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Sometimes life takes unexpected turns. Just ask Naheria Cummings and Alisha Keck, two single mothers who never envisioned they would be where they are now at 22 and 23. The alternative school students work hard to take care of their children, finish up their high school equivalency and somehow make ends meet.

Despite their difficult situations, they find joy and a sense of meaning through one Nanaimo program that gives them a weekly chance to forget about their problems and just be themselves.

Life Works is a Nanaimo Family Life youth program that has only been around since last spring, but has made a difference in the young mothers’ lives. The government initiative, a drug prevention strategy funded by Health Canada, opens its doors to young students in Nanaimo as a way to offer support and help build resilience in vulnerable youth.

Life Works is just one of the local groups participating today in a conference on youth addiction. A community forum and keynote address will highlight how the community can help prevent and protect youth from substance-use issues in Nanaimo. There will also be workshops on youth residential housing and some of the local services available to vulnerable youth and their families.

Community connections are pivotal when it comes to substance use, says Nanaimo Addiction Foundation executive director Geri Sera. Some of the specific issues youth face in Nanaimo include poverty, the limits of educational support systems, a lack of youth employment opportunity and bullying or peer abuse at school.

“Parents and foster parents have to learn that some kids are not going to be improved just by love,” says Sera.

“Some things need more than love to help them be remedied.”

[End of Excerpt]

For the rest of the story …

http://www.canada.com/community+program+gives+young+moms+lifeline/4330049/story.html

[Excerpt]

 For the rest of the story see …

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/Drug+addict+jailed+sexual+assault/4506993/story.html

Source: www.timescolonist.com

[Excerpt]

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There has long been a notion that lawmakers cling to when it comes to gambling expansion. Casinos bring crime, that is the fear tactic that legislators use when attempting to stop a casino expansion bill. That notion, however, is being challenged by law enforcement officials.

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[Snip]

Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke spoke at a public hearing Monday night and told of how the department is more concerned with crime stemming from bars and nightclubs than from a casino. It is a theory that many law enforcement officials around the world subscribe to, and their opinion is making it increasingly difficult to stop gaming expansion.

“There has always been a preconceived perception that casinos bring crime,” said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. “That is simply not the case. There are plenty of areas where crime existed before casinos were build, and the crime figures did not go up after the casinos were operational.”

Violent crime is not the only fear when it comes to new casinos, officials are often concerned about money laundering and loan sharking. With casinos present, loan sharks are always around and willing to lend money to gamblers after they bet themselves into a jam. Still, Lemcke does not see that as a major problem.

[End Snip]

For the rest of the story visit …

http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gambling-news/casino-gambling/vancouver_cops_claim_casino_gambling_crime_not_as_bad_as_bars_56620.html

Source: www.casinogamblingweb.com

[Excerpt]

As many as 43,000 British Columbians have severe gambling addictions and another 152,000 have “moderate” problems with gambling, a medical health officer told Vancouver city council Monday night.

But Dr. John Carsley said there is no way to accurately determine whether a proposed massive casino expansion in the city would create more addiction problems, because not enough research is being done into the effect of gambling.

“From my view … I find it really impossible to say where on the trajectory, if you want, of problem gambling we might be, here in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland or B.C.”

Carsley, a medical health officer for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, made the comments on the third day of a public hearing into whether the city should allow an expansion of the Edgewater Casino in downtown Vancouver.

Source: Montreal Gazette

[Excerpt]

The minister responsible for gambling says the B.C. government will not force a big new casino on the city of Vancouver.

If city council votes against the proposal that would adjoin BC Place Stadium, the BC Lottery Corporation may look elsewhere to locate the project, Public Safety Minister Rich Coleman said Thursday.

For the rest of the story go here …

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/03/10/bc-casino-coleman.html

Source: www.cbc.ca

[Excerpt]

Vernon residents are being asked for ideas on how to address gambling addiction. The City of Vernon has been given a $50,000 grant from the B.C. Lottery Corporation to pursue  a responsible gambling community initiative.

For the rest of the story go to …

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/117831908.html?c=y&curSection=/vancouver_island_south/victorianews&curTitle=BC+News&bc09=true

Source: bclocalnews.com

By Daniel Jordan

The battle over harm reduction initiatives in Vancouver is looking to heat up with new results of a clinical prescription heroin trial. With the federal government already questioning the efficacy of needle exchange programs and safe injection sites such as Insite in Vancouver’s Downtown East SIde.

Background

In news today, North America Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI), a Vancouver-based agency, is set to release the results of a trial drug program that provided prescription heroin to addicts. This clinical trial started 3 years ago at the University of British Columbia and Universite de Montreal and involved 251 heroin addicts who had failed previous addiction treatment attempts.

Funding was provided through a federal research grant of $8.1 million through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Although the results of the findings were orginally scheduled to be released on September 17, critics say the results are being withheld due to the current federal election.

The prescription heroin trial ended in June, 2008.

The Need to Put Vancouver’s Downtown East Side in Perspective

The prescription heroin clinical trial is another example of an attempt by policy makers, researchers, as well as medical, mental health and addiction professionals to address the health and social crisis that exists in the Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. While drug problems exist across Canada, the Downtown East Side presents a special challenge with its clustered poverty, homelessness, public health issues, prostitution, mental illness, and addiction.

Harm Reduction advocates rightly contend that safe injection sites and prescribed heroin are just two of an array of measures designed to reduce the negative impact of injection drug use. Such programs are not, as opponents contend, meant to make it easier for addicts to continue on with their addiction.

The Need for Harm Reduction Advocates to Get Organized

With a divided and often uniformed public, it may be necessary for harm reduction proponents to organize and be heard. Whenever new addiction/mental health/public health initiatives are under attack, a quick response to public criticism is necessary. Part of this quick response is to remind the public that harm reduction measures such as prescription heroin are designed not for their communities but for residents of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side where HIV/AIDS/HEPC is a major public health issue and other treatment approaches have failed.