Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

STRAIGHT PIPE

Date Range From

2020

Date Range To

2020

Materials

GLASS

No. Pieces

1

Length

10

Diameter

1

Description

CLEAR GLASS STRAIGHT PIPE WITH AN OPENING ON EACH END. THE PIPE IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Subjects

PERSONAL GEAR

Historical Association

ASSOCIATIONS

HEALTH SERVICES

PERSONAL CARE

History

ON THE 28TH OF SEPTEMBER, 2020 GALT MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT AND COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN MET WITH LINDSAY STELLA AND MEGAN WILLIAMSON, DIRECTORS AT THE NON-PROFIT ARCHES (AIDS OUTREACH COMMUNITY HARM REDUCTION EDUCATION SUPPORT SOCIETY), TO SPEAK ABOUT THE DONATED SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITE (SCS) MATERIALS. AN AUGUST 31, 2020 CBC NEWS ARTICLE STATED THAT THE SCS, A SPACE FOR HARM REDUCTION PRACTICES IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE ABLE TO USE DRUGS LIKE OPIOIDS IN A SUPERVISED ENVIRONMENT WITH THE ABILITY TO RESPOND TO POTENTIAL OVERDOSES, WAS OPENED IN 2018 AND WAS THE BUSIEST SITE OF ITS KIND IN CANADA WITH AN AVERAGE OF 500 VISITS PER DAY. ONCE LOCATED AT 1016 1 AVENUE SOUTH IN LETHBRIDGE, THE SCS WAS SHUT DOWN IN AUGUST OF 2020. ARCHES DONATED A COLLECTION OF THE ITEMS USED AND DISTRIBUTED THROUGH THEIR PROGRAMS. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION COMES FROM THE INTERVIEW. MEGAN DESCRIBED THE GLASS PIPE DONATED TO THE MUSEUM: “…THESE ARE SAFER DRUG USE SUPPLIES… ONE IS A BAUBLE PIPE… THIS IS FOR METH USE… THE POINT OF ALL OF THIS IS THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO USE STERILE SUPPLIES AND WE WANT THEM TO USE A NEW ONE EVERY TIME. SO IN THE ABSENCE OF THIS WHAT PEOPLE WERE DOING WAS BLOWING THEIR OWN GLASS OR PEOPLE WILL USE PENS INSTEAD OF A STRAIGHT PIPE… THEY GET VERY CREATIVE AND…IT’S NOT LIKE THEY’RE NOT [GOING TO] DO IT, THEY’RE [GOING TO] FIND SOMETHING, SO WE WANT THEM TO USE SOMETHING THAT IS STERILE AND SOMETHING THAT THEY CAN HAVE THEIR OWN OF. THESE SPECIFICALLY ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE, SO WE DID LIMIT THE DISTRIBUTION OF BAUBLES BUT…ANY LIMITATION WAS AN EFFORT TO TRY AND MEET THE COMMUNITY HALF WAY AND WE’VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A COUPLE YEARS NOW. SO THERE’S A STRAIGHT PIPE AND A BAUBLE PIPE. SOME OF IT IS FOR DIFFERENT DRUGS, SOME OF IT IS PREFERENCE... AGAIN, A BIG THING THAT WE DON’T WANT IS SHARING… FOR EXAMPLE, WITH METH USE YOU CAN GET A LOT OF DRYNESS AND SORES AROUND YOUR MOUTH SO IT’S A REALLY GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR, IF YOU’RE SHARING PIPES, BLOOD TO BLOOD TRANSMISSION, WHICH WE DON’T WANT… WE WANT THEM TO USE THEIR OWN, PREFERABLY A NEW ONE EVERY TIME. WE ALSO HAND OUT... CHAPSTICK FOR THE SAME REASON, BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT THAT BLOOD TRANSMISSION… [WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION HARM REDUCTION] BEST PRACTICE IS [PROVIDING] AS MANY AS THEY WANT AS OFTEN AS THEY WANT WITH NO EXPECTATION OF RETURN… A LOT OF THE STUFF…IS