Member of TDUU's speech at the rally against Prison Expansion

Hi my name is Shawn Gibb. I’m here today as a member of the Toronto Drug Users Union and as a prisoner, currently attending drug treatment court and getting ready to serve this weekend. I have been in the program 7 and a half months. I’m just moving on to my next phase and finding it a struggle to not use drugs. The program expects you to be abstinent and to attend all drug treatment sessions which run three days a week.  I stand in front of a judge twice a week. If you happen to miss any sessions you are sanctioned with community service hours or to serve a weekend. I entered the program to try and better myself but at the same time I should have just gone in and did my time for the simple fact it’s a struggle. They have a lot of expectations. They expect you to change your lifestyle, give you strategies to cope with not using but when you leave there it’s a struggle cause you’re on the streets and every where you go drugs are there. If they catch you in a lie you automatically get thrown in. The intense part is having to go do urine screens while someone’s watching you. It’s very humiliating.

Financially I’m on welfare, it’s hard to survive. While you’re in drug treatment court you are not allowed to work. Eventually, once you get closer to graduating they expect you to go get part time work. When I’m offered work I have to turn it down because I’m in the program.

If you miss a urine. You get sent to jail. Every time you go in, it sets you back. It’s depressing.

I need help with my housing, I need help financially, when the opportunities are there you get turned away. I’ve been turned away in the past year so much. Even finding a doctor is a struggle.

What I’m asking for is for someone to look at the lifestyle a drug user lives in and don’t degrade them, find out the lifestyle a drug user is living. A lot of people don’t’ seem to understand if you’re raised on the streets you’re gonna do what you know. I grew up in poverty. My mother raised 3 children on her on, on welfare as well and we went hungry and still to this day I’ve gone to a food bank and they couldn’t help me cause they didn’t have food. I go hungry.

I would like the government to get rid of poverty. Lets find a way to get rid of poverty.

People who use drugs who need help need to not be turned away. We need to create more services for those people so they can get the help when they need it. This doesn’t happen right now. Drugs should be seen as a health and social issue not a criminal issue. It is a waste of taxpayers money to send drug users to prison instead of helping people with what they need.