there has been such increasing vile narratives towards harm reduction, safe consumption sites & safe supply. i've had a hard time articulating my thoughts in realtime bc i'm so overwhelmed by grief & anger.

but i support harm reduction, safe supply, safe sites. hear me out. [1/] alot of the narratives sound rooted in moral panic, and in fear. I think it’s fair to be afraid: people are afraid that their children might use drugs & get addicted. People are afraid of needles. People are afraid of not knowing how to talk to their kids about this. [2/]

okay so i got a pile of messages about how the convoy wasn’t racist and i replied in the following slides.
besides the fact that i’m like questioning what “freedom” is being discussed here…. here are some thoughts: 2/

someone has frozen to death. we knew this was going to happen. There’s also been more people with trench foot, frostbite, life-threatening hypothermia. St Mike’s seeing many more people in Emerg to just try to stay warm. Hospitals have nowhere to send patients. [1/]

https://twitter.com/cathyacrowe/status/1487471991334580233

We have repeatedly raised our concerns. The City responded by saying they are doing enough, that they don’t need help from other levels of gvt, that we are sounding the panic button unnecessarily. Their lack of response is life & death for my friends, for our communities. [2/]

This afternoon, the @cityoftoronto put these notices on the foam domes in encampments, stating that they are unsafe & must be removed. Just a reminder: thousands of people are sleeping outside; the City’s winter plan only accommodates a few hundred. What abt everyone else? [1/7] The domes are the safest options for 1000+ people to stay warm as the weather gets colder. Ppl don’t have to light candles for heat; it’s safer. each has a carbon monoxide detector. Without them, ppl are just outside with a sleeping bag. Rmbr the storm we just had? [2/7]

today City workers showed up at an encampment to move people to the Better Living Centre: the giant space on the Ex grounds. this space is one of the City’s winter plan for those who are homeless: 100 beds here & some extra spots for Extreme Cold Alerts.

"BETTER LIVING" [1/6] as of yesterday, a colleague had seen the space & it was not set up. today they were moving people in.

people were expected to pack everything today, without choice of warning.
there is a two-bag limit. [2/6]