Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education (EIDGE)
MONDAYS @ 11:00am | SIGN UP STARTS @ 10:30am | NO MEETING THE WEEK AFTER WELFARE
EIDGE is a group of people who use illicit alcohol, which we define as alcohol not intended for human consumption (i.e rubbing alcohol, mouthwash, hand sanitizer, etc), people who drink home-brewed alcohol, or people who drink in ways that are criminalized (i.e in public places). Illicit drinkers experience incredibly high rates of alcohol-related harm, are likely to be unhoused, and face discrimination when trying to access health care and other services.
EIDGE formed in 2011 to create a group specifically for illicit drinkers within the harm reduction movement. We work to improve the lives of illicit drinkers through education and support. We work together to end the discrimination of illicit drinkers and promote safety amongst our members. EIDGE members are currently working to end the practice of liquor pour-outs in the Downtown Eastside, create safe outdoor spaces for illicit drinkers, change shelter policies to keep drinkers safe, open more Managed Alcohol Programs in Vancouver, and ensure that drinkers voices are not excluded from alcohol policy.
Join our group to learn and participate in research to result in better services and programs, and to have a voice in our community.
The Vancouver Alcohol Strategy
The Vancouver Alcohol Strategy (VAS) is a collection of peer-led, harm reduction-focused alcohol policy recommendations prepared by the membership of EIDGE and the PHS Drinkers Lounge Community Managed Alcohol Program between 2019 and 2021. The VAS contains over 47 unique policy recommendations across 6 areas for action. EIDGE continues to work towards the full implementation of the VAS in 2023.
You can read the full document below.
The Vancouver Alcohol Strategy: Designing Harm Reduction-focused Alcohol Policy from the Grassroots in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside (2023)
Download PDF
Living on the EIDGE
Living on the EIDGE is a new community-produced publication by drinkers for drinkers. By telling our stories while we are still here, EIDGE members hope to change the public narrative surrounding illicit drinking and harm reduction. Full interview with John Onland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FojSxfQ3n4U
Nutritional Harm Reduction for Illicit Drinkers
EIDGE recently created an informational resource highlighting the importance of nutrition for long-term, heavy drinkers and Managed Alcohol Program Clients as an alcohol harm reduction measure. We are currently campaigning to add oral Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) to more accessible Pharmacare plans in British Columbia.
EIDGE Submission to British Columbia’s Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General on Public Use Legislation
EIDGE-involved Research
⬤ Historicizing Vancouver’s Liquor License Moratorium for the Downtown Eastside as Dispossessory Public Health Practice [School of Kinesiology and Health Studies – Masters Thesis] (2023)
Aaron R. Bailey (Queen’s University)
⬤ “If I Knew I Could Get That Every Hour Instead of Alcohol, I Would Take the Cannabis”: Need and Feasibility of Cannabis Substitution Implementation in Canadian Managed Alcohol Programs (2021)
Pauly et. al (Harm Reduction Journal)
⬤ Breaking the Cycle of Survival Drinking: Insights from a Non-Residential, Peer-Initiated and Peer-Run Managed Alcohol Program (May 2020)
Pauly et. al (Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy)
⬤ Research Into Action? The Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education’s Experiences as a Community-Based Group in Vancouver, Canada (2018)
Brown et. al (Drug and Alcohol Review)
⬤ Perceived Harms and Harm Reduction Strategies Among People Who Drink Non-Beverage Alcohol: Community-Based Qualitative Research in Vancouver, Canada (2018)
Crabtree et. al (International Journal of Drug Policy)
⬤ Results of a Participatory Needs Assessment Demonstrate an Opportunity to Involve People Who Use Alcohol in Drug User Activism and Harm Reduction (December 2016)
Crabtree et. al (Harm Reduction Journal)
⬤ It’s Powerful to Gather: A Community-Driven Study of Drug Users’ and Illicit Drinkers’ Priorities for Harm Reduction and Health Promotion in British Columbia, Canada [Doctoral Dissertation] (2017)
Alexis Crabtree (University of British Columbia)
Contact:
Aaron Bailey, MSc
Program Coordinator
Eastside Illicit Drinkers Group for Education (EIDGE)
Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users
aaron@vandu.org
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