💔 Welfare Wednesday Shouldn’t Be Death Day
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
Every month in this city, we brace ourselves for "Welfare Wednesday."
For some, it means paying rent, buying groceries, maybe breathing a little easier—for a moment.
But for far too many, it means overdose. Chaos. Death.
We see people collapse on sidewalks, in alleys, on transit.
We see kids walking home from school past bodies.
We see the M.A.S.H. trailer on Hastings—people lined up for “safe supply,” but no real help, no healing, no hope.
And it breaks us.
It breaks the soul of this city.
🧨 The Next Drug is Already Here
Now we’re told a drug 40 times stronger than fentanyl—nitazene—is being smuggled into Canada in PlayStations and basketballs.
It’s sold on LinkedIn and Adobe ads.
And a few grains can kill.
We can’t pretend anymore.
We are in a crisis deeper than most people want to believe.
And we’re losing this generation.
🌿 What If We Tried Something New?
Locking people up won’t work.
Letting them die in the streets isn’t acceptable.
And giving out drugs without love, community, or purpose isn’t saving anyone.
So what if—just imagine—on Welfare Day, we did something radically compassionate?
What if we opened Community Healing Centres:
- Safe spaces with food, music, art, and warmth
- Staffed by nurses, elders, peers in recovery, and artists
- With beds for rest, support for withdrawal, and real human contact
- Where people could reconnect—not just survive
Because people don’t just need clean needles.
They need connection, dignity, and a reason to live.
🔥 A Call to Those in Power
Stop playing policy games while people die.
Start funding community-run wellness centres.
Train first responders in trauma care, not just CPR.
Support harm reduction—but don’t stop at survival.
Fund healing. Fund hope. Fund art.
We’ve lost too many already.
And the next wave is already here.
✨ We Can Still Choose Love
I’m just one voice.
But I’ve seen enough.
And I’m not willing to let another generation be written off as “too far gone.”
If you feel the same, share this.
Speak up.
Or just show up for someone on the edge.
Let’s turn Welfare Wednesday into something else—
a day of community, creativity, and care.
#EndTheCrisis #WelfareWednesday #CommunityCare #HealingNotHarm #ZipolitaWrites
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