VANDU - Genesis, Evolun, Org Struct, Activities - 2001.pdf

A Case Study of Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU)
• To break down social isolation and stigma associated with drug use;
• To provide opportunities for drug users to educate themselves and each other
about health risks associated with injection drug use;
• To invite drug-using communities in Vancouver who include drug use as part of
their lifestyle to participate in the development of a peer-support/mutual aid
network;
• To advocate for drug policy changes at the local, provincial and federal levels of
government;
• To consult with drug users in a safe environment, free from discrimination, to
uncover what specific, immediate concerns they face;
• To develop a plan from a peer perspective to address the concerns raised.
Over time, some groups became less involved while others assumed more of a
leadership role in forming what would eventually become VANDU. For example, after
hosting and attending several initial development meetings, representatives of the
Compassion Club became overwhelmed by the demand for their service and were unable
to continue actively contributing to VANDU. Another critical development occurred
when Kenn Quayle, a member of MindBody Love, was hired as an education coordinator
for a federally funded drug user organization in Australia. Ironically, Kenn Quayle and
Brian MacKenzie wrote the first funding proposal on behalf of VANDU, but both were
out of the country when the funds were eventually disbursed. Prior to their departure,
both Quayle and MacKenzie had been key contributors to the vision of VANDU. It is
also important to note the work being done independently by a fifth group, the Political
Response Group (PRG). PRG was a political activist group that organized numerous
political demonstrations in Vancouver, such as “detox not jail,” as well as the first 1000
Crosses Event in the city’s Oppenheimer Park. Toward the end of its existence in 1997,
PRG began advocating for recognition of the needs of drug users. Overtime, the various
individuals and groups, including ex-PRG members, began working together to create a
vision of what would eventually become VANDU.
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