Dear Licia Corbella

With the recent death of Glee actor, Cory Monteith due to a drug and alcohol overdose, there have been many articles and thoughts buzzing around the internet and social media world. When I stumbled across this article, which has received a lot of negative media attention, my blood boiled to a degree it had not yet reached, and I decided to send the writer an email. She may not even read my email, and I don't expect a response by any means. While my email to her may have blown off some steam, my primary reason for writing her was to address the injustice and judgment she expressed of Vancouver and the DTES. 

An article about Corbella defending her original piece can be read here.

Disclaimer: I am fully aware that harm reduction and pretty much this entire topic is quite controversial. I don't think harm reduction is a solution by any means. Truthfully, I would love and I strongly desire to see people set free of their addictions and not need a place to use drugs in a safer manner. God is setting people free and will continue doing that! He isn't bound by harm reduction or abstinence based programs. Perhaps I will write more on that another time. 

For interest's sake, here's an article written by a Christian nurse who worked at InSite, titled "Why I help addicts shoot up".

Dear Licia,

I am a home care nurse who works in the "cancerous lesion" that "needs to be surgically removed", known as the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver (DTES). I am writing in response to your article, "Vancouver's easy drug access may have helped kill Monteith". I am sure I'm one of many, many people who have emailed you about this and expressed anger. I am angry for a couple of reasons. Firstly because I feel you expressed opinions based on your own assumptions, biases, and complete lack of understanding or evidence.

I could go on and on, directing you to evidence-based, thorough research studies about InSite and the (extremely low) percentage of people who use drugs for the first time there, as well as articles about harm reduction and how it is successful. I could also mention that above InSite, is OnSite which is a detox program. I could also remind you that InSite does not provide drugs, but rather it's a supervised place where people can inject and health care providers can help to bridge a health care gap to people in the DTES. It's not only a place where people come to inject drugs. For many, InSite is a first point of access or contact with health care services. They can be connected to OnSite, a physician or clinic nearby, and have their wounds dressed or other health care concerns addressed. But, by now you might already have been told all of this or read it for yourself.

The second, and biggest reason I was angered by your article (and defence article) is because I work very closely with the population you are discussing who access InSite and live in the DTES. The population of drug users that you have described as a "cancerous lesion" are in fact real people, more like you and I than you might care to believe. It has been a complete honour and privilege to work in the DTES as a nurse, to get a glimpse of what these people face on a daily basis and to come alongside them, help them advocate for themselves, and ultimately, see them as people and treat them in a humane, merciful, and loving way. They are not just drug users, they are over comers in every sense of the word because they have faced trauma and judgments that no one should ever have to face. I would encourage you to walk in their shoes or at least learn about harm reduction and what InSite's purpose really is before broadcasting your opinion and judgments. The DTES doesn't have room for anymore judgment. 

Next time you are in Vancouver, I encourage you to take a tour of InSite to find out what really happens there and talk to people firsthand who work there. Not that it's "safe to assume" anything but I do think you would find it is more than just "well meaning". 

Sincerely, 

Megan Wiebe

Informed Vancouverite & Nurse