The problem is that you can want that all you like, but you won’t get it because people are, frankly, people, and all that statement does is anger people who don’t have the experience and/or empathy that you do.
You need to convince people why they need to support safe-consumption sites and increased healthcare, and you need to do it by explaining why it benefits them, not the people struggling because, and again, this is hard to hear they don’t care about addicts, but they do care about, eg, not having their stuff stolen.
A lot of advocates really struggle with this, and I’ve personally seen support for a safe-use site torpedoed by an advocate who was offended by people saying “It’s good to see an safe-consumption site, it’ll really help” and telling them “It’s for them, it’s not about you!”
It ia not just homeless though, I’m talking about a person with a nice house and vehicle, deciding their drug habit can come out to a public place and should be everyone elses problem.
These people are struggling and our comfort should come second as many drug users end up dying alone because it is stigmatized.
The problem is that you can want that all you like, but you won’t get it because people are, frankly, people, and all that statement does is anger people who don’t have the experience and/or empathy that you do.
You need to convince people why they need to support safe-consumption sites and increased healthcare, and you need to do it by explaining why it benefits them, not the people struggling because, and again, this is hard to hear they don’t care about addicts, but they do care about, eg, not having their stuff stolen.
A lot of advocates really struggle with this, and I’ve personally seen support for a safe-use site torpedoed by an advocate who was offended by people saying “It’s good to see an safe-consumption site, it’ll really help” and telling them “It’s for them, it’s not about you!”
It ia not just homeless though, I’m talking about a person with a nice house and vehicle, deciding their drug habit can come out to a public place and should be everyone elses problem.