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NEWS
PARTY AND PLAY Local organization launches new harm reduction program
Progam offers support for queer men with sexualized stimulant use
CHLOË ARNESON // NEWS WRITER
The local non-profit society Health Initiative for Men (HIM) has launched a new harm reduction program called PnP & Me to help clients identify and achieve their personal health goals for sexualized substance use. Colloquially known as party and play (PnP), the use of methamphetamines in a sexual context is common for gay, bisexual, and queer men (GBQ) as well as gender-diverse people.
To learn more about their 16-week counselling program, The Peak reached out to Evan Matchett-Wong, program director of HIM. The PnP & Me program is currently running its first cohort of clients, providing peer-led and drop-in group counselling. They also provide one-on-one counselling sessions with a professional. “The big component of this is not only receiving the mental health services, but also the social connections,” they said.
Matchett-Wong noted LGBTQIA2S+ individuals often face higher rates of poverty and job discrimination. “[They] might be encountering a life that is hard to live and hard to find joy [ . . . ] for some individuals drug use is the only way they can find that joy.” unlike many others, does not require individuals to test clean for methamphetamines to participate. “We don’t believe in punishing people for using.”
On their website, HIM states their goal is to “strengthen the health and well-being in communities of self-identified GBQ men and gender diverse people in BC.” They have health centres in the Lower Mainland as well as anonymous testing events in the interior of BC to prevent and treat HIV and STIs for GBQ men. Their physical and social health programs provide holistic support to the GBQ community in BC.
We don’t believe in punishing people for using.
EVAN MATCHETT-WONG // PROGRAM DIRECTOR The BC’s coroners service reported at least 161 British Columbians died from toxic drug supply in the month of April. Substance abuse particularly affects the LGBTQIA2S+ community — members are more likely to suffer from substance abuse than their heterosexual counterparts. The American Addiction Centers explains these numbers are affected by lack of support, internalized homophobia, disproportionate rates of mental health issues, and the need for specialized treatment options.
“Drug use has a multitude of complex factors and reasons for why someone would go into using any type of substance.” Matchett-Wong added, “It can be anything from surviving conversion therapy, being disowned by their families, or having difficulties accessing other services.”
In an interview with Global News, Matchett-Wong discussed how harm reduction is crucial in mitigating the effects of toxic drug supply. “The major component about having a harm reduction based program like this is to help reduce those deaths within the community just by limiting the usage of it,” they said. “We have a firm belief that people are masters of their own bodies and have control over their own health, meaning that if someone wants to join the program and they don’t want to quit using crystal meth they don’t have to.”
This means anyone whose goal is to reduce their usage may join the program without the pressure to remain abstinent from drug usage entirely. The strategy HIM employs is called contingency management, where they encourage clients to set goals with incentives if they achieve them. “We approach [the program] with a sense that it’s not condescending or patriarchal,” said Matchett-Wong. They note the program, Clients are not required to abstain from drug use to access services. PHOTO: Sushil Nash / Unsplash
To learn more about HIM’s harm reduction program and services, you can visit their website or email peer@ checkhimout.ca for more information.
REWORKING RECONCILIATION Chris Lewis becomes SFU’s first director, Indigenous initiatives and reconciliation
Lewis discusses the need for collective effort and recognition to enable reconciliation
PRANJALI J MANN // NEWS WRITER
Chris (Syeta’xtn) Lewis was appointed to the role of director, Indigenous initiatives and reconciliation at SFU in February 2022.
Lewis was previously a co-chair of the Indigenous Leadership Listening and Implementation Task Force which is working towards recommendations for the SFU-ARC and their subsequent Pathways Report, which recommends “pathways for Indigenous students to and through Simon Fraser University.” Prior to his position as director, he was part of numerous advisories and initiatives including being elected councilor and spokesperson for the Squamish Nation, Board of Governors’ Chair, and recipient of Chancellor’s Distinguished Service Award.
The Peak interviewed Lewis to know more about his vision, upcoming initiatives, and his contributions in this position. “I’m just really humbled with the position that I have,” he said. “I really understand the responsibility, and the privilege, and a little bit of the weight that kind of comes with that role.”
When Lewis began the role, he met with senior leadership, deans, Indigenous faculty and staff to “listen and learn from all of the great work around what they’re doing.” Lewis looks forward to “bringing Indigenous names back to the university.” PHOTO: Allyson Klassen / The Peak
that his work includes “creating safe and welcoming spaces. So all of us have a sense of belonging.”
Unpacking the term reconciliation, Lewis said, “Reconciliation just isn’t an Indigenous matter. It’s a collective responsibility that we all have at the university.” To achieve this, he reiterated the need for collective action and effort. This included having support resources and capacity building to assist the ongoing work of Indigenous students, faculty and staff.
Lewis highlighted another essential step in the process of reconciliation: recognition. He explained it’s important to honour and appreciate the gifts of Indigenous students, faculty, and staff. But he pointed out that this inherits a challenge: honoring existing contributions can mean looking at things that have often been forgotten.
“We really need to build capacity on all fronts, and look at our governance structure, to ensure that it’s supporting the Indigenous work that we must do,” said Lewis. for an upcoming project that addresses Call to Action #5 from the Aboriginal Reconciliation Council (SFU-ARC) report around “bringing Indigenous names back to the university.” Lewis said he looks forward to “creating a sense of belonging, especially for Indigenous community within the university,” through the project.
