Minutes for DNC Board Meeting, August 12th, 2014

Minutes for DNC Board Meeting:  August 12th, 2014

Attendees:  10 board members

AGENDA

Pre-AGM

Aboriginal Committee Update

Legal Committee Update

Flip Chart

Booking the Room

X reads Constitution

Minutes accepted

Pre-AGM

X will print poster for Pre-AGM.  Discussion of where the pre-AGM is to be held.  X will drop off posters at Ray Cam and Sunday Street Market.

Aboriginal Committee Update

X says that ‘Homes, Health and Families’ title includes all families, not just blood ties.  X has called on Scot Clark of Gen 7 to work with us.

Legal Committee Update

Discussion about presentation that X gave at Vandu. X says the next step should be to hold community meetings. X says people more comfortable with using language that relates to addiction. X says it is necessary to point out errors for people to learn how the language is wrong because such language results in errors in thinking that strips the person of all rights. X says they are astonished that anyone understands the issue.

Flip Chart

X will find out if chart is available at Woodward’s. Discussion about office space.

Motion: DNC to pursue office space either at Carnegie Center or another location. Motion passes unanimously.

Booking the Room

We cannot book the room at Woodward’s for August 26^th, or September 2^nd, 9^th, or 16^th.

Moment of silence

Adjourn.

DNC Board Meeting minutes: August 5th, 2014

Minutes for DNC Board Meeting:  August 5^th, 2014

Attendees:  11 board members

X reads constitution

AGENDA

AGM

Aboriginal Committee Update

Housing/Oppenhiemer Park

Legal Committee Update

AGM

Poster must go up 14 days prior to AGM. X says any amendments have to be voted on at AGM. Nomination form includes constitution. Copies of bylaws and constitution need to be available at AGM. Natural community members are appointed by the board. Date for pre-AGM is Tuesday, August 19^th. Nomination forms available at Street Market as well as by contacting members via phone numbers listed on Poster. Nomination forms also available at August 12^th DNC board meeting. People need to receive nomination forms in time to submit to the nominating committee at the pre-AGM by August 19^th.  Nomination committee must be prepared to interview nominees on August 19^th.

Motion:  X motions that members cannot be more than 15 minutes late for a meeting to receive a stipend. Also, members must stay at DNC board meeting in attendance for 1 hour and 30 minutes to receive a stipend. Motion passes unanimously.

Aboriginal Committee

X is doing outreach with Gen 7/WAHRS to be involved. X will bring report to the board at next DNC meeting.

Housing/Oppenhiemer Park

Discussion ensues about Oppenhiemer Park. People who use drugs are being excluded from the park. X says this causes a problem for harm reduction, there is a need for a safe injection tent. There appears to be zero tolerance for service to assist people to avoid preventable deaths.  Camp inspections may be a way to do an illegal warrant and this puts people at risk.

Legal Committee

The legal committee has found there is a possible way to submit the argument regarding offensive policy to a court.  Committee is doing more research to find a way forward.

There is a discussion among group about ongoing community group consultation with VCH and agencies. There is a consultation process taking place. X says disproportionate number of people never attend after first appointment. Complex patients feel unwelcome. X says was told that X must be clean and sober before receiving necessary service.  X says if you are in a shelter you are not considered a resident so you cannot attend the clinic. X says poor people are treated without respect in waiting rooms. X says there should be more community control of clinics. X says these problems occur even in community controlled clinics. There is a general consensus that there should be more accountability.

Moment of Silence.

Adjourn.

DNC Minutes, July 29th, 2014

Minutes for DNC Board Meeting:  July 29^th, 2014.

Attendees:  11 board members

X reads constitution

Agenda

Aboriginal Committee

Legal Committee

AGM

Aboriginal Committee   

(Tabled)

Legal Committee

Discussion that funding is provided by OSI to Pivot. X says it is necessary to find a good case first. DTES residents are disproportionately impacted by drug laws. It may be possible to take it as a civil case.

Motion: X motions to have Darryl Bickler present via skype or some other means at board meetings so that we can have his input to be better informed about offensive policies and other issues. Motion passes unanimously.

AGM

X says it is necessary to do a poster. X reminds group the poster has to state date and time. Meeting prior to AGM is the planning meetings (pre-AGM.) X says we must notify members via email list. There is a discussion about workshops. X suggests a workshop called ‘What is ‘it’?’ X suggests workshop on healthcare services in dtes.

There is a discussion about office space. No applications were accepted for any group to receive funding for office space from the city. X says the reason given was that none of the applications were acceptable. 

Moment of silence.

Adjourn.

DNC Minutes, July 22nd, 2014

Minutes for DNC Board Meeting: July 22^nd, 2014.

Attendees:  11 board members present.

X reads the constitution

Agenda

Guest: Darryl Bickler of the Drug Equality Alliance, UK (attending via Skype).

Legal Committee

Aboriginal Committee

AGM

Housing

Other

Legal Committee:

Darryl Bickler on Skype explains the maladministration argument. There is a failure to implement policy in accordance with human rights and the stated objective of the Act. He explains that it would be possible to submit the argument in conjunction with a request in a public interest case. Court must have jurisdiction. This leads to discussion of how to gain standing. X says that this argument could be put forward by someone dependent on opiates, as a public interest case.

Aboriginal Committee:

DNC will provide funding for cost of producing fry bread: flour, oil, yeast. X says there is an issue because X thinks that cooking with oil at market is potentially dangerous. Discussion of equipment used to make it safe. X is not in attendance at meeting so discussion is tabled.

Motion: X proposes that there be a 2^nd or 3^rd person in charge of stipends. All stipends should be sealed in an envelope to cover the meetings when X (treasurer) is not able to attend meeting. Motion passes unanimously.

