Funding our addiction to help addicts

During the past 9 weeks in our Social Innovation class, we have been exposed to a world littered with social problems. Even though these problems are prominently obvious, most of us has been fortunate enough to be sheltered by it. Although we may not be directly influenced by these problems, it will eventually affect us one way or another.

The problem we have choosen to tackle is the drug addiction issues in our DTES. Once a beautiful part to our city, it is now a dark corner that no one really mentions. However, we can not just ignore the fact that these people need help. Unfortunately, whatever the solution is to combat drug addiction or harm reduction, this crisis requires lots of funding. Ironically, there is great resistance in funding projects involved with assisting drug addicts. This resistance is caused by a general mind set that the addicts on the streets will only spend the money on more drugs. What donators don’t realize is that many of these projects such as safe injection sites help keep the dangerous needles off the streets by providing a safer environment for the addicts to do their drugs. Another benefit the general public would receive is if the drug users have a safer environment, the chance of them over dosing or sharing needles (hence spreading diseases) also decreases, which in return takes a lesser toll on our health care system.

Therefore, whatever our solution may be, we should be self sufficient financially. The public will only be willing to help these addicts once there is evidence that whatever we are doing is successful. Looking at other cities best practices in raising funds for social enterprises that does not recieve much funding. At this site, there is a compilation of other social enterprises and it gives a brief description of how they are funded. Most of these groups start up programs where it can help whoever it set out to help by having them contribute. For example, at the Clovernook Center for Blind and Disabled, the visually impaired members participate in creating Braille products which are then sold to fund the social enterprise so that it can hire more visually impaired people. Another example is Homeboy Industries, where it tries to reduce gang activity by giving a place for ex-members to start working again to have a chance to be integrated back into society. They run businesses of all sorts to give these people a chance when society has turned their back on them.

Regardless of how we intend to approach our solution, there will be lots of resistance due to this controversial topic, but like these other social enterprises, once proven to work, the general public will be less hesistant to participate.