5 minute read
NEWS
by The Peak
COMMUNITY CARE CRAB Park Tent City organizes online winter fundraiser
CRAB Park “Axy Village” volunteers hope for continuous support from local community throughout the harsh winter
ADITI DWIVEDI // NEWS WRITER
CRAB Park tent city “Ayx Village” is the only encampment deemed legal by the BC Supreme Court. This year they organized a fundraiser to support residents throughout the winter.
Fiona York, a volunteer and advocate of Ayx Village, sat down for an interview with The Peak. York hopes to receive continued support from the community and appeals to the provincial government to take concrete steps towards solving the housing crisis in BC. According to York, the Tent City in Vancouver is “a landmark of the whole country because it’s the first time there has ever been a legal outdoor sheltering space.”
CRAB Park provides shelter, warmth, food, access to healthcare facilities, and housing outreach programs. CRAB Park also offers its residents the opportunity to build a community. York says, “It is very difficult to keep restarting and not having any stability, so it is really significant that people can actually stay put in one spot and have access to some resources.”
The winter weather in BC causes the number of residents to drop significantly as it becomes tough to survive outdoors. Not only does the cold weather impact the health and survival of the residents but also the structure of their spaces. “Most tents them through the season. York believes an important part of the fundraiser is to help the community “[erase] some of the stigma [and] negative ideas around people who live outside, people who live in tent cities.” She adds that compassion from the community, and understanding the needs of the residents goes a long way towards keeping the encampment up and running.
York believes that until now, the focus of the government has been directed towards temporary shelters whereas it should be on quickly building permanent housing structures. She also states the government should aim to recognize the lived experiences of people and incorporate their opinions in the decision-making to better suit their needs. “Recently, the announcement from the provincial government about housing came as a surprise and there was no consultation with people who actually live in the camp or people who are houseless.”
PHOTO: Ted McGrath / Flickr
aren’t really designed to withstand those kinds of temperatures and weather conditions,” York adds. The winter fundraiser for the CRAB Park Tent City was started to mobilize the community to donate funds and other essentials like blankets, jackets, boots, and meals during the holiday season.
At the time of publication, approximately $6,000 had been collected through the online fundraiser. Volunteers used roughly $3,000 to hold a big Christmas dinner, give gifts to the residents, and purchase groceries for the week following Christmas.
According to York, the support-workers and the residents “don’t normally have the ability to purchase tents and tarps for people, we usually rely on donations,” but the surplus funds from the fundraiser allowed them to purchase other necessary items like headlamps and torchlights, as requested by residents.
York indicated that residents usually deal with mental health issues, grief, and the stress of being away from families during the holidays, which is why the fundraiser became a way to help To donate to the CRAB Park Tent City winter fundraiser, visit their fundraiser website on chuffed.org. They are also accepting donations of jackets, blankets, boots, socks, and warm meals.
MEDICINE MANAGEMENT Protect Our Province BC calls for immediate unrestricted access to Paxlovid
BC has the most restrictive eligibility criteria in Canada for access to Paxlovid
ADITI DWIVEDI // NEWS WRITER
With the onset of the winter season, and a surging triple-demic of respiratory illnesses, the organization Protect Our Province BC released an open letter addressed to the provincial leaders. The letter calls for the immediate relaxation of BC’s restrictive eligibility policies, and increase in access to Paxlovid, for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.
Paxlovid, also known as Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir, is an oral antiviral medication developed by Pfizer, to stop the virus from multiplying and encourage a faster recovery. Paxlovid has proved effective against Omicron and its subvariants, in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. However, some have noted that Paxlovid is being drastically underused in BC despite its potential for positive outcomes.
Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician and a member of Protect Our Province BC said in an interview with The Peak, “Your access to tools in the fight against COVID-19 should not be determined by the province you live in.”
In provinces such as New Brunswick, the requirements for access to Paxlovid are being 18 years and older and having one medical condition. In BC, there are a few specific requirements for access. This includes an age of 70 years and older, and three medical conditions, people who are “clinically vulnerable,” or those who are Indigenous, among others. BC has the most specific criteria compared to other provinces in the country. number of COVID-19 related deaths this year in BC is more in number than the deaths of 2020 and 2021 combined. Filiatrault noted, “I think it aligns with the entire management of the pandemic in BC.” She further stated the provincial administration of BC “have been gatekeeping the access to rapid antigen tests, access to PCR tests, access to four doses, and now to Paxlovid, and it’s almost been all along the pandemic.”
The federal government granted access to 70,000 doses of Paxlovid to the province of BC but until September 2022, only 12,000 of those doses could be prescribed to patients under the eligibility criteria. One of the potential solutions suggested by the Protect Our Province BC is to also allow pharmacists, along with clinicians and family doctors, to prescribe the medication, like other provinces of Canada have done.
DR. LYNE FILIATRAULT
PHOTO: Nathan Dumlao / Unsplash
changes because they were brought in quietly, and without adequate publicity. Additionally, she pointed out they are “also including some of the social determinants of health, though limiting it to a single racialized community or Indigenous community; they are not looking at other communities of colour that are marginalized. We are calling on them to expand that.”
Like most drugs, Paxlovid has limitations and potential risks for its users. For instance, patients with liver and kidney issues should not be prescribed the drug. According to Protect our Province BC, a discourse around the disadvantages and positive effects of the drug needs to be established which is only possible once medical practitioners and patients gain required awareness about the drug.