VERY CONSCIOUSLY DONE TO PREVENT HARM OR TO PREVENT TRANSMISSION OF STBBIS (SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED AND BLOOD BORNE INFECTIONS) AND HIV, [HEPATITIS C,] THAT KIND OF STUFF…OR ADD MORE COST TO THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM… IN THE ABSENCE OF THESE THINGS, CLIENTS GET VERY CREATIVE… I’VE SEEN PENS, I’VE SEEN THEM BECOME GLASS BLOWERS...” MEGAN ELABORATED ON THE DONATED MATERIALS: “…THIS IS WHAT WE NORMALLY USE FOR SAFER DRUG USE EQUIPMENT… ESSENTIALLY THE POINT OF HARM REDUCTION IS, NOT THAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO BE USING DRUGS, [BUT] IT’S A RECOGNITION THAT IF THEY’RE GOING TO DO IT WE WANT THEM TO BE DOING IT AS SAFELY AS POSSIBLE. OBVIOUSLY THE GOAL FOR ANYONE IS BETTER HEALTH OUTCOMES AND EVEN IF THAT MEANS…RECOVERY AND ABSTINENCE, BUT PEOPLE TAKE DIFFERENT PATHS, NOT EVERYONE WILL EASILY GO DOWN THAT JOURNEY… THE POINT IS THAT UNTIL THEY’RE READY TO BE THERE, HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE? SO ONE OF THE WAYS THEY DO THAT…THERE’S A LOT OF GOOD RESEARCH ON...THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION, SO A LOT OF THESE ARE RECOMMENDATIONS OUT OF W.H.O. AND THEN THERE ARE HARM EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONS INTERNATIONALLY WHO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE TO COMMUNITIES…” “…WE WOULD GIVE THEM OUT FROM THE HOUSE AND THEN OUTREACH TEAMS [WOULD DISTRIBUTE ALSO]. SO WHEN WE MOVED HERE WE STOPPED DISTRIBUTION FROM THE HOUSE AND THEN IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMUNITY A COUPLE YEARS AGO, WE STOPPED OUTREACH DISTRIBUTION. DURING COVID WE STARTED OUTREACH AGAIN, MOSTLY BECAUSE AS AN AGENCY WE HAD FIFTEEN PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, AND WE IDENTIFIED OUR TOP TWO MOST CRITICAL AS SUPERVISED SAFE CONSUMPTION AND SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION BECAUSE...IN THE MIDST OF THIS WHAT WE DON’T WANT TO SEE IS SKYROCKETING HIV AND [HEPATITIS C] RATES AND DEATH, SO THOSE ARE…OUR TWO TOP PRIORITIES, EVERYTHING ELSE IS VERY IMPORTANT BUT CAN BE ADAPTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS…” MEGAN CONTINUED: “…PRE-SCS WE HAD A LARGE OUTREACH TEAM WITH LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS. THEY WERE OUT DAILY…HANDING OUT SUPPLIES…AS MANY AS THEY WANT AS OFTEN AS THEY WANT… DURING COVID WE WERE DOING OUTREACH AGAIN BECAUSE IF PEOPLE CAN’T COME HERE [TO THE SCS], WHERE ARE THEY? WE KNOW THAT THEY DIDN’T STOP USING DRUGS, SO HOW CAN WE FIND THEM AND SUPPORT THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY’RE STILL ACCESSING SERVICES? …SOMETIMES [OUTREACH DISTRIBUTORS] WOULD MAKE UP KITS OR THEY WOULD…[ASK] ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT?’ AND THEN PUT THEM IN A BAG FOR YOU BUT ALL [DIFFERENT SUPPLIES]…WOULDN’T NECESSARILY GO IN THERE, THE BAG’S NOT VERY BIG. BUT WE DON’T WANT TO SEE PEOPLE NOT USING THOSE THINGS AND THEN EITHER WASTING THEM OR THROWING THEM IN THE STREET SO [THE APPROACH TO DISTRIBUTING SUPPLIES] WOULD BE MORE LIKE, ‘WHAT IS YOUR PREFERENCE, WHAT ARE YOU USING, AND HERE'S THE THINGS THAT YOU NEED.’ ...WE WERE LIMITING THE NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE WOULD GIVE OUT… FOR EXAMPLE WE’D ONLY GIVE OUT TWO SYRINGES, WHICH IS NOT [W.H.O. HARM REDUCTION] BEST PRACTICE WHICH IS CONCERNING, BUT AGAIN IT WAS AN EFFORT TO...MEET THE COMMUNITY HALF WAY… I’M SURE THAT IT DID LEAD TO REUSES AND SHARES BUT IT’S BETTER THAN NOTHING SO IT’S KIND OF LIKE AN ‘AS MUCH AS WE CAN’ DEAL…” MEGAN TALKED ABOUT THE CONNECTIONS MADE BEYOND THE DISTRIBUTION OF STERILE DRUG USE MATERIALS: “…OUR GOAL IS IF YOU’RE [GOING TO] USE, WE WANT YOU TO DO IT HERE. YOU’RE UNDER SUPERVISION, WE CAN MAKE SURE EVERYTHING’S DISPOSED OF, WE CAN MAKE SURE EVERYTHING’S STERILE, WE CAN DO EDUCATION, WE CAN TALK ABOUT THINGS LIKE, ‘HEY WHAT’S YOUR LIFE PLAN, HOW ARE YOU FEELING, CAN WE HELP YOU WITH ANYTHING?’ SO A LOT OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENED WITHIN THAT SPACE AS WELL OR IN THE POST-CONSUMPTION SPACE...IN THE OBSERVATION ROOM. GENERALLY WHEN PEOPLE ARE IN WITHDRAWAL IT’S NOT A GREAT TIME TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM…BUT AFTER THEY USE THEY’RE IN A PRETTY GOOD SPACE SO CAN HAVE CONVERSATIONS AND YOU GET A LOT OF LIKE, ‘YEAH, THIS ISN’T THE LIFE I WANT’ OR ‘THIS ISN’T WHAT I WANT TO DO’ AND THOSE ARE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW CAN WE HELP YOU DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT OR ACCESS SUPPORTS OR TREATMENT OR DETOX OR HOUSING OR A NURSE OR WHATEVER IT IS THEY NEED…” MEGAN NOTED THAT THE USE OF DRUGS VIA INHALATION, INCLUDING SMOKING WITH A PIPE, WAS RESTRICTED AT THE SCS AFTER THE PANDEMIC OUTBREAK: “ALSO, AN INTERESTING THING THAT...GOES ALONG WITH THAT, SMOKING IS A SAFER MEANS OF CONSUMING DRUGS SO WE ALMOST HAD TO...REVERT THEM BACK TO A LESS SAFE METHOD, LIKE INJECTION… WHEREAS OUR INHALATION RATES FOR SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION WERE VERY HIGH PRE-COVID.” MEGAN CONTINUED TO SPEAK ABOUT THE GAP IN SERVICES AFTER THE SCS CLOSED: “A COUPLE OF GAPS THAT I THINK WE’RE SEEING ARE INHALATION IS NOT AN OPTION ANYWHERE IN THE CITY AT THE MOMENT, WHICH IT WASN’T FOR US DURING COVID ANYWAY, BUT SOMEDAY THAT’S GOING TO BE A THING AND ALSO WE HAD PEER-ASSIST, SO FOR CLIENTS THAT WERE...PHYSICALLY UNABLE TO DO IT THEMSELVES, THEY WERE ABLE TO HAVE A PEER, AND THERE’S LEGALITIES AROUND IT AND STUFF TO SIGN AND DO, BUT THAT’S NOT OPTION THERE EITHER WHICH MEANS THOSE PEOPLE ALSO INHERENTLY WON’T BE ABLE TO USE.” LINDSAY CLARIFIED WHAT PEER-ASSISTANCE WAS: “…PEOPLE WHO…ARE AMPUTEES OR SHOW UP WITH BROKEN LIMBS…RELY ON OTHER PEOPLE IN THE STREET TO INJECT THEM, WHICH IS A VERY SCARY SITUATION... SO WE WERE FINDING WHEN WE OPENED WE FOUND A COLLECTION OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD PRESENT…AND WE WANTED TO CREATE THAT…INCLUSIVE SPACE AND FIND WAYS TO ALLOW ANYONE THAT WANTS TO USE DRUGS IN A SUPERVISED ENVIRONMENT CAN DO SO.” MEGAN SPOKE ABOUT MORE OF THE CHANGES FOR CLIENTS: “…COVID ALSO HAD AN IMPACT ON THE DRUG SUPPLY SO THINGS WITH INTERNATIONAL BORDERS SHUT