Lives are not disposable. I support humanitarian relief for Gaza and demand an end to the blockade, military violence, and collective punishment.
👉 Donate to Gaza Relief
💔 No one should starve under bombs.

#HumanitarianRelief
#AidMatters
#SolidarityNotSilence
#HelpNotHarm
#CompassionInAction

Imma have to do some real hard introspection on this "Base your stances on who you are helping, not on who you are attacking".

That hits deep, and I know it is truth.

But oh, all the little dependencies to track down.

Gotta put in some work.

#activism #helpnotharm #hardwork

At least a third of the publicly funded #AddictionTreatment beds #BCgovernment claims are available for drug users across #BritishColumbia do not actually offer treatment, the #IJF has learned.

“B.C. now has 3,645 publicly funded substance-use treatment beds, including 659 beds opened since 2017 with more to come,” the Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions announced in an Aug. 27 press release.

But a breakdown of the available types of adult and youth treatment options provided by the ministry shows that its tally includes 1,232 low-barrier housing beds, accounting for about 34 per cent of the total.

#Addictions treatment is not directly provided in low-barrier housing in B.C., but is part of “a full continuum of support services,” the ministry said in an email to the IJF. This type of facility simply makes shelter available to people who use drugs, without requiring them to abstain or be in treatment.

The news comes as both the #BCConservatives and the #BCNDP government are touting #involuntary addiction care as a solution to the province’s ongoing #ToxicDrugCrisis.

That #political focus is deeply frustrating for Correne Antrobus of #MomsStopTheHarm, an advocacy group led by families affected by tainted illegal drugs.

https://theijf.org/bc-publicly-funded-addiction-treatment-low-barrier-housing

#BCpoli #Medical #PublicHealth #HarmfulPolicy #Cruelty #HumanRights #MentalHealth #AddictionsStigma #MentalIllnessStigma #BreakTheSitgmas #HelpNotHarm #BCNewDeathParty #BCNDPLegacyoOfDeath #FundMentalWellness #FundSocialHousing #NeverVoteConservative #NeverVoteNeoliberal #BCElection2024 #BCVotes2024 #BCelection #CDNpoli

Most letter writers to our local newspaper, #TimesColonist are quite conservative & cruel in how they think about marginalized peoples. You rarely see compassion in TC letters published, that Mr. Chris Holiday has shown. I don't know the person but grateful locals like them exist.

"Give more respect to those unhoused
I have been appalled at the increasing level of stigmatization and hatred directed toward the unhoused population.

I live on Pandora Avenue and frequently walk by individuals suffering most severely from our province’s housing crisis. I’ve witnessed individuals in crisis and using threatening language towards passersby but I have also witnessed verbal harassment of unhoused individuals coming from the balconies of luxury apartments.

Public safety is a two-way street, everyone deserves the right to safety and dignity. A 2023 study by the Ministry of Housing reports that 67% of unhoused individuals have lived in their community for more than five years and 23% for their entire lives.

These are our neighbours, and they deserve respect just as much as us who are housed.

Chris Holiday

Victoria"

https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/letters-sept-16-facing-financial-disaster-lightstations-not-lifeboats-respect-for-the-unhoused-9525284

#YYJpoli #VictoriaBC #YYJCitizens #BreakTheStigmas #HelpTheHomeless #HomelessLivesMatter #HelpNotHarm #PovertyIsNotACrime #HouseTheHomeless #HomelessnessIsNotACrime #BCpoli #SocialHousingNow #HousingCrisis #RentalCrisis #BCNDP #YYJ #CDNpoli #Marginalized #VulnerablePopulation #Stigmatized #StigmaKills #SmashStigmas

Did #Lexington #Senator #KatrinaShealy, a #Republican cast her #vote to not oppose #trans care?

#Campaign flier against her implies she voted against the #transphobic #helpnotharm #bill.

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Kentucky #Conservatives #Extremism #Fascism #Religion #RepublicanParty #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Discrimination #Transphobia #ThePartyOfHate #EmptyThePews

https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article288526412.html

#OpenLetter from #Academics Against #Vancouver #Encampment #Evictions

https://themainlander.com/2023/04/14/an-open-letter-from-academics-against-vancouvers-encampment-evictions

#HouseTheHouseless #BritishColumbia #BCpoli #VancouverPolitics #SocialHousingNeeded #LowIncomeHousingNeeded #SupportiveHousingNeeded #HousingCrisis #HelpTheHomeless #HumanRights #HomelessAreHumansToo #BeCompassionate #HelpNotHarm #BeACaringHuman #CanPoli #BCNDP #DavidEby #MayorKenSims #DTES #VancouverHousingCrisis #StopStreetSweeps #FundMoreHomesNotMoreCops #GlobalNorth #FundHomesNotEcocide