Human rights complaint against the Regina Street Worker’s Advocacy Project

A former resident of the Raising Hope Moving Families Forward program, run by the Street Worker’s Advocacy Project (SWAP), filed a complaint with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission (SHRC) against SWAP, alleging discrimination against it. with regard to his disability.

Shelby Curtis, 27, alleges that in September 2020 she was denied readmission into Raising Hope in part because she defended her desire to use cannabis as a form of harm reduction.

The program, which Curtis first accessed in 2019, provides housing for new mothers and pregnant women who suffer from substance use disorders.

“I kind of stuck to myself and went more and more downhill,” Curtis told Global News of the months after the alleged denial of service.

“It went to the point of losing my house. I was kicked out in March of this year. it caused me to lose my baby at one point for a month.

“I was using it again all the time. I just wasn’t my authentic self, not at all.

Today, months later, Curtis said she had found stable housing and was on the road to recovery “after seven years of street drug use.”

But she said the road at this point has not been easy.

In her submission to SHRC, Curtis explained how, during her first experience with Raising Hope, which began in September 2019, shortly before the birth of her second daughter, she requested a cannabis prescription after initially being prescribed. dextroamphetamine to help him cope with persistent cravings for use.

“I felt very triggered by this pharmaceutical drug because it is also a stimulant, very addictive and chemically similar to crystal meth,” she wrote in the submission.

“I was terrified and felt like I was going to relapse completely.”

She said she was then put in contact with a doctor in Regina who prescribed cannabis for her on the grounds that he was using it for harm reduction. She said it was very effective in achieving this goal.

“I felt so relieved because I already knew that THC really helped me stay away from harsher drugs. It definitely keeps me on track. It literally helps me have a clearer mind, ”Curtis wrote of how cannabis helps him cope with substance use disorders.

“I can talk to myself. I can really be in the moment. It’s not just my subconscious that goes wild and lives my days for me. I can slow down my thoughts. I can tell myself that everything will be fine.

Curtis said that at the time, his prescription was approved by Raising Hope director Wendy Lavalley. Soon after, Curtis said she “felt so healthy and strong” that she decided to quit the program.

She said, however, that “the next six months were tough” and she decided she needed help once again dealing with her substance abuse disorder. That’s when she reached out to Raising Hope.

She said during her application process in September 2020, the new director of the Raising Hope program, Danica Escobar, told her that the program now has a policy prohibiting the use of THC by residents.

Either way, she said she left admission thinking she was going to be accepted again.

“I felt very relieved to be accepted back into the program,” Curtis wrote.

After the meeting, she emailed SWAP’s current executive director, Barb Lawrence, who took over the post after Curtis’ first stint at Raising Hope ended, regarding his cannabis prescription.

She requested a meeting, explaining “THC produced the least harmful side effects and had the most benefit” for her, but said she had not received a response.

“I felt like another losing drug addict who didn’t even deserve an answer. I felt pathetic and unworthy, ”Curtis wrote, adding that a former resident of Raising Hope also emailed Lawrence unanswered.

She said that a few days after her intake meeting, Escobar informed her that she would not be allowed to re-enter the program because her daughter had become too old to meet the criteria for the program and because she had left. for over four months.

Curtis, however, said she knew at least two other residents of Raising Hope who were not pregnant and did not have children under four months old.

“I felt like I was totally blinded and misled and it was easy to do this to me because I was just another addict that no one cares about,” Curtis wrote, stressing his belief that his desire to use cannabis contributed to his refusal.

“It is well known that SWAP CEO Barb Lawrence is absolutely against medicinal cannabis. This is confusing because they support and allow the use of methadone as a harm reduction drug, but do not allow cannabis. “

Global News has attempted to contact SWAP Executive Director Barb Lawrence, who is the respondent named in the complaint, for a response, but has yet to receive a response.

According to its 211 Saskatchewan List, the Raising Hope Moving Families Forward program “provides 24/7 housing, programs and supports for pregnant and early postpartum women who are struggling with reproductive health issues. substance abuse as well as a number of other issues including homelessness or unsanitary / unsafe housing, child protection issues or prior involvement, and domestic violence. “

Eligibility, according to the webpage, includes “pregnant or early postpartum women with substance abuse issues and possibly other issues, including child protection issues or previous involvement, substandard housing / dangerous or homelessness, domestic violence ”.

Section 12 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code states in part that “no one shall, on the basis of a prohibited ground, discriminate against any person or class of persons with respect to housing. , a service or facility to which the public is ordinarily admitted or which is offered to the public.

The complaint has been formally accepted by the SHRC and the complaint process is now underway.

Last March, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Social Services, which contracts and provides funds to SWAP, hired consulting firm MNP to conduct a third-party review of the board’s program and governance. administration of the non-profit organization. The review was announced amid calls for the removal of SWAP managers from a group of former employees as well as the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations.

A ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that the review was completed in June 2021 and “was providing advice on policies, procedures and practices; management and corporate culture; and oversight of the board of directors.

“The ministry is working closely with the board and management of SWAP to find ways for the organization to continue to strengthen its Raising Hope Moving Families Forward program to benefit the vulnerable families it serves,” said Assistant Deputy Minister Tobie Eberhardt.

“The ministry looks forward to continuing our work with SWAP. It is a unique community organization with many board members with lived experience, bringing that perspective to the work they do to serve hard-to-reach families with complex challenges.

“As the ministry and SWAP move forward in the next steps, we keep the needs of the families served by Raising Hope at the forefront of our decision-making. “

Eberhardt declined to comment on the SHRC’s complaint.

The first step in the human rights complaint process involves mediation led by the SHRC.

If a resolution is not reached, the SHRC may initiate an investigation, after which the matter may be referred to the Court of Queen’s Bench for a final hearing.

Whatever the outcome of the complaint, Curtis said she hoped speaking up could help improve conditions in Raising Hope for other residents.

“I would never go back, I wouldn’t, but I want everything to change for women in the future because no one deserves to go through this.”