DNC Board Meeting Minutes, May 12^th, 2015, Location: Area #62, East Hastings, Vancouver.

Agenda

Aboriginal  Subcommittee

New Board Member

Law Subcommittee

Other Business

Aboriginal Subcommittee

John:  50 people attended rally on West Broadway. We presented the letter to be given to CEO of Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. 30 people went up in the elevator. The janitor ordered security not to let other people onto 2^nd elevator. We told the staff it was a peaceful demonstration. We asked that the CEO respond to letter within two weeks. If the answer to our request is no then we will call a press conference.  VCHA funds Life Skills and Main Street. We want them to fund a non-residential alcohol management program through Eidge. 

Ann:  The same 50 people get picked up all the time so the alcohol management program works. It saves people’s lives.

John:  Eidge is to present at the Alberta Harm Reduction Conference. The presentation is called “In This Together".  Also points out that Ann will be presenting at the conference on working toward supervised consumption sites.

New Board Member

Amanda nominates Richard as new board member. Richard lives outside the dtes and he is a Natural Community Member. Motion passes unanimously.

Law Subcommittee

Discussion of meeting with legal official:  Ann: Ask him about the poor laws where people are ticketed are harassed, and its happening now worldwide. There was a report written called The Calgary Report. That report points out that police are moving people into remand and overseeing conditional release directly. The police will add 3 or 4 more criminal charges to one ticket.

Amanda: OK. We also want to ask if there are any resources available so people can learn legal literacy. I think that’s an important thing because people in this community are told they don’t have any rights when they do.

Group discusses. Amanda will write up a letter for May 28^th harm reduction conference to ask if people are being denied visitors in housing there also.

Ann: Ask lawyer if the law firm can provide weekly meetings for 8 weeks with stipends for attendees if they have a case. Amanda agrees.

Other Business

Narcon kits

Group discusses that DNC should have Narcon kits. Group discusses that Atira is not allowed to administrate Narcon kits because of liability but harm reduction/Good Samaritan law may overrule liability. Ann: the issue is that there should be enough around.

Moment of Silence

Adjourn