A poignant round-table conversation with "Narcan Jesus" (Ronnie Grigg) of the Zero Block Society
"A group of misfits, artists, and drug users operates a renegade safe injection site in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Love in the Time of Fentanyl is an intimate portrait of a community fighting to save lives and keep hope alive in a neighborhood ravaged by the overdose crisis."
Learn more about the film and find showtimes near you at:
https://loveinthetimeoffentanyl.com/
This conversation with one of the main subjects of the docufilm touches on many of the issues facing the harm reduction community in Canada.
Featured in this conversation:
Ronnie Grigg "Narcan Jesus" founder & ED of https://thezeroblock.org/ Mental Health Worker, long- time harm reduction worker working on Vancouver's infamous Hastings & Main area
Dr. Candace Christmas, community support engagement manager of https://SupportNotStigma.ca
Paul Tulloch, Stanford data scientist, community activist
Mark Callingham, a blue collar worker at a homeless shelter
Timothy Misenheimer a street worker at a mission & storefront drop-in center
More resources and information:
· Zero Block Society (Vancouver): Supporting harm reduction work and harm reduction workers through specific projects, training, consultation, and resources.
https://thezeroblock.org/
· Soul Space (Ottawa): Providing holistic care for the spirits of street health, harm reduction, community and social service workers in Ottawa.
https://www.soulspaceottawa.ca/
· Support Not Stigma (Greater Kingston Area): Restorative social justice for people in our community who use substances, striving to provide them with “A hand up, not a hand out” and supporting harm reduction work and workers with training and resources.
https://supportnotstigma.ca/
· Canadian Drug Policy Coalition (CDPC): an open letter signed by 51 groups from across Ontario, called for immediate funding and support for supervised consumption services amidst the toxic drug crisis.
You can watch the recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAbN3vSBIm4
You can read the letter here: https://drugpolicy.ca/supervised-consumption-services-site-closures-due-to-lack-of-funding-from-ministry-of-health/