AGM:

There will be a planning meeting at the Outreach Committee meeting, Saturday morning, July 26^th, 9:00 a.m. at Vandu.

Housing:

A subgroup of Vandu and some other groups have organized a City Wide Housing March. Discussion of why DNC was not asked to endorse or support the march.

Motion: X proposes that DNC endorse the City Wide Housing March. Motion then passes unanimously.

X reminds group that we need to work in the context of the LAPP, as much work has been done on this and we want to build on the work that has already been done.

Other:

X reports there is an issue that went to arbitration at Atira housing. The management was told to cease and desist from asking people for i.d. as they enter the building. The case won at arbitration as such requests must be on reasonable grounds. The same problem occurred at Bourbon Hotel. People feel their privacy is invaded without reasonable grounds. Atira is now appealing that decision.

 Moment of Silence, motion to adjourn

DNC Board Meeting Minutes - July 15, 2014

DNC Minutes - July 15, 2014

Attendees: 9 board members present.

 reads the constitution

X reads the previous week’s minutes. Minutes approved.

Agenda

Legal Cmte

Aboriginal Cmte

Open House

Street Market

SRO Grant

Movie Cmte

X

Potters Mission

Motion to adopt agenda. Motion passes.

Legal Cmte

Discussion of drug policy work. British lawyer on Skype discusses that current drug laws are not the current operation of law.

Discussion around next federal election, topical nature of Liberal stance on cannabis. Discussion of updating website and adding statements regarding this policy with Amanda as the point person for contact.

Aboriginal Cmte

X gives report. WAHRS has been contacted. Proposal letter is written for the Ab sub cmte. HHF – Homes Health and Families? Over 50 people have expressed interest in attending this first committee.

Motion: Moved by X, seconded by X: to create the Aboriginal Subcommittee of the DNC. Motion passes.

Open House Plan

List of Organizations funded by VCH. Makes sense to invite large players if we have an open house.

If we stick to VCH funded non-profits, we could challenge the huge bureaucracy built in our nbhood by VCH. It could also be a way to introduce the residents to these various agencies.

AGM discussion

Reaffirm date of August 23^rd for the AGM. The whole board should be the nominating committee. X will ask Scott to be our scrutineer.

Street Market

August 7 set for date of Community Forum on Street Disorder

City Grant

X and X will write the application for SRO tenancy services

Filming

Motion to send an official letter to Ed McCurdy regarding his continued snaking of community funds for personal benefit from the film industry.

Website

Need to update the website

 Moment of Silence, motion to adjourn

DNC Minutes - July 8th, 2014

DNC Minutes – July 8^th, 2014

11 members present

Agenda

Legal Committee update

Tenant’s Rights Committee update

Open House Plan

AGM

Membership Outreach

Street Market Report

Women’s Art Group

Movie Business

Legal Committee Update: Members will have position paper ready for Thursday @ 1:00 p.m.

Tenant’s Rights Committee Update: X says the location was a good place for a meeting. X signed up 60 members.

Open House Plan: X says we need tarps. Need to invite relevant organizations. Discussion of items required.

Street Market Report: X says Street Market Society working well with police. Shows very well done pamphlet. Society has created membership tags. Members required to wear these on Sundays. Need for more volunteers. Need to hire professional security guards. Ideally, two people from dtes could be trained.

AGM: Discussion that AGM should take place in August.

Membership/Outreach:  X is working on revised pamphlet.

Women’s Art Group: Grant for painting containers going through Street Market Society.

Movie Business: X says DNC should get some funds, but requires that people provide a service.

Adjourn. 

DNC Minutes - June 24, 2014

DNC Board Minutes – June 24, 2014

13 board members, 1 guest

Agenda

Guest – Ron Carten WCMHN

Meeting with City

Street Market

DNC/VANDU Tenant Meeting

Film Stipend

Community Forum

AGM

Grants Update

Motion to adopt agenda, motion passes

X reads minutes. Motion to accept minutes. Motion passes.

Guest

West Coast Mental Health Network on Pender near Cambie St.

Peer program. Funding was cut in December last year by VCH, but have some funding from City.

Assertive Community Treatment – Psychiatrist, social worker, nurse, sometimes police officer. Primarily to monitor whether people are taking their medications.

Section of Mental Health Act involves involuntary treatment.

When you are in that category, you can be treated against your will.

Your rights essentially, are taken away. There is another section called Involuntary Leave. You are allowed out, but have to abide by medication, etc…

The director of the hospital determines the category, recommended by the psychiatrist.

There have been a challenge to involuntary committal under section 7. The BCCLA has produced a pamphlet – and they are hoping to challenge the mental health act.

What the act argues is that mental health is a special case and people don’t know their own good. There needs to be choice in care, and choice in treatment.

Representation agreement act – provides every BC resident a right to appoint a representative. The exception to this is mental health treatment.

Section 15 – is also possibly a good section to use – which prohibits discrimination

Book called DSM4 – this lists all the mental health disorders that psychiatrists can think of.

Group is called madcaps – write letters to politicians. Met with CoV about ACT teams. Tried to get VCH to commit to the principle of Choice in Treatment. They are committed to patients’ rights, but always qualify it.

BCCLA has a position paper.

WCMHN – has a position paper on the representation agreement act. Group was not even invited to be part of the Mental Health Task Force.  They share an office with ARA mental health which was on the task force.

Police officers may now be funded as members of the ACT team by health money.

If a person has an ACT team this means that $30k is being spent on you. This may even be for people that don’t even have housing.

Meeting with City

August some time.

Missing board members

Street Market people were not here

Tenant Rights meeting

DJ Larkin will be there, also Diane from MadCap,

$200 budget for the event

Filming notice – table the program for a month

Community Forum – Need to have an AGM before end of year

Motion to adjourn – moment of silence