional outcomes.

SafeLink Alberta provides essential support and a sense of community to individuals struggling with substance use, like Don, an Indigenous man in his fifties. Don's story illustrates the profound impact of our services. After a tumultuous childhood and years of walking past our old location, a friend finally introduced him to SafeLink Alberta, where he found numerous resources and kind people.

Through our service navigation, Don accessed treatment and housing, finding stability and a sense of belonging. He values the support system SafeLink Alberta offers, which has become a critical part of his life, especially as he prepares to enter treatment.

We invite you to attend our Annual General Meeting (AGM), where we will release our achievements over the past year from our annual report. Join us to learn more about the valuable work we do and celebrate our successes in supporting individuals like Don.

RSVP: https://ow.ly/Z61B50SfE1p

Alpha House Society - Calgary
Street Cats YYC
The Alberta Alliance Who Educates and Advocates Responsibly

INTERNATIONAL S*X WORKERS DAY & THE 2nd DAY OF INDIGENOUS HISTORY MONTH

Canadian s*x work regulation is a historically rooted colonial tool used to control Indigenous bodies and their mobility in Canada.

Indigenous women make up 2.5-3% of the general population in Canada, yet they comprise over 50% of street s*x workers and data suggests they are also significantly over-represented in other forms of s*x work. The close relationship between Canadian colonialism and s*x work regulation, and the over representation of Indigenous women in this area suggests that creating s*x work legislation that empowers Indigenous s*x workers should be considered as a form of reconciliation.

The Nordic Model, which was adopted in Canada in 2014, was found to have resulted in the reinforcement of negative stereotypes, increased surveillance and policing of Indigenous communities, and the creation of situations which reduce Indigenous s*x worker’s health in Canada. By contrast, the New Zealand Model increased Indigenous s*x workers wellbeing through decriminalization and espousing a specifically pro-s*x worker stance in their policy creation and implementations processes.

Reminder to get your pay what you want tickets to watch BEVEL UP (2007) with us on Saturday May 11 from 5pm-6:30pm! 🍿 Includes free popcorn. We will be having a post film discussion with .cats.yyc. 50% of ticket sales will be donated to support their vital harm reduction outreach work. Link in bio to tickets or go to renhealthcollective.com/events

BEVEL UP (2007) is an award-winning documentary and learning resource created by the outreach nursing team from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). It follows street nurses in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside as they deliver nonjudgmental, compassionate and trauma-informed health care to people who use drugs.

💟HARM REDUX DAY💟

Today & Everyday
We celebrate and honour Harm Redux workers and Drug Users who are collectively responding to the criminalized drug supply crisis.
Happy Harm Redux Day
To those who are fighting for equity and policy reform.
Who recognize the incredible community that has been pushed to the margins.
To those who continue to show up despite the immeasurable mountains of grief.
To those who never forget how important LOVE is.

🩶POST NALOXONE🩶

Prepare for AFTER care

Responding to a Drug poisoning/overdose is incredibly important, but being able to show someone care and kindness when they are coming around is life changing.

Our Post Naloxone Kit:
•Hand Warmer
•Emergency Blanket
•Powdered Electrolytes
•Hard Candy
•Cigarettes

More space? Things to add:
•Ensure/Boost
•Water
•Gloves
•Toque/Beanie
•Lip Balm
•Assorted Candy ie chewy/soft
•Sugar Free Options
•Bus Tickets

-2024-
FIRST QUARTERLY

Been a cold rough first quarter, but we have finally started the second, with some slightly warmer weather.

Over the past three months we have:
•Engaged with 3416 folks
•Provided 334 referrals to services
•Preformed 30 wound care/ dressing changes
•Responded to 7 poisonings
And 16 soft poisonings with coaching
•Distributed 280 Naloxone Kits, 152 kits were used in the streets that we replaced
•Responded to 109 wellness checks & de-escalations, including grief supports
•Intervened with potentially punitive authoritative interactions 15 times

MEET YOUR “PILOT” 2024 vendors! Follow em all - and stay tuned for highlights and the prizes they will be providing for punk rock bingo!



cat.metal botanical.girl







the.art.thing



art


_lia lonely.printer mango















cats.yyc

END STIGMA

Stigma continues to shape policy
Those policies are killing our friends, our families, and our communities.

MUTUALITY

Develops in community, when care is reciprocal.
With bidirectional realistic expectations, boundaries, and respect for capacity.
Support & Non- judgmental care are pillars of harm redux but support can take many shapes-such as comradery.
Get to know your neighbours including drugs using community members.
We are not only here to look out for one another, but to engage in social behaviors with each other through speech, dance, and touch. These behaviours fulfill basic human needs, which is care in and of itself.

MUTUALITY isn’t just the physical transfer of aide. it is also sharing stories, and exchanging respect for one another
it is understanding that drug users have as much to offer, you, as you do to them - and that the gifts they share with you will come in many shapes.

IT CAN NOT BE MUTUAL AID IT IF IS NOT MUTUAL
it is anti-community to not allow people to help you, but to be constantly helping others. Being only the “helper” creates and upholds power differentials. Replicating saviour complexes.
Through times of use and times of abstinence, my relationship with drugs remains positive.
This is because of the depth of love, safety, and community drug users provide me.

‼️‼️IMPORTANT‼️‼️

An informative online briefing discussing the recent closures of supervised consumption sites in Ontario due to funding issues from the Ministry of Health. Learn about the impact of these closures in diverse communities across Ontario and what actions can be taken to address this critical issue.

Stay informed and share our open letter to add your voice to the call for immediate provincial support

Online Briefing: Supervised Consumption Site Closures in Ontario An informative online briefing discussing the recent closures of supervised consumption sites in Ontario due to funding issues from the Ministry of Health. L...

— ALL AGES FUNDRAISER —

WE LOVE PEOPLE WHO USE DRUGS
Art Auction/Harm Redux/ Mutual Aid Fundraiser

・・・

!!! LETS THROW DOWN !!!

:: Sunday March 17th ::
:: Doors @ 4 :: Bands @ 5 ::
:: Cover $10-$25 // pay what you can ::
Spanic Arts, 604 1st SW, Calgary AB

Want to volunteer? Have auction items?
Please contact *xpill for any additional information!

:: SEE YOU IN THE PIT ::

LIBERATORY HARM REDUCTION

Change is not linear, and we do not consider “abstinence” to be the ultimate state of being; we don’t use the word relapse. We value every moment of our lives; not just the moments we are abstaining from doing something.

❤️‍🔥YOU SET MY HEART ON FIRE❤️‍🔥
Can’t extinguish my love for you!!

Encampment Fire Safety

Never leave a fire unattended
JUST LIKE HOW WE SPOT EACHOTHER USING WE ALWAYS NEED TO SPOT OUR FIRE

Take turns sleeping! 💕

MOON ROCKS

Love you to the moon and back,
Whatever the dose,
I’ve got Naloxone in my pack.