During the 11-day pilot project at the women’s residence, the button pilot project has proven to be an essential tool in harm reduction and improvement in the physical and mental health of the city’s most vulnerable.
For that time, each participating resident had her own button in her private room. It was understood it was designed for “safer use”—as a method to call out while they were injecting drugs in private.
That opportunity for contact with others is vital for drug users. More than 3,400 people have died of illicit drug overdoses in B.C. since Jan. 1, 2016, according to a 2018 report from the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Of those deaths, at least 69 per cent consumed their drugs while they were by themselves.
One push of the button: a call for guidance, or accompaniment while using. Multiple pushes would alert staff to an emergency, llike Patti’s, as an urgent call for help.
As it turned out, it became an emergency button as well, said Blomskog. Workers found that residents used the button after a guest in their room turned violent.
“If the guy is in their room and they have no phone, how could they get out of the room to call the police? And a lot of girls don’t trust the police.”
Up until the introduction of the button pilot project, Blomskog says her job was all about managing crises.
Powered by Bluetooth technology, the buttons send out an SMS message to the peer and staff phones with a request for support.
Brave Coop’s own data show that more than half of the residents used it to call for support-mostly for safer consumption, or fear of overdose, much like Patti did.
In exit interviews, members found that every resident felt safer; hotel workers found the experience strengthened their relationship with the tenants.
Shawna Blomskog credits the added sense of security for turning chaos into calm. It gave support workers and staff a sense of control in their care of the women.
“The first time someone pressed the button, I was in the building. One push, they’d use some dope, and I just went up in three minutes and rapped on their door and made sure they were okay.”