Inner-city injection sites proposed

Announcement marks beginning of community consultations

Four safe injection facilities are being proposed for Edmonton’s inner neighbourhoods, with three of them open to the public and coordinating to give drug users an option almost around the clock.

The proposed public locations are the Boyle McCauley Health Centre on 96 Street and 106 Avenue, Boyle Street Community Services at 101 Street and 105 Avenue, and the George Spady Society at 100 Street and 105A Avenue, all locations that currently offer support for people living on the street.

The health centre has six doctors who offer opioid-replacement therapy and mental-health treatment to break the cycle of addiction. Officials said all three public sites would have social workers, addiction counsellors, nurses and peer support workers to make sure they are not simply a magnet for crime.

Boyle Street and Boyle McCauley would be open during the day.

The George Spady Centre would be open during the evening and night. It also offers detox support. The Royal Alexandra Hospital will apply to be a safe injection site, but only for its patients, said community advocates at a news conference to announce the locations Wednesday.

The sites are meant to be small facilities serving the homeless addicts currently injecting drugs in surrounding parks, in alleys and along fences, said Cecilia Blasetti, executive director of the Boyle McCauley Health Centre.

Wednesday’s announcement marks the start of a community engagement process, which allows people to ask questions and get informed before submitting their views for or against the project.

The organizers will host open houses and hand out postcards to neighbours and businesses. Final approval must come from Ottawa. Funding would come from Alberta Health. McCauley resident Dan Glugosh, who came to the announcement to ask questions, said his community recognizes the need but is upset all three are being located in a single area. He wants more funding for addiction treatment instead.

Others objected that neighbours weren’t consulted about the locations. Police Chief Rod Knecht worries if not done right, this could concentrate drug use around those locations and draw drug traffickers.

“They’re going to know that’s where the drug users are,” he said, calling on the organizers to ensure safe injection sites are offered in the context of addiction support, housing and other social services.

Blasetti said that’s exactly the point. “This is why we think this model is so strong ... We don’t see it as a stand-alone service.”

Each safe injection site would have a small welcome room, a room with small private booths for injection, and a third room to rest, be monitored for adverse reactions and talk to staff.

Elaine Hyshka, public health assistant professor at the University of Alberta, said the team surveyed more than 300 addicts in 2014 and determined most would not travel more than one kilometre to access a site. That means this effort is not going to draw people from across the city, she said. They choose these health and service centres in the inner core because that’s where the largest number of people who are homeless and addicted currently are, she said. “This is about taking street-based injection out of the alleys and parks.”

Coun. Scott McKeen said he expects to hear anger from some people because this will be seen as yet another service for the homeless being added to overburdened neighbourhoods.

Eventually, he wants this model expanded so supervised injection is offered in supportive housing facilities for the chronically homeless.

Those facilities should be distributed across the city, he said.