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Recent additions: the DUDES Club, Good Samaritan Laws, and the healing power of music
Elizabeth Johnston
Graduate Academic Assistant, UBC Library & UBC Learning Exchange
MLIS candidate, UBC iSchool
As winter sets in, we have been busy adding more and more items to the DTES RAP. While there are so many new research items to explore, we have gathered five highlights to showcase the reach and range of all that can be found on the DTES RAP. Most are open access and free to use, however one selected article is a mediated access item. If you are interested reach out to us using the “Get Help by Email” button and we will do what we can to find a copy you can use.
Image by Lucia Macedo/Unsplash
1. The story of the Saint James Music Academy: Building community through music in Downtown Vancouver’s Eastside (2016)
If you’re looking for a little pick me-up, then this is the video for you! Even more so if you’re looking for a video about the healing potential and power of music. A UBC graduating project for the School of Community and Regional Planning, this fifteen-minute video explores the history of the St. James Music Academy in the Downtown Eastside. It showcases the many ways it has helped to inspire children to not only grow a love of music, but also develop stronger connections with their community. At the Academy, learning how to play an instrument is secondary. Its larger goal is to empower kids to experiment with music, engage with the world around them, communicate more freely, and—critically—to make mistakes. This video weaves musical performances through interviews with students and teachers alike, speaks to issues of gentrification in the neighbourhood, and offers an uplifting look at how something small can make a big difference.
2. The use of knowledge translation and legal proceedings to support evidence-based drug policy in Canada: opportunities and ongoing challenges (2010)
Taking a close look at the Canadian federal government’s opposition to Insite, Vancouver’s supervised injection facility, scholars Kora DeBeck and Thomas Kerr investigate the challenges of establishing evidence-based policies for controversial topics. Granted an exemption from Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, Insite was formed in 2003 as an experiment to see if creating a sterile and supervised space for people to safely inject drugs would be beneficial to both individual and community health. Despite the publication of many studies documenting its effectiveness, Insite was subject to considerable and sustained government scrutiny. This article explores the strategies researchers took to demonstrate Insite’s impact and make sure that it stayed open. It also assesses the pros and cons of each approach: knowledge translation (or plain language explanations) and legal arguments in support of evidence-based policies.
3. Call for participatory waste governance: waste management with informal recyclers in Vancouver (2021)
Note: this article requires mediated access. Contact us at mrai.info@ubc.ca if you would like help getting a copy.
“Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!” We all know this phrase and do our best to follow it, and it’s no secret that the world has a pretty big waste problem on its hands. But what happens when the way we look at waste doesn’t give us the full picture? That’s where the work of scholars Dare Sholanke and Jutta Gutberlet comes in. In this article, they stress that our current waste management system, which is mostly a partnership between government (or public) and private sector companies, ignores the substantial informal sector. This consists of individuals who contribute significantly to municipal recycling initiatives, but very often do not get paid or formally recognized for their role. In Vancouver, these individuals who collect discarded materials to earn a living are referred to as ‘binners’, and are typically low-income earners who are frequently marginalized and subject to prejudice and exclusion for their work. Using a community-based methodology, Sholanke and Gutberlet investigate the broader strokes of the issue. They argue for a transformative participatory governance model, in which binners are involved, consulted, and seen as invaluable actors in both the decision-making process and wider waste management industry.
Further reading: Informal recycling in Vancouver: binners’ challenges and opportunities via Detritus.
4. A drug-related Good Samaritan Law and calling emergency medical services for drug overdoses in a Canadian setting (2021)
In May 2017, the Canadian federal government enacted the “Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act” (GSA). These Good Samaritan Laws (GSLs) are becoming more common across North America in the effort to encourage bystanders to call emergency medical services (EMS) if they see a drug overdose taking place. The GSA in Canada is part of a comprehensive government public health strategy to address substance use. Importantly, it provides some legal protection against drug possession charges for people who either see or experience an overdose and call EMS for help. The intent of the GSA is to reduce the fear of both calling EMS and having police services present in these critical moments; and will hopefully work to save lives. The authors of this article argue that the correlation between GSLs and whether or not people call EMS has been largely understudied. This article takes a closer look at this relationship within the context of people who use drugs in the Downtown Eastside. In the face of a continuing overdose crisis, it is critically important is to increase EMS-calling rates and reduce any associated stigma or perceived consequences of calling.
5. The power of connections: How a novel Canadian men’s wellness program is improving the health and well-being of Indigenous and non-Indigenous men (2021)
Hey DUDES! And by dudes, I of course mean the DUDES Club, or Dudes United Defending Equality and Solidarity. What started as a support group for men in the Downtown Eastside way back in 2010, then organized through the Positive Living Outreach Program at the Vancouver Native Health Society, has grown extensively and is considered a national model for men’s health and wellbeing programming. It is widely understood that Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by health inequities as a result of the continued trauma of colonial structures of power. What is more, men are less likely to seek mental health support due to stereotypes and social perceptions of masculinity. To address these challenges, the DUDES Club was born. Each site is run with an Indigenous worldview and through a focus on social and cultural connection. The Club’s foundational goals are to build solidarity, promote dialogue and access to health services, and encourage men to restore a sense of purpose and fulfilment in their lives. A real success story, it continues to demonstrate the great potential of a community driven, participant-led, and holistically minded service that prioritizes men’s physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental health and wellbeing. This article looks closely at the DUDES Club and identifies four major themes from their collected data. It concludes with several policy considerations and recommendations for supporting and implementing similar initiatives across Canada, not least of which is taking an intersectional approach to health care.
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Do you have questions or feedback about this article? Do you have an idea for the news section or suggestion for the collection? Please reach out to community engagement librarian Nick Ubels at nick.ubels@ubc.ca