DOWN, YOU DIDN’T SEE A LOT OF THE SAME DRUGS OR YOU WERE SEEING DRUGS THAT WE HADN’T BEEN SEEING IN A LONG TIME, OR THEY WERE MIXING THEM WITH THINGS THAT WE HADN’T SEEN SO THERE WAS DIFFERENT REACTIONS HAPPENING.” LINDSAY ADDED: “JUST POOR QUALITY DRUGS AND SO LOTS OF REACTIONS FOR PEOPLE AND [PEOPLE WOULD] TRULY JUST TAKE WHAT THEY COULD GET BECAUSE…THERE JUST WASN’T A SUPPLY OF ANYTHING…” WHEN ASKED HOW MANY SPACES WERE AVAILABLE FOR CLIENTS, LINDSAY ANSWERED: “THERE WERE SIX INITIALLY AND THEN WE EXPANDED UP TO THIRTEEN, FOURTEEN, FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN, AND AT ONE POINT WE HAD SEVENTEEN, BUT OUR CORE NUMBER WAS THIRTEEN INJECTION BOOTHS AND TWO INHALATION ROOMS THAT FIT FOUR PEOPLE EACH, BUT SOMETHING THAT [COVID-19] BROUGHT WAS THAT WE COULDN’T OPERATE OUR INHALATION ROOMS ANYMORE, SO THAT WAS A CHANGE THAT WE WENT…BACK AND FORTH ON… SO THAT WAS A STRUGGLE, BUT AS AN ORGANIZATION WE HAD TO MAKE THE DECISION THAT WE WEREN’T GOING TO RUN THOSE BECAUSE WE JUST DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH EVIDENCE ABOUT IF SOMEBODY WAS POSITIVE SMOKING IN THERE, THERE WASN’T ENOUGH [PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)] TO SUPPORT US RUNNING THOSE BECAUSE WE NEED N95 MASKS TO EVEN ENTER THAT… WE JUST…HAD TO MAKE THAT DECISION, WHICH WAS AN ISSUE FOR CLIENTS...BECAUSE THEN THEY HAD NO SAFE PLACE IF THEY WERE GOING TO SMOKE THEIR DRUGS, SO THAT WAS ANOTHER CHANGE THAT [COVID-19] BROUGHT.” LINDSAY DESCRIBED THE MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS THAT STAFFED THE SCS: “…THE SCS WAS ALWAYS STAFFED WITH A NURSE, AN LPN OR AN RN, IT ALSO HAD PRIMARY CARE PARAMEDICS, ADDICTION COUNSELLORS AND HARM REDUCTION SPECIALISTS, WHICH IS USUALLY A DEGREE OR DIPLOMA IN SOME SORT OF SOCIAL SERVICE FIELD.” “OR LIVED IN EXPERIENCE. SO ANYONE THAT WAS COMING WITHIN TWO METERS OF CLIENTS, SO THAT COULD BE ANY STAFF FOR WHATEVER REASON, HAD TO BE WEARING A DEGREE OF PPE. BUT FOR THE ISOLATION SPACE, IF SOMEBODY WAS [COVID-19] SYMPTOMATIC, THAT’S ONLY ONE NURSE. OR IF YOU’RE RESPONDING TO AN OVERDOSE, IT IS LEAST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE IF WE’RE GOING TO CREATE A TWO METER RADIUS AWAY FROM THEM…[AND] KEEPING IN MIND THAT WE WANT TO BE PRUDENT WITH OUR PPE THAT WOULD BE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE JUST SO YOU DON’T RUN THROUGH PPE. SO ALWAYS THE NURSE WOULD BE THERE AND THE PRIMARY CARE PARAMEDICS ARE GOOD SUPPORT, AND THEN ALL OF THE HARM REDUCTION SPECIALISTS WERE TRAINED IN OVERDOSE RESPONSE…” LINDSAY OFFERED HER THOUGHTS ON THE SHUTTING DOWN OF THE SCS: “…[ALBERTA HEALTH SERVICES] IS OFFERING AN OVERDOSE PREVENTION SITE AT THE SHELTER, IT’S A MOBILE BUS RIGHT NOW SO WHEN THIS SHUT DOWN, THAT’S WHAT OPENED AND I WISH THEM ALL THE BEST BECAUSE TRULY THEY HIRED A BUNCH OF OUR STAFF SO THAT WAS NICE. THEY WERE ABLE TO GO ON AND WORK THERE AND THEY ARE [GOING TO] DO GOOD WORK SO THAT SERVICE IS THERE. IT’S AN OVERDOSE PREVENTION SITE SO USUALLY THAT MEANS IT’S A TEMPORARY IN RESPONSE TO A CRISIS, SO I KNOW THERE IS GREAT STAFF, AHS IS