Many years ago I aspired to develop a blog that could track my family narratives- combining living off-grid while at the same time offering reflections on being a frontline harm reduction worker in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Much has changed in that time but much has also remained the same- I’m still involved in frontline harm reduction work, I still aspire to write and create, and I still like the name I came up with for that website, Struggle On Dot Com. And the inner experience continues- the path of discovering spiritual and mental well-being in ways that amplify community benefit, not just individual.
Things are also different- frontline harm reduction work has expanded significantly. It has grown from being a niche care model to being an essential crisis response. Thankfully. I have long believed that harm reduction work needs to become increasingly normalized. Unfortunately that has happened because of crisis- the crisis of a poisoned drug supply, the crisis of lives lost from overdose, and the crisis of drug policy that is lethal, the crisis of ignoring the needs of a community of people.
Plant medicine access has also increased. This benefit impacts overall wellness, whether in therapeutic, ceremonial or other categories. This is important to acknowledge, how it has benefitted me and others.
This effort is a bit of a discovery of how to put not only my voice but the voices of others forward in a variety of contexts. Thank you for reading