First supervised consumption site opens
Boyle Street Community Services offers safe and clean place to inject substances
Katrina Stephenson, lead nurse of the Boyle Street Community Services’ first supervised drug consumption site, put together a tray of supplies that would be provided to a user — a candle, a cooker with a filter, a tourniquet, syringe with needle, vitamin C, distilled water, cotton and a blotter.
The user would have to bring his or her own drugs.
“Prior to these services being open, a lot of times people were injecting in the alley and using any water they can find, melting snow — (and using) unclean needles, which they can find and lead to health complications, abscesses and infections,” Erica Schoen, director of supervised consumption sites, said Thursday during a media tour of the facility.
When a drug user arrives, they will be asked to sign a consent form, asked what drugs they recently used and what drugs they are planning on injecting, and if they have any other medical issues.
The users will be asked to wash their hands and be taken to the intake area, which has five booths. The waiting area has space for four users.
The booths have mirrors on three sides so users can be monitored by a nurse. After they have injected the drugs, the person is monitored. They are provided with puzzles, magazines and snacks.
Schoen said staff consists of four people, including a nurse, all trained in overdose prevention and CPR.
While the Boyle Street Community Services site will operate only during the daytime, the George Spady Centre, which will open in about two to three weeks, will operate from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Lorette Garrick, executive director of the George Spady Centre, expects the centre will continue to primarily serve people who already use it as an overnight shelter and are under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
A third site, at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, does not have a scheduled opening date.
Even as the sites are starting to offer the service, officials will begin collecting hard data to see the impact of these sites, said Cecilia Blasetti, executive director at Boyle McCauley.
“We’ll be watching very closely to see if something does not work out well. We’ll work closely with the city liaison committee and police.”
For instance, the amount of needle debris before and after the site is opened will be tracked.
The health status of users will also be charted.