GREAT. THEY’VE GOT RESOURCES AND THEY CAN DO A LOT OF GOOD THINGS SO I THINK THEY WILL FILL THAT GAP... THEN I HOPE IN THE FUTURE THAT THEY COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR HARM REDUCTION, SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION… THE GOVERNMENT HASN’T OUTLINED WHAT THE ALTERNATE PLAN SHOULD BE SO I HOPE THAT THEY FIND A WAY TO MAKE THE COMMUNITY FEEL GOOD… IT’S SUCH A FINE BALANCE… I THINK THAT EVERYBODY IS STILL FIGURING THAT OUT AND I HOPE THAT WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT.” A SEPTEMBER 26, 2020 GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE STATED THAT THE ARCHES SCS “…HOSTED 13 INJECTION BOOTHS AND EIGHT INHALATION STALLS, CLOSED AFTER ALBERTA ACCUSED IT OF FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT AND PULLED FUNDING. THE GOVERNMENT, UNDER THE UNITED CONSERVATIVE PARTY, REPLACED IT WITH A MOBILE UNIT, PARKED NEXT TO A SHELTER, THAT CAN SERVE THREE PEOPLE AT A TIME.” MEGAN CONTRIBUTED HER THOUGHTS ON THE CLOSING OF THE SCS: “…I DON’T KNOW...THE DIRECTION WHICH WE ARE GOING RIGHT NOW AND...I THINK WE JUST DO WHAT WE CAN TO STILL MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING ANY LEVEL OF SERVICE DURING THIS SO THAT’S WHAT WE’RE COMMITTED TO NOW, IS MAKING SURE AT LEAST SOMETHING IS HAPPENING, BUT I THINK HEALTHCARE IN ALBERTA IS GOING TO LOOK VERY DIFFERENT. SO THAT MEANS THAT OUR HEALTHCARE LOOKS VERY DIFFERENT AS WELL. PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVES ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY FRONT AND CENTRE RIGHT NOW AND THIS IS A PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE… I DON’T FEEL GREAT ABOUT IT [CLOSING]. I THINK THAT WE’RE GOING TO SEE INCREASING RATES OF HIV AND [HEPATITIS C] AND WE’VE SEEN A LOT OF DEATHS WHICH IS…VERY SAD AND VERY PREVENTABLE WHICH IS FRUSTRATING, BUT THERE ARE ALSO A LOT OF GOOD PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING THEIR BEST TO MAKE SURE THESE SERVICES ARE STILL AVAILABLE…” IN CLOSING, MEGAN DESCRIBED HER AND LINDSAY’S POSITIONS: “…I STARTED [WORKING WITH ARCHES] IN SEPTEMBER OF 2017… I WAS WITH THE HOUSING TEAM, SO WE HAD A HOUSING FIRST TEAM, A CLINICAL TEAM THAT HAD A NURSE AND AN ADDICTIONS COUNSELLOR AND HAD SOME HOUSING SO I STARTED AS THE TEAM LEAD OF THAT PROGRAM AND THEN A YEAR LATER MOVED IN TO A DIRECTOR [ROLE] AND OVERSAW ALL PROGRAMS... THEN LINDSAY IS A DIRECTOR OF CLINICAL SERVICES, SO SHE WAS VERY INVOLVED WITH A LOT MORE OF THE MEDICAL ASPECTS OF IT... WE HAD ANOTHER DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND THEN OF COURSE THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. SO LINDSAY AND I ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THIS TRANSITION HAPPENS AS SMOOTHLY AS POSSIBLE.” FOR MORE INFORMATION, TO ACCESS NEWSPAPER ARTICLES AND FACEBOOK POSTS RELATED TO THE SUPERVISED CONSUMPTION SITE AND ARCHES, OR TO VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE SEE THE DONATION’S PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20200031003

Acquisition Date

2020-03

Collection

Museum

Less detail