This poem, in the second issue of UpWords, is a contribution by a member of the editorial group who is very active in the community:

Maintaining Street Lights
Harm reduction is not only handing out rigs, mouthpieces or condoms.
But helping a person lying on the ground.
Taking the time to talk to someone who is lonely or hurting,
Whether the sun is shining or it is pouring rain.
Pushing a person in a wheelchair up a hill.
Saying good morning or hello to a passer by.
Showing empathy and compassion to our fellow brothers and sisters.
Dave Apsey
An “Engaging” Group: The UpWords Newsletter Team

The UpWords editorial group is an excellent example of a group that is taking collective action to “engage”, making a contribution to their community and building personal assets in the form of skills and a social network. In this section I describe the group and issues that are important to them, using their writing and discussions in the Focus Group.

Three descriptions of UpWords:

Coco Cuthbertson, Lifeskills Director, described UpWords as “a voice for those who have few places to tell their stories and share their real challenges of living with a drug addiction and writing about the culture that surrounds it.” (“Welcome to UpWords”, UpWords 1(1) September 2005).

Two participants made the following contributions to the UpWords mission statement:

  1. UP-WORDS is a group of stimulant users, united in the education and well-being of all stimulant users, whether male, female, young or old. Putting our minds and our hearts into making the stimulant users’ world a better place.(source)
  2. UP-WORDS is a group devoted to getting respectful, accurate information regarding stimulant use to users, decision makers and the public at large. (authors unknown, UpWords minutes, June 21 05)

Participants in the UpWords Focus Group described it as “street-involved people recording what is happening in the community” and “seeing things through the eyes of street-involved people”.