 | |
| Founded | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Non-profit organization |
| Focus | Drug users rights, Drug policy reform, Drug policy, Human rights, Harm reduction. |
Area served | Downtown Eastside, Vancouver, Canada |
Executive Director | Brittany Graham[1] |
| Website | www.vandu.org |
The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users or VANDU is a not-for-profit organization[2] and advocacy group based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group believes that all drug users should have their own rights and freedoms. The group's members have been actively involved in lobbying for support of Insite, North America's first safe injection site, located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.[3]
Its board of directors consists entirely of current and former drug addicts.[4] It was co-founded by Ann Livingston and Bud Osborn.[2] Livingston had previously established a short-lived injection site called "Back Alley" on Powell Street in 1995.[5]
The group received a grant in 2022 from the city to perform street cleaning, but the contract was rescinded for not performing the work and instead, using the grant funds for other purposes.
- ^ "'We need to send a message': ABC councillors deny VANDU $7,500 funding for art program". British Columbia. 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2023-08-24.
- ^ a b "Vancouver drug users' group VANDU has led prevention policy". Maclean's. The Canadian Press. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (2009). "VANDU". Archived from the original on 2008-11-20. Retrieved 2009-04-02.
- ^ Bishop, Greg (2010-02-05). "In the Shadow of the Olympics (Published 2010)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
Another group is Vandu, or the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, which fills its board exclusively with addicts past and present.
- ^ Lupick, Travis (4 September 2017). "The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users looks back on 20 years fighting for human rights". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 12 February 2021.