I have worked as a nurse in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, or what we call DTES, for almost 20 years, first for the University of British Columbia and now for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, based at Pender Community Health Centre.
Much of what Dr. Anthony Fauci, the esteemed head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), learned about clinical trials for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), he learned from sparring with HIV community activists.
The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has proven to be a struggle for everyone, regardless of their lifestyle, but people who use drugs are finding it especially difficult to navigate these unprecedented waters. Whether they’re currently using, en route to recovery, or in active recovery, this virus has and will continue to challenge these individuals.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has everyone extremely worried, and understandably so. But there is another public health emergency that still hasn’t been resolved – the overdose crisis. And COVID-19 is threatening to create two epidemics among people who use drugs, unless we take immediate action.
Gyms are closed, events are cancelled, restaurants are take-out only and most of us are staying home in order to reduce our physical contact with the community and other people. It’s been widely publicized that these changes have been implemented to help slow the transmission of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). And (trans and cis) gay, bi, queer, as well as other guys into guys, are taking it seriously. We are doing our part to the best of our ability.
In 2018, I had the opportunity to spend time in Iran profiling an innovative hepatitis C treatment project for people who use drugs. In partnership with Iranian and Australian researchers and local service providers, I interviewed a number of researchers, clinicians and patients to showcase their success at curing hepatitis C despite stigma and other barriers. As an Australian filmmaker, I have spent much of my working life telling stories of social change with communities throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Yet stories from Canada and North America had remained the most unknown to me.
