Abbotsford Drug War Survivors (DWS)

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
• George
• Connie
• Mary-Grace
• Andrea
• Terena
• Bill
• Randi-Lynn
• Chico
• Jenny
• Kristina

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 Trinity Memorial United Church 33737 George Ferguson Way, Abbotsford.

Business Engagement Ambassador Project (BEAP)

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):

1. Over time, make a noticeable difference in the cleanliness, safety and harmony in those areas of Abbotsford where it is operating. 
2. 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, BC Gaming, 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

From Emergency Shelter to Stable Housing…

In the winter of 2022 DWS barreled head first down the rabbit hole (as we often do) of Extreme Weather Shelter, OPS & Drop-in, opening the doors of their newly aquired NOMAD location, with the support of BC Housing & Sparrow Community Cares Society, and Fraser Health Authority. When Nomad was leased to them they were aware that the property would be developed eventually and that the time would be limited but they were eager to show the world what they could do providing for their own community in a space that they had full autonomy and authority over.

“while it is expected that operating a shelter will attract police services as some clients become unmanageable for staff, I can report that the frequency of police attendance at Nomad shelter was significantly less than the police attendance at other shelters in the vicinity. While the dearth of police involvement is not dispositive of a well-run shelter with a well- trained staff that is able to handle the majority of issues without police intervention, an argument can certainly be made that this is indeed the case.”

Inspector Kevin Murray, OIC Patrol Branch, AbbyPD

When DWS received word that Nomad would inevitably close its doors in February 2024, they began looking for alternate space to carry on their groundbreaking programming. Unfortunately, to date, that search continues. DWS was, however, able to secure a lease on a house of their very own where 7 previous shelter residents would begin their foray into the new world of Peer-Supported Housing, most importantly with full rights under the RTA. DWS continues to work on developing this beautifully collaborative housing model and hopes to expand to additional sites accross the city and eventually the Fraser Valley in the near future.

Mission Beap

• In the summer of 2021 BEAP decided to expand to Mission, and what started with a handful of members in the backyard of a local youth center, very quickly grew!
• While Mission BEAP was founded on similar principles as its neighbours in Abbotsford, we found the different community members had different priorities and needs and the group became an entirely separate entity rather than a sattelite.
• Mission BEAP focuses much of their efforts on harm reduction and advocacy, working alonside partners like SAFE and BC3S, while still honouring their roots working toward a cleaner community that thrives on purpose and building relationships!