Kilala Lelum Stands With DULF
Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in BC for persons between age 10 to 59. In our community, folks like the Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) operates to save the lives and reduce harms of the unregulated drug market for our friends, family, and neighbours here in Vancouver.
While DULF has proven to keep people alive and in better health, the Government of Canada denied application for a Controlled Drugs and Substances Act exemption.
As we know, the provincial government, healthy authority and police department came together to defund, discredit and criminalize DULF. Currently, DULF’s founders, Jeremy and Eris are potentially being faced with criminal charges and were scheduled to appear in court on January 16th.
Coordinated by the DULF Solidarity Committee, the Vancouver rally was scheduled to coincide outside the court hearing, January 16th.
Staff and the broader community of Kilala Lelum were swift to attend this rally in solidarity and support. Our work to defend our DULF allies does not stop here however; join the movement and listen for updates at FREEDULF.COM
Indigidivas Echo In The Orpheum
Hosted at the Orpheum Theatre, the Indigidivas are a group of three Indigenous opera singers who breathe life into the works of First Nations and Métis composers across Turtle Island alongside opera hits.
Kindly, the performance provided tickets for members of the Reclaiming Our Spirits program to attend.
Starting and ending with the Strong Women’s Song, backed by the all female Allegra Chamber Orchestra, and interspersed with songs about nipiy (water); their performance reverberated through the audience and halls of the Orpheum.
The faces and stories behind this entrancing performance include Métis soprano Melody Courage (left), Tłichó dene opera singer and composer Michelle Lafferty (centre), and Métis multidisciplinary opera singer Rebecca Cuddy (right). Together these artists echo our Indigenous stories and voices across Turtle Island. Be sure to watch for any future performances so you can step into their world and experience the medicine of their songs!
Kilala Joins Telus Fundraising Initiative
A new partnership opportunity to continue our relationship with TELUS has arisen here at Kilala Lelum!
Kilala Lelum has joined the TELUS Distributor Program as a way to engage them with our fundraising initiatives within the centre.
Kilala Lelum, in signing up, has been given a distributor code: DCC6546 and website: www.telusrefer.com/kilalalelum.
The code and website are free and open to be shared amongst friends, family, colleagues, and over various media forms. If any persons happens to require a service and chooses to go through TELUS as their provider, they can use Kilala Lelum’s Distributor Code. Each time the code is used, TELUS will put $60 towards a monthly donation cheque that will be dedicated to our Health and Wellness Cooperative. So feel free to share this code and our website as much or as little as you would like!
Program Highlight: Admin Team
The Admin team here at Kilala Lelum, originally used to be one person! It now includes: the Admin Coordinator, the Controller, the Development and Communications Specialist, the Clinic Manager, and the Executive Director. We hope to add an Associate Director and a Facilities Coordinator to this team in 2024!
Working often in the background, the Admin team helps Kilala Lelum with administrative functions across the organization, including HR, accounting, clinic management, facilities, scheduling, and more! A number of us serve on committees (Education, OHS, Community Advisory). We connect with all of the programs and teams in different ways, from hiring to budgeting to planning. Although we aren’t always doing front-line work, we consider our work behind the scenes to be “helping the helpers.” This work includes paying our amazing staff, scheduling ongoing education and training, and helping to facilitate and strengthen communication between teams and with some outside
stakeholders. We love interacting with members, too, and it’s
great to see familiar faces at the admin office at 687 or when
we’re making our rounds at 626 and 606 :).