Next Meeting: September 11, 1997 at 7:30pm.

5745 Wales Street at the First Lutheran Church

( between Nanaimo and 42^nd on Wales Street )

Hi Everyone;

The Vancouver Executive met with Bruce Lemmer and Sharon Matthews, counsels for the class action suits in British Columbia on August 6, 1997. Although the lawyers were pleased with the federal and provincial governments for their recent advances, they felt that the time is right for bringing more pressure to bear on the governments to bring this process to a conclusion.

At the counsels advice the Hepatitis C Society of Canada is initiating both a telephone campaign in which we are asking you to phone your local government representatives and a letter writing campaign in which letters will be sent to the federal & provincial governments and your MLA & MP. Members of your local chapter will be in touch with you and provide you with phone numbers and more information.

We have also been busy arranging CBC interviews with Roma Andrusiak of the Health Show. She will be doing a story on HCV and how it has impacted upon the lives of thos e infected. We have been advised by the lawyers to put as public a face on HCV as we can. So phone your newspaper and local TV and encourage them to do a story on HCV.

We have also put together a library. We have taken material off the HepC BC web site and made it available to everyone. This material is the latest research on HCV as well as explanatory guides. We are asking our members to help support the cost of printing and paper. The articles are available for a donation of $1.00 each. If you return the article at the next meeting you may take out another at NO CHARGE. Or you may keep the article for your own reference. We hope this will help bring information and education to all of our members.

I have also been invited to the Annual General Meeting in Toronto to give a presentation on my website, HepC BC. I am very excited about this honour and encouraged to share my approach with others.

I also would like to thank everyone who volunteered to help at our last meeting. It is very difficult to commit time and energy to anything when you are sick. That, of course, is part of the problem for all of us. However, the smallest contribution can go a long way in supporting the members that offer their time. Even if you can only give an hour of your time a month, we would be very happy. Many of the activities, such as stuffing envelopes can be done in your home at a time that is convenient to you. We know how much this costs you and deeply appreciate the effort.

I hope everyone enjoys the lazy days of summer! See you next month.

Darlene

HepC BC