‘I’m not afraid’: Yaletown locals weigh in on injection site relocation lawsuit

Residents in Yaletown are weighing in on the future of a supervised drug injection site following a lawsuit filed against the City of Vancouver calling for the site to be relocated.

The civil suit has sparked a range of opinions among locals.

“People are afraid to go out at night,” one resident told CityNews. “But it would be a good idea to have an injection site away from residential housing. It seems as if nobody wants anyone pushed into a back alley.”

Read more: Yaletown supervised injection site leadership addresses lawsuit

The current site is located at 1101 Seymour Street, right across from a park and dog park. It also shares the block with many residential buildings.

The site has been operational since March 2021.

“I’ve been living here for 20 years, and it’s one of the safest neighborhoods,” another local said. “I feel I can come out at 4 a.m., there are people around, I’m not afraid. I mean, it’s the inner city. Do people know of other cities that don’t have something like this?”

“I think it makes the city a little more colorful, I’m all for it. I walk by there all the time, there’s no trouble,” they continued. “I like that these people have this help. I like paying taxes for it.”

In an interview with CityNews, Sarah Blyth, executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society, expressed an understanding that issues can arise with such sites. She suggested opening another site nearby to “help take the pressure off.”

“I don’t think you double down on these kinds of things,” a frequent visitor of Yaletown said. “I think they need to address the issues with [this site] before contemplating opening up another.”

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However, another person held a different opinion, stating, “There needs to be multiple sites, for sure. Is another one in Yaletown the answer? I don’t know… I’m sure we could have one in South Vancouver to alleviate some issues.”

The petition claims that the injection site in Yaletown has impacted residents living in the building at 1111 Seymour Street, alleging incidents of assaults, break-ins, theft, open drug use, presence of human waste, and general disturbances.

None of these allegations have been proven in court.