RedFlagMagazine

Location: Vancouver, British Columbia

Name: Aki Kaltenbach

Insite is North America’s first and only legal supervised injection site and sits in the heart of Vancouver’s Downtown East Side, an area notorious for a high incidence of poverty and drug use. Insite is a clean, brightly lit facility with a row of mirrored booths where users can inject drugs under medical supervision.

Aki lives in an apartment in one of the many new developments in the area and is part of the increasing gentrification of one of Canada’s poorest neighborhoods. Although controversial, this gentrification has lead to an incredibly diverse community with hipsters selling $3 gourmet doughnuts next to pawn shops and high end restaurants opening up across from Pigeon Park.

September 2013 marked Insite’s 10 year anniversary. With more than 2 million visitors to date with up to 800 visitors per day, Insite is a part of the fabric of the community and continues to receive public support in Vancouver and across the country despite numerous attempts to stop it – most recently by the federal government – from operating.