With an estimated 500,000 people expected to attend the Olympic games, and many more flooding the city to celebrate, we expect to be kept very busy getting our harm reduction message across.  SafeGames 2010, a consortium of local, national, and international harm-reduction and advocacy organisations, is working to ensure that Vancouver residents and international visitors celebrate safely during the upcoming Winter Olympics.

CSSDP needs volunteers to help with the outreach!  Contact us if you are in the Vancouver area during the Olympics and are interested in getting involved by clicking here.   We need people to promote the initiative at their campus and in their communities.  We also need volunteers for street outreach!

Modelled after Salt Lake City’s successful SafeGames 2002 initiative, SafeGames 2010 will employ a wide array of outreach and advocacy practices. SafeGames’ teams of 200-plus outreach workers will distribute SafeKits containing condoms, lube, lip balm, hand heaters, glow sticks, DVDs, and other incentives, as well as informational cards and referrals to local service providers and resources. In addition to safer sex, SafeGames will be promoting responsible alcohol and drug consumption – including health and safe use information – and providing referrals to support groups as well as to public transportation information resources, to ensure that everyone gets to their destinations safely.  Stationing themselves at high-traffic pedestrian corners, special events, and areas adjacent to vendor tents, clubs, bars, and hotels, the intervention will reach large numbers of people.

The SafeGames’ outreach teams will be easily identified by their distinctive SafeGames hats and superhero alter egos, including Captain Condom, Pink Storm, Epidemiology Guy, and the Caped and Always-Protected Crusader.

In addition to our street outreach teams, we’ve established this SafeGames 2010 as a resource for locals and visitors to Vancouver. This website contains local resources and contacts to help inform and connect visitors with informational videos and handouts, various harm reduction services available during the Olympics, and information on SafeGames’ partners. Please keep coming back to our website as it is continually being updated with information about SafeGames, including our hosted presentations, film series, parties, and contests.

SafeGames 2010 seeks to educate people who may not be aware of the risks of their own behaviour, to highlight the City of Vancouver’s reputation as a global leader in innovative harm reduction policies and practices, and to support the ongoing work of the many organizations working to provide solutions to Vancouver’s public health challenges.

Enjoy the Games. Enjoy them Safely.