Data Source 1: Focus groups

20 participants attended two focus groups conducted at the WISH learning centre. These were all women, ranging in age from mid-20’s to mid-40’s. All were both current or former sex-trade workers and regular users of WISH services (drop-in, shower, dinner). Twelve were regular participants in the WISH learning centre and at least 10 were active in WISH committees and projects. Two have since gone on to become members of the WISH Board of Directors.^{Footnote 8} All were current or former drug-users. Most of the learning centre “regulars” knew me (the researcher) because I teach there once a week. These meetings were recorded, and one of the participants was paid to take notes. Each participant was provided with a list of the questions we would be discussing and some of the women asked to write answers to the questions in addition to participating in a Focus Group (these responses are recorded as “Focus Group Written Responses”).

A third group met at the LifeSkills Centre, and consisted of 7 members of the Editorial team of the UpWords newsletter. UpWords is produced twice a year in order to raise awareness and engage in debates related to stimulant use and the rights of drug users. Six of the participants in this meeting were men. All were current or former drug users and most were active in peer support groups for drug users and/or groups that promote harm reduction and drug-users rights. The Lifeskills Centre has a close connection with the Safe Injection Site, and many were current or former users of that centre. This is a group I had worked with over a six-month period, so most of the members knew me. One of the participants took notes at this meeting, but the group did not give permission to tape it, so I also took notes.

All participants received honoraria, and snacks and drinks were served at the meetings.

In choosing focus groups, my colleagues and I were influenced by Geoffrey Mills (2003), who describes the method as “a particularly useful technique when the interaction between individuals will lead to a shared understanding of the questions… (p. 62), as well as by George and Greg Dimitriadis’ (2005), who describe how Paulo Freire and Jonathan Kozol used focus groups for “imagining and enacting the emancipatory political possibilities” (p. 889). I hoped we could do that in our focus groups: imagine together what Harm Reduction might be and how we could make a better contribution to it.