Abbotsford Drug War Survivors (DWS)

After a 2018 conversation about what we thought would have the best chance of bringing about the group’s desired changes, the tag line “Creating conversations with and among friends” was settled on. In this subsequent circular logo, the creation never stops!

Impact’s relationship with DWS stretches back over a dozen years.

Starting in 2009

Impact pulled together what became SWaRH (Supporting Wellness and Reducing Harm – see SWaRH MOU), a coalition that culminated in the City of Abbotsford rescinding its 2005 anti-harm reduction bylaw in 2014.

Impact’s Executive Director at the time, Brian Gross, both co-facilitated DWS meetings and was endorsed to represent the group around the bylaw, in consultations around harm reduction (see 2011 Harm Reduction Consultation Report), and about accessibility of shelter options in Abbotsford (see 2012 Shelter Working Group Final Report).

2014-2016

Impact ran a youth program funded by Health Canada’s Drug Strategy Community Initiatives Fund, based on the nothing-about-us-without us tenants of DWS. It was a “drug user group” for youth in everything but name.

The program (VYPER – Valley Youth Partnership for Engagement and Respect – see VYPER Evaluation Report) coincidentally held the first youth-developed naloxone training event in collaboration with Fraser Health on April 14, 2016 (the day the Public Health Emergency was called) in Burnaby.

2017

Impact led a coalition (funded by the Community Action Initiative) of many of the same partners to put on a standing-room-only peer-led conference involving Abby DWS and members of drug user groups from across the province.

Impact also started an ongoing Fraser Health contract to support Abby DWS, helping it develop a steering committee, hire a full-time coordinator, and develop a peer-led sharps collection program that has been scaled out to other communities.

Since 2018

In partnership with Fraser Health and the City of Abbotsford, Impact helped members of DWS, other community organizations, residents and business owners start the Business Engagement Ambassador Project (BEAP).

The project supports members of the Abbotsford street community to contribute to the beauty and harmony of Abbotsford, and to be acknowledged for doing so.

MSDSI designated the project with “therapeutic volunteering” exempt status, and its members have been consulted across the province, including being featured in an award-winning national CBC Radio documentary. Funding for the project has come from the City of Abbotsford, Fraser Health, BCCDC, FNHA, and Community Action Initiative.

In the time of COVID

DWS and Impact had a new conference (the Pop-Up Purpose Academy – PUPA) scheduled for March 24, 2020. Obviously that didn’t happen.

While the coming of COVID-19 put a brief pause on group activities, Impact staff immediately retooled to ensure program participants and contributors knew they weren’t forgotten. On-line connections were made where possible, but for many we had to take to meetings in public parks, then settled in the well-ventilated (old) basement of Trinity Memorial United Church, where DWS was invited to set up a warming centre not just for, but also run by folks from the street community (thereby allowing more people to benefit, despite the social distancing requirements of COVID).

When outbreaks at shelters in other communities decimated not just residents but staff, DWS peer network members have been engaged with funding from BC Housing to support folks to maintain isolation and safeguard against further community spread. This project is called the Autonomous Accountably Peer Initiative (AAPI).

Starting in late 2021, DWS is partnering with Archway Community Services, 5&2 Ministries and Abbotsford Restorative Justice on a project funded by the Union of BC Municipalities through the City of Abbotsford. The aim of the project is to go some distance toward addressing the housing insecurity crisis that was further exacerbated by conditions brought on by COVID-19.

NOMAD Community Hub

PEER NETWORK MEMBERS

Contact DWS peer network members for:

Safer drug use supplies
Drug testing strips
Naloxone training/supplies
Report discarded supplies
Spread the word:
concerns/issues/ideas
Connect with other services
Get connected with DWS

Peer Network Members are chosen by their peers to guide the use of DWS’s funds (which are provided by the Fraser Health Authority and administered by Impact):

Harvey: 604-556-6410
George: 604-864-1207
Connie: 604-556-6979
Mary-Grace: 778-347-5528
Andrea: 778-347-5955
Terena: 604-991-6900‬
Bill: 778-982-9247
Randi-Lynn: 236-522-1551‬

General Membership MeetingS

We’re glad to be back from COVID and having meetings for our General Membership again. Meetings are held every Wednesday from noon to 2:00 p.m. and include honorariums for meeting attendance and for cleaning up sharps. We also have food, a smoke break and end the meeting with a moment of silence to remember the folks we’ve lost in the Drug War.

