The closest supervised consumption site to Seattle — and the first one built in North America — is located on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s called Insite, and was created in 2003 in response to an overdose and HIV transmission crisis there in the late 1990s.
Because it’s the first and the closest, and has about 15 years of operation and data behind it, lots of people in the Seattle area look to Vancouver for an example of what works, or what doesn’t — again, depending on whom you ask.
This week, in Part Two of a three-part series on supervised consumption sites, Seattleland takes a field trip to Vancouver to tour Insite and speak with people who work there, who use there, and who now work in advocacy near there, to better understand what this practice looks like and what it really means.
Featuring interviews with Tim Gautier, an Insite participant named Brandi, Shelley Bolton, and Guy Felicella.
Music by Kevin MacLeod, Nctrnm, and Leeni Ramadan
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