CHRIS (SYETA’XTN) LEWIS
DIRECTOR, INDIGENOUS INITIATIVES AND RECONCILIATION
INCHES V. MILES The Depp v. Heard trial verdict is not a reason the bash the #MeToo movement
Men are taking a weird victory lap about the case
ISABELLA URBANI // STAFF WRITER
Content warning: mentions of abuse You can’t cherry-pick cases to debunk the entire #MeToo movement. PHOTO: Lum3n / Pexels
For a while there, it seemed like nearly the entire world flocked to the high-profile celebrity trial between former partners Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. After weeks of testifying, the jury unanimously sided with Depp. The verdict has been interpreted as a strike back against the #MeToo era — used as a way to prove that women lie about abuse.
It’s not just anonymous Reddit-dwellers taking victory laps. Most concerning are the powerful people treating the verdict as a successful strike for men in the culture wars. The Twitter account for the House’s GOP members of the judiciary committee, finding nothing better to do with its time, tweeted out a GIF of Depp from the Pirates franchise. Donald Trump Jr. celebrated the verdict as being “perhaps a case that could end the effective rabid [feminist] notion that all men are guilty before being proven innocent that we’ve seen as of late.” It’s a recurring “worry” articulated by right-wing personalities. Fox News’ Tucker Carlson once mused about the intentions of the #MeToo era, suggesting that the movement could be out to “destroy men, or complete the destruction of men.”
Those narratives are perpetuated even by people who are outside of the reactionary right. Comedian Chris Rock wasted no time putting his two cents in on the trial during one of his stand-up shows, imploring his audience to “believe all women except Amber Heard.” It’s a problematic line for two reasons. First, it’s a joke that works based on poking holes in a tenet of the #MeToo era that tries to make sure abuse victims aren’t silenced. Second, it subtly changes the actual message of the #MeToo movement, which is “believe women,” not “believe all women.” The latter, as the Washington Post explains, is an intentionally false argument that diminishes the movement by making it seem absolutist. The Depp v. Heard case is being used to give life to both those narratives.
Nobody wins when we point the finger and perpetuate stereotypes about who can and can’t be abused. Women remain at much greater risk of assault than men. In 2019, 79% of police-reported domestic abuse in Canada occurred against women. By creating generalizations about who can and can’t be a victim, we create an atmosphere of distrust that discourages victims from coming forward and reliving traumatic events. Why report an accuser only to be subjected to people who may or not believe you? By creating generalizations about who can and can’t be a victim, we create an atmosphere of distrust that discourages victims from coming forward and reliving traumatic events.
The trial is not a referendum on the validity of the #MeToo movement, and it’s not providing justice for those who decide to come forward and expose themselves at their most vulnerable. At its core, #MeToo was made to shine a spotlight on cases of abuse and hold people accountable. Those who relish in debunking the entire movement aren’t seeing larger issues — and that’s the problem.
LET SLEEPING PEOPLE LIE We need to stop harassing people who’re sleeping in their cars
Ticketing car-dwellers just shuffles the problem around
NERCYA KALINO // STAFF WRITER
Everyone needs a place to rest. We’re all leading busier and busier lives, and need time to recharge. The problem is that not everyone has enough money on hand to get a roof over their heads, particularly in Vancouver. Enter, the problem of having to sleep in your car. And while I don’t see the harm in someone having a car to sleep in when going through a hard time, that’s not a widely accepted position. That’s not to say that squatting is something that we need to embrace, but we do need to acknowledge that sleeping in cars is often a last resort and a terrible symptom of a much larger problem.
Just last year, the City of Vancouver demanded 30 RVs parked near East 12th Avenue and Slocan Street vacate the area or face fines. Taryn Scollard, Vancouver’s director of streets, said officials had been “seeing a lot of increased concerns in the area as the number of RVs increase,” which in turn demands increased bylaw enforcement. Across the Strait of Georgia, the Victoria Police have spoken out against relaxing car-sleeping rules. Police issued the statement when the Mayor and a city councillor proposed relaxing bylaws to prevent tickets from being issued to people sleeping in cars parked on the street should the city’s vacancy rate dip to 3%. The acting Victoria police chief said at the time that the police need to have the “discretion” to deal with people sleeping in their cars.
But you don’t need discretion. What we all need to do is reflect on the societal failures that leave people no other option than to live in their cars. If we’re not willing to do that, then the very least we could do is stop criminalizing people’s living spaces as a last resort.
The problem is bigger than we think. According to the CBC, Metro Vancouver’s 2017 homeless count found 58 people living in their cars across the region. Peer-Daniel Krause, who managed BC’s 2017 homeless count, suggests the 58 people figure is a “vast underestimation” of the number of people who live in their cars.
There are any number of reasons why a Vancouverite might turn to living in their car. We know, for example, that the housing market in BC continues to prohibit stable living situations, from ridiculously overpriced housing, to the gap between wage-earning and the municipal housing cost for rent and buying. There are huge problems preventing Vancouverites from affording a home. Sleeping in your car gives people, at the very least, a modicum of personal security that sleeping on the streets or in shelters can’t provide. It’s a symptom of a much larger issue. PHOTO: Mitchell Hartley / Pexels
cars, in public parking lots. But the larger solution is, of course, tackling a dearth of affordable housing options in Vancouver. People want to live in cities. Tackling zoning laws that prevent multi-family complexes might be a good place to start.
Enforcing bylaws on car-dwellers doesn’t solve the problem, it shuffles it, temporarily, out of sight. Car-dwellers are a natural outgrowth of the housing issue. They are not to blame for their circumstances, and shouldn’t be harassed by overzealous bylaw or police officers. Instead, we need to realize that antagonizing people who already have it hard enough is plain out not okay, and start chasing meaningful reforms to housing and work that make our cities affordable again.