Meetings are held at the NOMAD building at 2444 W Railway St, Abbotsford, BC V2S 2E4.

Business Engagement Ambassador Project (BEAP)

Uncomfortable with the statement “Get with the program,” BEAP decided to be a “Project” with the goal to give folks a low-barrier entry point and then to “Elevate from within.” We want to recognize the equal importance of lives, livelihoods, and quality of life. A life well-lived requires all three.

The founding of BEAP

Since Summer 2018, members of Abbotsford’s Street Community have been meeting with the City of Abbotsford, with Fraser Health Authority, with homeowners and with businesses and business associations in Abbotsford.

The group has developed 2 aims for a project that has been called the Business Engagement Ambassador Project (BEAP):

Over time, make a noticeable difference in the cleanliness, safety and harmony in those areas of Abbotsford where it is operating.
Provide meaningful opportunities for members of the street community to contribute to something positive in a way that will be recognized and appreciated.

Funding

Through seed and ongoing funding from the City of Abbotsford, the First Nations Health Authority, the BC Centre for Disease Control, Fraser Health Authority, Community Action Initiative, Reaching Home, as well as from many individual donors, the project has grown from an idea to an operation.

Questions we wanted to answer:

Would members of the Street Community be able to reliably show up to do the work of BEAP?
Will other members of the community challenge their assumptions, and be able to step past their fear or anger to give BEAP a chance?

It was (unfortunately) easy to find places in Abbotsford where cleanliness, safety and harmony were a challenge. So BEAP had plenty of opportunities to immediately jump in and start answering these questions:

Businesses and customers dealing with persistent loitering, littering, property crime, and biohazards.
Schools and other public places experiencing hazards to youth and families.

Answers we gathered as we BEAP Sweeped Abbotsford:

While members of the street community can face significant barriers to reliability, with a mix of regular and casual volunteers, BEAP’s service has been remarkably reliable (we’ve even shocked ourselves).
Some businesses questioned whether collaborating with BEAP might cause more problems, rather than solving them. Instead they have found BEAP members can support changes with their peers that confrontation and calling the police have never achieved.
Not only has BEAP been able to clean up and keep clean a number of youth and family-related areas, but BEAP’s crews include young people who, up until joining BEAP, have felt excluded and stigmatized.

Changes we’ve seen:

People doing the work, rather than feeling “homeless,” have started seeing Abbotsford as their home (especially as they are acknowledged by fellow citizens). As new issues or hotspots develop or come to light in their “home,” they are capitalizing on their unique position as peers to be uniquely effective.
Business owners/managers have found a solution that, while not solving everything, is more effective than any other approach they’ve tried… and feel proud about contributing to BEAP because, in addition to helping them with their problem, they see it impacting people’s lives positively.
With homelessness a growing phenomenon across BC, new people are frequently joining Abbotsford’s street community. BEAP is creating and strengthening a culture where people acknowledge each other as neighbours… as people. It is creating a culture of relationship building and collaborative problem-solving… bringing hope back to some who couldn’t remember how hope felt.
Further, we found that, after an intensive cleaning of a specific area over a couple weeks, changes andimprovements have been easy to maintain (and continue to grow) in much less time.

Constellation Model of Governance

BEAP chose the Constellation Model of Governance to make decisions. This model consists of two types of bodies:

Stewardship Group

Assess the current assets, successes, gaps and needs.
Invite new partners to be a part of the collaboration.
Determine and adjust how and why the group works together, including:
- approving funds to be used by constellations,
- approving reporting and evaluation mechanisms, and
- receiving and reviewing periodic activity and financial reportsfrom constellations,
- providing any concerns or learnings to inform future activities/initiatives.

Constellations

Constellations are created when:
- someone brings forward a need or opportunity,
- someone agrees to take on a leadership role, and
- enough others join in to start and move the issue forward.
Anyone can ignite a constellation.
- Most often they are triggered or led by the partners that are active in the SG.
- The SG ensures that Constellations advance the interests of the partnership and are consistent with the aims and plan of the group.
Constellations run until they either die out organically or complete their mission.

BEAP General Inquiries: 800-397-0260 ext. 8 or beap@impactabby.com