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Hope you don't mind some thread-hoppers. The lay of the land is vastly different depending on local services, so my answers might be different than OPs.Horrible Lurkbeast posted:This is a good thread OP. It's definitely worse in British Columbia. When I was doing homelessness/additions outreach a decade ago, fentanyl wasn't a problem--now it's killing people who aren't even on the street. I'm not working directly in that field any more, but 9/10 if I see a memorial post go up on FB, it was caused by fentanyl. Fentanyl is a heavy duty painkiller that wasn't meant to be used outside of hospitals, but China started cranking it out for cheap, and now it's all over. It gets cut into everything because it's inexpensive and packs a punch. Problem is, the difference between getting high and dying of an opiate OD is so narrow that experienced users can mess it up--if they even know what they're dosing with. There's also carfentanil, which is ten thousand times stronger than morphine, and is even easier to OD with. Here's what a deadly dose can look like. On the homelessness side of the equation, the housing crisis + inflation keeps pushing more at-risk people under water. I do disability advocacy now, and for a lot of our people, the line between housed/homeless is one bad week. PurpleButterfly posted:Here's a question for the professionals in this thread: What, if anything, should I give out to homeless folks at intersections through my car window? I am a conscientious person who would really like to be a part of the solution. I haaaaate intersection panhandling, but I cave when it's obvious they're suffering to do it, or if I know them. In my city, able-bodied homeless folk can always find free snacks/sandwiches during the day, and dinner on weeknights. A lot of the panhandlers are saving for cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs--but also bus tickets, medication, or food. I usually don't give handouts (I'd rather donate directly to a shelter) but I always keep a stash of $5 Tim Hortons cards and bus tickets in my car. If there's a heatwave, sometimes freeze a flat of water bottles and give those out to anyone stuck outside. None of that solves things, though. Just makes someone's day a little less lovely. I've started carrying a naloxone kit when I'm downtown. I don't expect to need it, but I'd rather stab a stranger with a needle than watch anyone else die that way. ODs send a big negative ripple through a community that struggles enough without more grief.
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Aug 20, 2017 03:04
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