Sfu's Vancity Office Of Community Engagement

Am Johal is joined by Eris Nyx, an artist and community organizer in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside who advocates for tenants' rights and an end to the war on drugs. She and Am discuss the impact of COVID-19 on drug users and residents of Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels, and how restricting visitors in SROs and reducing access to services during the pandemic has heightened safety concerns around a volatile supply of drugs. Eris shares how the Downtown Eastside community has been organizing to respond to the several and intersecting systems of oppression they are facing. Coalition of Peers Dismantling the Drug War: https://www.cpddw.ca/ Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative Society: https://dtescollaborative.org/ Tenant Overdose Response Organizers: https://dtescollaborative.org/toro-project/ Vision for the 100 Block report: http://www.carnegieaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DTES-Vision-for-the-100-Block-Final-1.pdf Black Lab Arts Society: https://www.facebook.com/BlackLabVancouver/ https://thebl