On Thursday January 12 at 9am members of VOCAL and other methadone maintenance clients are gathering to meet with OASAS to try and come to an agreement with changes that need to be made at OTP, opiate treatment programs. VOCAL is a wonderful group made up of many people that have either have a history of drug use, are currently still using or know someone that is, or just care about the rights of those who cannot advocate for themselves. OASAS oversees all of the methadone clinics in New York State and are the only ones with the power to make any changes.

The two groups have had several meetings with each other about the findings of a survey that VOCAL took at various OTPs throughout the NYS area with 502 clients. This survey asked various questions regarding the care given by their clinic including how respectful they were treated by the staff and what kind of medical treatment was available. On top of the fact that more clinics are needed upstate and in Staten Island, the most important findings were significant problems with hepatitis C (HCV), bupenorphine, overdose prevention and the need for harm reduction and access to clean syringes. 87% of those interviewed said they would like a syringe exchange in their clinic. The most serious of these is the need for HCV testing, treatment and information. Most people are tested initially but are not given their viral load when found positive and they do not know to ask for it. This is very important because you may test positive but have a viral load too low to be detected or your load may be so high that immediate treatment is necessary. HCV is so widespread that approximately 75-90% of people on methadone programs are infected. So naturally the two should go hand in hand.

If you are on methadone or are interested, please join us at this meeting:

 
Thursday, January 12, 2012 at 9:00am

501 7th Avenue, 8th Floor (between 37th & 38th Street)

It starts at 9am and ends around 11:30am. It will include video conferencing from members in Albany that cannot make it to NYC.

This is Sammy Thompson. Though I knew him the better part of a decade and he was one of my closest friends, I never knew his last name. Nor, I think, did anyone else I recall ever meeting. He was one of eight kids to die last December in a squat-fire in New Orleans, New Orleans’ deadliest fire in 30 years. Although he had been the longest to live in New Orleans, his was the last body to be identified at the morgue.

This article, that a mutual friend sent me, has thus far been the most in-depth account of what actually occurred that horrible night, as well as being the first feature I’ve read that actually attempts to understand the squatter life-style.. to get inside the minds of these kids and try and figure out what it is that makes us choose to turn our back on traditional society and instead reinvent our own destiny.  For anyone seeking to understand streetkids or even get a better understanding of who we’re trying to help here at The Space At Tompkins, this article is a MUST READ.

http://www.bostonreview.net/BR37.1/danelle_morton_new_orleans_squat_fire.php

R.I.P. Sammy.. We all love and miss you.

-Ian, Stephanie, and all your other friends who i know are thinking of you..

There was a meeting this afternoon at the Drug Policy Alliance with different agencies and community members who are interested in getting the Good Samaritan 911 law publicly recognized.  VOCAL‘s Jeremy Saunders headed up most of the meeting, and the blog title came from part of the talk today.  Essentially we’re trying to raise awareness of this new law that should make it easier for individuals to call 911 and report an overdose without needing to worry about legal ramifications when the authorities show up.  I’ve been drowning a bit finishing my Master’s, and it was a real breath of fresh air to see so many important members of the harm reduction community come together today, right before the holidays, to start putting an action plan together.  I’ve been stuck in this super academic bubble for the past few weeks and feel like I’ve forgotten that it’s even possible for important information to be given back to the communities who need it most.  More information to come in the New Year about getting the Good Samaritan law.

Fred Wright from VOCAL (Voices of Community Activists & Leaders) stopped by The Space today to discuss some of the work VOCAL is currently doing.  Of the many fights they’re fighting, there is a march against police brutality happening NOW at Zuccotti Park.  Last Friday a VOCAL member was assaulted by police while at Occupy Wall Street, here’s the article. Check out VOCAL’s twitter (@vocalnewyork) and FB page to stay up to date on their actions.  We all signed off to join direct actions with VOCAL, as long as they’ll bail us out if we get arrested.

Now we’ll have to have a BBQ or I’ll have to learn how to cook.

The lessons taken away from trying to replace government identification:
1) It’s incredibly difficult and having these documents is often taken for granted
2) Everyone needs a birth certificate as a starting point to obtain a New York State ID
3) Everyone also needs a social security card, but if you’ve had a social security number, it’s a bit easier to replace

In September we received: 1 social security card (after two attempts), a Florida State ID, an Indiana Birth Certificate, and two NYS IDs are in the mail from the DMV.  With that said, we are still plugging along, and if anyone you know needs a replacement ID, I (we) will happily fight through the bureaucracy along with you.

A few days ago, I reached out to the national harm reduction listserv “harmred” to find the cheapest place to purchase ties (tourniquets) which have been in high demand this summer.  Since we’re operating on an in-kind budget we need to be resourceful and the listserv really hooked us up with a brilliant, green, resourceful, and sustainable idea: old bicycle inner tubes.  Today on outreach we stopped by Recycle-A-Bicycle on Avenue C and solicited a donation of broken inner tubes.  They were super generous and are letting us pick up their old inner tubes once a week, that I will then wash and cut to size, so we can hand them out on outreach.  What does this all mean?  Well with the economy in the shitter and funds drying up, we stay creative, and this innovation is our edge.  We, at The Space, take no material or idea for granted and are excited to find quirky ways around the system, so that we can best serve our population.  With that said, if you need a tie, text or call 917.399.0299 or email me at andrea@thespaceattompkins.org