In keeping with tradition, we'd like to extend our very best wishes for the New Year. The whole team at La Boussole joins us in wishing you joy, success and, above all, solidarity.

In 2022, La Boussole will celebrate its 30th anniversary. 30 years of struggle, a long way to go, but still a lot of work to do in the fight against poverty and inequality.

On the ground, we want to see the measures taken to combat the opioid crisis that has been decimating our community for too long come to fruition. The year 2021 once again broke the sad record for deaths by overdose. The measures taken by the government are moving in the right direction, but not fast enough. We can no longer afford to wait on long-term projects. We need to guarantee access to safe products on a massive scale for everyone in need throughout the province. We must also facilitate rapid access to detoxification facilities. We are too often faced with waiting lists. Motivated people need to be able to start their journey as quickly as possible, or risk losing momentum and using even more. We've seen this happen all too often, and every time it's a tragedy for the person we're helping.

Let's also talk about housing. New housing is very often the starting point in the rebuilding process of a person who has experienced homelessness, and it's illusory to think that a person can emerge from precariousness without decent housing. However, the situation in Greater Vancouver does not allow us to work effectively. We need to rapidly expand the supply of long-term, dignified social housing and move away from all-SRO (Single Room Occupancy) - the often dilapidated hotels on the Downtown East Side. People must be able to be housed outside this neighborhood when they wish, in particular to help them in their fight against their addictions. We also reiterate that a housing policy based on speculation and protection of landlords is contrary to any desire to remedy the problem of homelessness.

In terms of mental health care, in 2021 we launched the only French-language psychological follow-up program in the province. This program fills an obvious gap, but it's not enough. We are faced with the distress of members in need of treatment, assistance and medical follow-up. The province's infrastructure is unable to respond to these situations. Following a major crisis, people are hospitalized for a short time, over-medicated and then returned to the street, with no follow-up and only the prospect of starting the loop all over again. This process is costly, inefficient and, above all, inhumane.

We therefore hope to see progress in these areas this year.

For our part, we'll do our best, as always, to support our members through thick and thin.

See you soon at the community centre,

Louise Chaynes & Maxime Barbier

Co-General Manager of La Boussole